North American Hispanism Through the Collection of Objects: William H. Prescott (1796-1859) and his Aztec Skulls

Abstract

This article analyzes the relationship between objects and historiography in the History of the Conquest of Mexico (1843) by US Hispanist, William H. Prescott. Among the objects comprising his vast archival documentation were two indigenous skulls he requested from México. Influenced by the success of craniology during the early nineteenth century, Prescott’s interest in the skulls was twofold: to help construct a historical narrative about pre-Hispanic cultures and to contribute to a larger scientific project. Focusing on the interweaving of the discourses of science and history during the early stages of US Hispanism, this article explores the ways in which an object helps define a culture and shows how the history of objects and their transformations are inseparable from the discourse that names them.