Point South Mexico - Real Estate and Lifestyle Magazine

The mysterious Olmec civilization of Mexico has long been a favorite topic for those who believe that the original founders crossed the ocean to America centuries before Columbus (for convenience I shall call these people diffusionists, their opponents non-diffusionists). Most professional scholars (non-diffusionists) date the Olmecs roughly from about 1500 B.C., when the main sites began to be built, to 400/200 B.C. The influence of the Olmecs on the religion, art, and architecture of Mesoamerican civilization is well established. However, when it comes to the question of origins the proliferation of theories staggers the imagination.

The earliest accounts of Aztec human sacrifice come from the Spanish Conquistadores and the early Catholic missionaries.  Horrified by what they saw, they justified their own actions as God’s will against a godless barbarian people. However, depending on the personal bias or religious belief of the writer, historical accounts and interpretations of this practice often differ wildly. In The Conquest of Mexico  Prescott argues that the Aztec practice of human sacrifice justified the total destruction of Aztec civilization. That such ritual sacrifices did take place on a large scale is not in doubt. The Franciscan missionary-ethnographer Sahagun gives us graphic descriptions of the religious ceremonies and forms of sacrifice as described by the Aztecs themselves.

In international law the right of discovery refers to the act of finding an unknown country. According to the principles of international law as understood by the European powers in the 16th century this meant that Indian tribes who happened to live in this unknown or vacant territory were deemed to be mere temporary occupants of the soil. Any European nation who claimed it upon discovery had absolute property rights. Permanent claims or titles to such possessions were then secured by right of conquest.

Located in the west-central part of northern Michoacan, the powerful Tarascan empire managed to maintain its independence from the marauding Aztecs. At the time of the Conquest Tarascan civilization was a distinct version of the Mesoamerican culture of the Mexican Highlands. Although the main centre was in the Patzcuaro area, Tarascan speech and influence extended through the Chapala area probably as far as Guanajuato. Basically neutral, they refused to help the Aztecs in their final struggle against the Spanish invaders, a decision they were to regret later on. After a few clashes with Spaniards relations developed relatively peacefully. The peace was broken by the Spanish butcher Nuño de Guzman (1529), who tortured the Tarascan  Caltzontzin (King), imposed heavy tribute on the people, and forced them to serve as porters. By this time it was too late for the Tarascans as well as the Aztecs.

On, Saturday, July 12, the 75th memorial of Emilio Carranza took place, spearheaded by American Legion Post #11 of Mount Holly, New Jersey. Post#11 found Emilio's lifeless body the day his plane was struck by lightning. He was just 22-and-a-half years old, but a hero standing tall among heroes.