I notice that Frederick Catherwood’s picture of Stele F, Copan was used as an illustration for the review of Hodder’s The Ancient Aztecs, “Raid the Temples of Doom” (TES, Resources Extra, November 29). Although eye-catching, it is out of time (700 years too early), out of place (Honduras, not Mexico) - 800 miles from Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) as the quetzal bird might fly - and wrong civilisation (Maya, not Aztec).
This is a pity, because everything in the review rings true. Also, there are some wonderful surviving artefacts from the Aztecs. For instance, the fearful two-metre-high statue of the goddess Coatlicue (“she of the serpent skirt”) mother of the warlike Huitzilopochtli (“hummingbird on the left”), or the terracotta Eagle Warrior that greets you near the entrance of the Templo Mayor Museum, Mexico City.
PETER WARNE 148 Bridge Avenue, Hanwell, London W7
