Is cocoliztli smallpox?
If the disease was indigenous, it was perhaps exacerbated by the worst droughts to affect that region in 500 years and living conditions for indigenous peoples of Mexico in the wake of Spanish conquest (c. 1519). Some historians have suggested it was typhus, measles, or smallpox, though the symptoms did not match.
How many people died from the cocoliztli epidemic?
These droughts appear to have interacted with ecologic and socio- logic conditions, magnifying the human impact of infectious disease in 16th-century Mexico. The epidemic of cocoliztli from1545 to 1548 killed an esti- mated 5 million to 15 million people, or up to 80% of the native population of Mexico (Figure 1).
What disease killed the Aztecs?
Smallpox took its toll on the Aztecs in several ways. First, it killed many of its victims outright, particularly infants and young children.
What is cocoliztli epidemic?
The disease, called cocoliztli, appeared for the first time in 1545 and in three years, it killed an estimated 5–15 million people, or up to 80% of the native population at the time. This represents the worst epidemic in recorded Mexican history [9, 10].
Is Cocoliztli a virus?
The 1545 and 1576 cocoliztli epidemics appear to have been hemorrhagic fevers caused by an indigenous viral agent and aggravated by unusual climatic conditions.
Who brought the disease to the Aztecs?
The introduction of smallpox among the Aztecs has been attributed to an African slave (by the name of Francisco Eguía, according to one account) but this has been disputed. From May to September, smallpox spread slowly to Tepeaca and Tlaxcala, and to Tenochtitlán by the fall of 1520.
Did the Aztecs drink alcohol?
Pulque is an alcoholic drink which was first drunk by the Maya, Aztecs, Huastecs and other cultures in ancient Mesoamerica. Similar to beer, it is made from the fermented juice or sap of the maguey plant (Agave americana). The drink had its own personified goddess and was featured in episodes of Mesoamerican mythology.
Do Nahua people still exist?
The last of the southern Nahua populations today are the Pipil of El Salvador. Nahua populations in Mexico are centered in the middle of the country, with most speakers in the states of Puebla, Veracruz, Hidalgo, Guerrero and San Luis Potosí.
How many people died in the cocoliztli epidemic?
The cocoliztli epidemic from 1576 to 1578 cocoliztli epidemic killed an additional 2 to 2.5 million people, or about 50% of the remaining native population.
What was the cause of the Mexican Megadeath?
Abstract. The cocoliztli epidemic from 1576 to 1578 cocoliztli epidemic killed an additional 2 to 2.5 million people, or about 50% of the remaining native population. Newly introduced European and African diseases such as smallpox, measles, and typhus have long been the suspected cause of the population collapse in both 1545…
Why was there an epidemic in Mexico in the 16th century?
These symptoms are not consistent with known European or African diseases present in Mexico during the 16th century. The geography of the 16th century cocoliztli epidemics supports the notion that they may have been indigenous fevers carried by rodents or other hosts native to the highlands of Mexico.
Is there a hantavirus or cocoliztli in Mexico?
Many of the symptoms described by Dr. Hernandez occur to a degree in infections by rodent-borne South American arenaviruses, but no arenavirus has been positively identified in Mexico. Hantavirus is a less likely candidate for cocoliztli because epidemics of severe hantavirus hemorrhagic fevers with high death rates are unknown in the New World.