Guilhem Olivier | hD, Teacher researcher

Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Guilhem Olivier has been a research professor at the Institute for Historical Research (IIH) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) since 1998. He was a member of the Center for Mexican and Central American Studies (CEMCA) (1996-1998) and Lecturer at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (1996-2002). A specialist in Mesoamerican religions, he uses an approach that is both historical and anthropological. Among his lines of research, we can mention the nature of the gods, hunting and sacrifice, symbols of power, animals, pictographic manuscripts and divination. He is the author of the book Moqueries and metamorphoses of an Aztec god. Tezcatlipoca, the "Lord in the smoking mirror" (Institut d'Ethnologie du Musée de l'Homme, Paris, 1997; version in English, 2003, and in Spanish, 2004) and Cacería, sacrifice y poder in Mesoamérica. Tras las huellas de Mixcóatl, “Serpiente de Nube” (Fondo de Cultura Económica, UNAM, CEMCA, 2015). He is the coordinator of the works: Poder symbols in Mesoamerica (UNAM, 2008); The Human Sacrifice in the Mesoamerican Religious Tradition (with Leonardo López Luján, UNAM-INAH, 2010); The Quest for the Feathered Serpent. Arts and religions of pre-Columbian America. Tribute to Michel Graulich (with Nathalie Ragot and Sylvie Peperstraete, Practical School of Advanced Studies, Paris, 2011); Guess to act. Comparative views on ancient and contemporary divinatory practices (with Jean-Luc Lambert, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris, 2012), and Mostrar y occultar en el arte y los rituales: comparative perspectives (with Johannes Neurath, Mexico, UNAM, 2017). 

Publications

Mockery and metamorphoses of an Aztec god: Tezcatlipoca, the "Lord of the smoking mirror", Paris, Institute of Ethnology of the Museum of Man, French Center for Mexican and Central American Studies, 1997, 390 p. (ISSN 2-85265-125-4, ISSN 0768-1380). 

Mockeries and Metamorphoses of an Aztec God: Tezcatlipoca, 'Lord of the Smoking Mirror', Translation by Michel Besson, Niwat, University of Colorado Press, 2003, 419 p. (ISBN 0-87081-745-0).

Tezcatlipoca. Burlas y metamorfosis de un dios azteca, Translation by Tatiana Sule, México, Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2004, 578 p. (ISBN 968-16-7336-0).

Cacería, sacrifice y poder in Mesoamérica. Tras las huellas de Mixcoatl, “Serpiente de Nube”, México, Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Fondo de Cultura Económica, Centro de Estudios Mexicanos y Centramericanos, 2015 (ISBN 978-607-16-2626-4 (FCE); ISBN 978 -607-02-6707-9 (UNAM);978-2-11-139613-05 (CEMCA).

— With Patricia Ledesma Bouchar, Tetzáhuitl. Los presagios de la Conquista de México, México, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 2019, 240 p. (ISBN 978-607-593-363-6).

Keywords

Aztec, Religion, Sacrifice, Divination, Codex \ Mexico, Nahua, History, Anthropology