This work for students in middle school and up describes daily life at each level of Aztec society, focusing on Aztec communities in and around the island city of Tenochtitlan. Details are given on food, education, games, and the arts, as well as the social order, religious myths and symbols, and the Aztec encounter with Europeans. Special attention is paid to the question of how the practice of human sacrifice coexisted with the advanced knowledge, science, and philosophy of Aztec civilization. This second edition incorporates the latest archaeological findings around the Basin of Mexico; it also uses recently re-discovered pictorial manuscripts. Some chapters have been critiqued by middle school students for accessibility, and the authors have made changes to increase readability. The book includes b&w photos and illustrations, a glossary, and a chronology of Central Mexico. Carrasco is director of the Mesoamerican Archive at Harvard University. Sessions is a lecturer in religion at Amherst College. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)