Anáhuac

 

(änä'wäk) [Aztec,=near the water], geographical term used variously in Mexico before the Spanish Conquest. Today it commonly refers to that part of the central plateau of Mexico comprising the Pánuco and Lerma river systems and the lake basin of the Valley of Mexico.

Anahuac is an ancient name for a Mesoamerican, particularly Aztec, area or areas, usually identified as located within or even coterminous with the Valley of Mexico. It can also refer to the former lake basins around Mexico City, often including the Lerma and Pánuco river systems.

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica article

According to the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, Anahuac is "limited by the traditional and vaguely defined boundaries of an ancient Indian empire or confederation of that name previous to the Spanish conquest.

"The word is said to signify 'country by the waters' in Nahuatl, the old Aztec language; hence the theory that Anahuac was located on the sea coast. One of the theories relating to the location of Anahuac describes it as all the plateau region of Mexico, with an area equal to three-fourths of the republic, and extending between the eastern and western coast ranges from Rio Grande to the isthmus of Tehuantepec. A more exact and more commonly used description, however, limits it to the great plateau valley in which the city of Mexico is located, between 18°40' and 20°30'N latitude, about 320 kilometers (200 miles) long by 120 kilometers (75 miles) wide, with an average elevation of 2300 meters (7500 feet), and a mean temperature of 17°C (62°F). The accepted meaning of the name fits this region as well as any on the sea coast, as the lakes of this valley formerly covered one-tenth of its area. The existence of the name in southern Utah, United States, and on the gulf coast of Mexico, has given rise to theories of other locations and wider bounds for the old Indian empire."

References

• Aguilar-Moreno, Manuel (n.d.). Aztec Art (PDF). Aztec Art and Architecture. Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc. (FAMSI). Retrieved on 2007-10-15.
• Wimmer, Alexis (2006). Dictionnaire de la langue nahuatl classique (online version). (French) (Nahuatl)

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