With its rich archaeological and historical record, the Aztec empire provides an intriguing opportunity to understand the dynamics and structure of early states and empires. Rethinking the Aztec Economy brings together leading scholars from multiple disciplines to thoroughly synthesize and examine the nature of goods and their movements across rural and urban landscapes in Mesoamerica.

Deborah L. Nichols is the William J. Bryant 1925 Professor of Anthropology at Dartmouth College. She is the co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of the Aztecs, among other volumes. She has received both the Society for American Archaeology's Distinguished Service Award and the American Anthropological Association's President's Award. Frances F. Berdan is professor emerita of anthropology at California State University, San Bernardino. She has authored, co-authored, or co-edited thirteen books and more than a hundred articles, including the four-volume Codex Mendoza. Her most recent book is Aztec Archaeology and Ethnohistory. Michael E. Smith is a professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and six books on the Aztecs, including At Home with the Aztecs: An Archaeologist Uncovers Their Daily Life.