Hi there. I recently watched Mel Gibson's Apocalypto and have since found myself really interested in Mesoamerica civilizations. I know Apocalypto takes a lot of liberties with historical accuracy and I've spent the past few days looking up the fact from fiction.
Can anyone recommend me good books, films, or documentaries to learn more about Mesoamerica civilizations, their first interactions with the Spanish, and their decline. There just seems to be so much I don't know where to start! Thank you.
Bernal Diaz's The True History of the Conquest of New Spain is the closest thing you can get to a primary source on the topic. It is very biased so you should take it with a large grain of salt. However it is an interesting and informative read and I recommend it. It covers everything from the planning of the expedition to the conquest of Tenochtitlan and what happened afterwards. It should be obvious enough when it's being biased, but be wary.
Perhaps to preface it you should read a general history of the Aztecs. So you don't get the wrong idea about them from the conquistador's perspective. I personally think The Aztecs by Michael E. Smith is a good general history of their civilization. It is easy to read and interesting too.
Perhaps after you read Bernal Diaz you should consider reading Broken Spears, which presents the Aztec account of the Spanish conquest. Although it too is a bit biased by the Franciscan priests who gathered the information in the first place.
Although it isn't about the Aztecs or Maya in particular, 1491 is a good book for further reading if you are interested in pre-columbian American Indians. I really liked it, but it does draw some small criticism from historians in this subreddit. As long as you read the criticisms it is a great read!
If you want anymore suggestions on books about the Aztecs I know a few more, but I'll leave it at this. Sorry I do not know much about the Maya!
Another good source is Book 12 of the Florentine codex by Bernardino de Sahagun. Try to read both, the Spanish version and the Nahuatl version (both available in English) since they present two slightly different versions. Also a good source for the Aztec encounter with the Spaniards is Diego Duran’s The History of the Indies of New Spain. While Duran did not took part in the conquest campaign, he was perhaps tutored by Fray Francisco de Aguilar who was a soldier involved in the siege of Tenochtitlan.
Two good sources for the Maya are Diego Lopez de Cogolludo History of Yucatan, and Juan de Villagutierre Sotomayor Historia de la conquista de la provincia de el Itza : redvcción, y progresos de la de el Lacandon, y otras naciones de indios bárbaros, de la mediación del Reyno de Gvatemala, a las provincias de Yvcatan, en la América Septentrional. Although these two will most likely be hard to find and to work with since less attention has been paid to.