New publication by Dr. Agnieszka Brylak!

29 06 2026

💧 Have you ever heard of the Nahua “blue and yellow waters”?

According to various sources, Tenochtitlan was founded at the place where two sacred springs flowed, one blue and one yellow. The metaphor of the “blue and yellow waters”  also appears in other early colonial sources. It was associated with deities such as Tlazolteotl and Tloque Nahuaque, with the tlatoani‘s role as ruler and purifier, and with ceremonies dedicating newborns to water—rituals that Spaniards likened to baptism. 🌊✨

 🤔 What did these mysterious waters represent? War? Justice? Purification? Or perhaps the beginning of a new era?

🔍 Discover the answers in the newly published article Blue Waters and Yellow Waters in Nahua Thought: A Metaphor of Tenochca Identity and Toltec Legitimacy, published in Latin American Antiquity (Cambridge University Press) and written by our PI, Dr. Agnieszka Brylak. 📖🎓

Read the article here

🌍 We are also delighted to share that the publication has already attracted international attention! Just two days after its release, the research was featured by the Spanish-language popular science portal La Brújula Verde.

📰 Read the feature here

🎉 Congratulations, Agnieszka! Great job! 👏🥳