Ross Hassig (December 13, 1945 - March 2, 2025[1]) was an American historicalanthropologist specializing inMesoamerican studies, particularly theAztec culture. His focus was often on the description of practical infrastructure in Mesoamerican societies. He was the author of several influential[citation needed] books, among them:Time, History, and Belief in Aztec and Colonial Mexico;Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control; andTrade, Tribute, and Transportation: The Sixteenth-Century Political Economy of the Valley of Mexico.
Hassig began his academic career as an undergraduate atVanderbilt University, where his studies initially focused on non-Western legal systems. He soon developed an interest in anthropology, later obtaining in 1974 hisMaster's degree from Vanderbilt in Law and Anthropology, with a thesis on political development among thePuebloan peoples atAcoma Pueblo. He then went on further his graduate studies atStanford University, obtaining hisPh.D. from the Department of Anthropology there in 1980.[2]
During his time at Stanford, Hassig's research agenda shifted to focus on the cultures ofMesoamerica, where he investigated the economic and political foundations of pre- and post-conquest societies. Among the first of his studies was directed towards the underpinnings of thepre-ColumbianTarascan state.[2]
For 1989–90 he was a scholar-in-residence of Pre-Columbian Studies atDumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, with a research project entitled "Warfare and the Mesoamerican Past".[3]
In 1997–98 Hassig spent a year as Resident Scholar under the Weatherhead Fellowship program at theSchool of American Research[4] inSanta Fe, New Mexico, with a primary focus on researching theAztec calendar.[2]
In the 1999 United Kingdom academic year, Hassig was awarded one of the two residential Visiting Fellowships offered annually by theSainsbury Research Unit at theSainsbury Centre for Visual Arts,University of East Anglia,Norwich, towards the study of 'Aztec thought and culture'.[5]
Hassig held a chair as Professor of Anthropology at theUniversity of Oklahoma, until 2003 when he relocated toTucson, Arizona.[6] After leaving OU Hassig remained anindependent scholar and author, continuing his research into Mesoamerican cultures and state societies.[7]
Hassig's published works include:
