The Aztecs

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The Aztecs

• Ryan Alden
• Atosa Ghasripoor
• Brendan Hagan
• Ken McKenna
• Mike Piascik

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Geography

• Aztecs appeared first in the Valley of Mexico.
• By 1519, the Aztecs encompassed all of Central
  Mexico from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific and
  as far south as Guatemala. This expansion of
  land included 38 provinces.
• Many of the cities and villages were built in
  water and some on dry land.
• Tenochtitlán had about 60,000 households Total
  population 250,000. Entire Aztec Empire 5
  million inhabitants.

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Map of Aztec Rule
http//www.aaanativearts.com/aztec_civilization_ma
p.gif
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Geography

• The Aztec Empire was approached by four great
  highways and bridges stood at intervals.
• Stone and adobe walls surrounded the city and
  streets criss-crossed the city.
• Many parks, public squares and marketplaces.
• Major building Huitzilopochtli Temple. The
  temple, built as a pyramid, stood 106 feet high
  with 3 flights of steps, 120 steps each.

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The Aztecs, or Mexica first appear in history at
the beginning of the 13th century. At first they
were nomadic people were traveled into the Valley
of Mexico to find work as mercenaries.
Eventually they decided to take a city for their
own, and in 1248 A.D. the city of Chapultapec was
taken over by Aztec Warriors. Before long
however, the previous owners of the city, the
Calhuacan, decided to retaliate. The Aztec were
driven out of the fertile area around lake
Texcoco. In 1325 A.D. after years of wandering
and living as hunter gatherers as well as
mercenaries, the Aztecs resettled in their newly
founded capitol city of Tenochtitlan (place of
the prickly pear cactus). This city is in the
same area in which Mexico City exists today.
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As Tenochtitlan developed, so did the size of the
Aztec Empire. Smaller tribes who challenged the
Aztecs were easily defeated by the their fierce
warriors, and soon found themselves being paraded
up the slopes of sacrificial temples. Around
1440 A.D. the Aztec began to expand their
territory to the South through military conquest.
Although the size of the Empire grew, these
campaigns were mainly to obtain tribute from the
weaker cultures. Soon food, valuables, and even
humans (slaves, sacrifices) were flooding into
Tenochtitlan from tribes pleading for an end to
the fighting. From this time to the beginning of
the 16th century, the Aztec were the supreme
power in Central America. But soon they would be
robbed of their power.
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Hernan Cortes and his greedy
Conquistadors landed in
the Gulf
Coast in 1519 A.D. Montezuma II
who had only been
in power since
1502 A.D. attempted to greet them
with
hospitality, but all that the
Spaniards saw made them
more
and more greedy. The Aztecs
soon were
forced to fight the superiorly armed Spaniards.
Many warriors were lost, but in 1520 A.D. the
Conquistadors were forced out of Tenochtitlan at
least temporarily. In 1521 A.D., with the help
of other native tribes, the Spaniards overthrew
the Aztec Empire, and built Mexico City over the
ruins of Tenochtitlan
http//library.thinkquest.org/C005121/data/spain2_
files/image002.gif
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Montezuma II becomes the Great Speaker of the
Aztec Empire
Tenochtitlan becomes capital of Aztec Empire
Aztec Warriors take over the city of Chapultapec
Aztec Warriors drive the Conquistadors out of
Tenochtitlan
Mexico City founded on the ruins of Tenochtitlan
1248 A.D.
1345 A.D.
1502 A.D.
1520 A.D.
1522 A.D.
1200 A.D. The Aztec Arrive in the Valley of Mexico
1325 A.D. Tenochtitlan founded in lake Texcoco
1440 A.D. Aztecs expand to the South, now
receive tribute from local tribes in the
area
1519 A.D. Hernan Cortes his Conquistadors
arrive in the Gulf Coast
1521 A.D.
Spaniards, with the help of local native tribes,
overthrow the Aztec Empire
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Aztec Society

• There is much dispute over how many social
  classes actually existed in Aztec society, but
  its definite that there were at least three
  classes The Pilli (Nobility), Macehualli, which
  means people, were the middle class, which also
  included Tlalmaitl, or Serfs (lowest group of
  commoners), and Slaves. The relationships between
  each group differed from those in most societies.

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Social Classes

• The Pilli (Nobility)Were nobles by birth,
  priests, or esteemed warriors. The first noble
  class were the offspring of Acamapichti an
  admired Toltec king.These people were members of
  the hereditary nobility and occupied the top
  positions in the government, the army and the
  priesthood Priests also had great power. They had
  custody of all the temple revenue, from this they
  provided schools, hospitals and alms, which are
  money, food, or other donations given to the poor
  or needy. Warriors were not immediately part of
  the pilli. They had to earn their position. To
  enter the middle class, they had to capture a
  prisoner for sacrifice to become an iyac, and
  then capture or kill four enemies to become a
  maceualtin, part of the nobility.
• The Macehualli and Tlalmaitl (Middle Class)The
  most numerous social group was known as the
  macehualtin these people were engaged in
  agriculture and the common trades. Although they
  were allowed to kept their produce, the land
  itself was collectively owned by the inhabitants
  of the neighborhood or calpulli. They had a
  lifetime ownership of land, and paid taxes. The
  Tlalmaitl, however, didnt have ownership of
  land, they were tenant farmers. Their lives were
  slightly less luxurious than that of the
  Macehualli.
• The Tlacotin (Slaves) Apart from P.O.W.s, Aztec
  slavery was much different than the European
  slave system. A criminal or someone who evaded
  paying taxes could be made a slave. People could
  also sell themselves as slaves, and enjoy the
  money they had earned, usually enough for a year,
  until they had to serve their new master. Slaves
  who had children with their masters were
  immediately freed, and those who could escape
  from their masters home and run to the palace
  gates were also granted freedom.

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GovernmentRule Through Tribute

• War and Tribute made up much of the Aztec
  civilization.
• Tribute kept the leaders of each city state at
  power, rule through fear.
• The Aztec Empire covered
• much of Mexico, and was
• made up of 50-60 city
• states.

http//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/2
2/Aztec_Empire_c_1519.png/400px-Aztec_Empire_c_151
9.png
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Government

• Aztecs also required tribute from captured
  civilizations, though they did not impose
  beliefs.
• The leader, or Great Speaker regulated affairs
  with other groups of people and imposed/enforced
  the tributes.
• Tributes were held regularly to the many gods of
  the Aztecs, these helped to keep command through
  fear of a greater power.
• At many times, the Great Speaker
• reported false sacrifices, to withhold
• command over the large city states
• through fear.

http//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/16/Mend
oza_HumanSacrifice.jpg
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Economical Factors In The Ancient Aztec World
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• In the world of the ancient Aztecs, hunting
  and fishing was very important, especially in the
  valley of Mexico. In the Aztec world, the
  largest hunted creatures were the peccary which
  was a relative to the pig and deer. The Aztecs
  fished for anything from shellfish to large fish
  and sea mammals with nets. Hooks for fishing
  were made out of sturdy cactus thorns, shell, and
  bone.
• The most common Aztec crop was corn. It was
  easy to farm and good to eat. After it was
  harvested, the Aztecs had several ways of dealing
  with it. One of the more common ways of
  preparing corn was to mash it with a round
  grinding stone called a mano against a flat stone
  called a metate. By grinding the corn like this
  the Aztecs made corn meal. This corn meal was
  used to make tortillas which are a very thin
  bread like food. This was the principal food of
  the lower class Aztec. The upper class Aztecs
  also ate tortillas but had other food choices to
  choose from. These foods were turkeys, duck, and
  geese. Since these animals werent raised they
  were considered reserved for the wealthy.
• Another source of food for the Aztecs was the
  maguey plant. The sap of the maguey plant could
  be made into a beer-like beverage called pulque.
• The Aztecs had a very unique way of planting
  their crops. Since Tenochtitlan was built around
  swamp land they used this to their advantage.
  They would make floating gardens on top the
  swamps. These floating gardens were called
  chinampas and were built on top of the swamps so
  they wouldnt have to worry about watering them
  and the crops would grow better. The first step
  in making the chinampas was to make a canal
  through the swamp so they could sort of section
  off the crops from the rest of the swamp. The
  next step was to put mud on to on big straw mats
  and then plant trees in the corners of the mats
  to hold them in place so they wouldnt float off.
  Then the Aztecs would plant their vegetable seed
  in the mud and thats how they grew their crops.

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Trade

• After the Aztecs settled in Tenochtitlan, a
  function called the Tlateco was formed as a trade
  center where societies gathered and traded. It
  was here that the Pochteca guild formed its
  function of obtaining luxury goods and necessary
  materials such as food and grain. The Pochteca
  guild was a group of societies outside of
  Tenochtitlan that met in the city and they traded
  with the Aztecs. Some of the luxury goods that
  were exchanged were things like beads of all
  different kinds and colors, hand-weaved rugs,
  pottery, and jewelry, and sometimes clothes. The
  other societies that came to trade had different
  resources around them because they lived in a
  different environment than the Aztecs which means
  they had different food which made trade more
  useful.

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Belief System

• The Aztecs were Polytheistic, meaning that they
  worshipped multiple gods.
• Due to the importance of agriculture, many of
  their gods had an effect upon the growth of their
  crops.
• The Aztecs believed that Human Sacrifices pleased
  the gods, so they were conducted regularly. These
  sacrifices also help to keep control in the
  government, as mentioned earlier.
• In the Aztec society, the gods were believed to
  have created everything.
• It is thought that the Aztecs sacrificed an
  average of 20,000 people per year to the gods,
  many of them from captured civilizations though
  they did not belief in imposing beliefs upon
  captured regions.
• In war, a greater honor was to those who captured
  prisoners (for sacrifices) than those who killed
  in battle.

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Technology

• Sunstone Calendar
• The Aztecs developed a stone that represented
  days, months, and even cosmic cycles.
• The calendar shows the Aztecs knowledge of
  astronomy and mathematics.
• The stone is 12 feet in diameter and
• weighs 24 metric tons.
• The stone also shows that the
• Aztecs had 18 months of 20 days
• each, for a total of 360 days.

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Technology

• Sunstone cont.
• The Sunstone is arranged in layers, each having
  different cycles. Months, Days, Sun Positions,
  Sacrificial Days, and more were marked.
• Medical
• The Aztecs had a good understanding of herbs. The
  medicine was placed into two categories,
  Spiritual and Healing.
• Illnesses were suspected to be the power of the
  gods, and therefore Spiritual healing was often
  prayer and animal sacrifice.

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TechnologyFarming

• The location of the Aztec empire required
  irrigation and other methods to sustain the
  growing population.
• These methods included irrigation, fertilizer,
  and even building terraces on hills that were
  previously not farmable.
• One of the most influential inventions was the
  chinampas
• The chinampas acted as Floating Gardens.
• The Aztecs used floating racks, with mud on top
  for harvests of wheat, corn, and other products
  to support their nation.

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Chinampas
http//intranet.whitefriars.vic.edu.au/public/facu
lties/sose/students/James20M/History20Assignment
/chimapama.jpg
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TechnologyMathematics

• The Aztecs developed a system of mathematics for
  trade and records.
• There were four different symbols used.
• Dots, Flags, Feathers, and a Bag of Incense.
• To indicate that the multiple glyphs forming a
  number belong to a single sign group, a line is
  drawn to connect all the glyphs. The line is then
  connected to the object it is counting.

http//www.ancientscripts.com/images/aztec_numbers
.gif
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Writing/Language

• Although the Aztecs lived in Mexico and were part
  of the Mexica society, the Nahuatl language is
  much different than the modern Spanish-Mexican
  language we hear today. Not even something as
  simple as de or el can be heard. Examples of
  word comparisons are as follows
• Spanish Casa-House
• Nahuatl Calli-House
• Spanish Yo or mi I or Me
• Nahuatl Nehuatl Me

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Writing/Language

• The Aztecs also wrote poems which would be in
  symbolical pictorial writing meaning that they
  used pictures to symbolize words. This type of
  writing was very similar to the Egyptians form of
  writing. They were simple poems, with no rhyme
  scheme, yet they told a story.

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All the earth is a grave and nothing escapes it,
nothing is so perfect that it does not descend
to its tomb. Rivers, rivulets, fountains and
waters flow, but never return to their joyful
beginnings anxiously they hasten on the vast
realms of the rain god. As they widen their
banks, they also fashion the sad urn of their
burial. Filled are the bowels of the earth with
pestilential dust once flesh and bone, once
animate bodies of man who sat upon thrones,
decided cases, presided in council, commanded
armies, conquered provinces, possessed treasure,
destroyed temples, exulted in their pride,
majesty, fortune, praise and power. Vanished are
these glories, just as the fearful smoke vanishes
that belches forth from the infernal fires of
Popocatepetl. Nothing recalls them but the
written page.
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• The Aztecs were a very educated and sophisticated
  society. They even developed their own calendar

The Aztec year was 260 days that were dived into
20 periods of 13 days each, called Trecenas.
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Then and Now

• Then Now

http//www.mcah.columbia.edu/dbcourses/riseofciv/l
arge/TENOCHTITLAN.jpg
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Then

• Back in the ancient world of the Aztecs, trade
  was very difficult at first but as the city grew
  larger, more societies moved closer and trade
  developed. They only traded objects such as
  beads, basic food like grain and some vegetables,
  rugs, pottery, and jewelry. They planted crops
  such as corn and maguey.
• The common people lived in houses made out of
  mud and were built around patios or open courts.
  The upper class Aztecs made houses out of stone
  and painted them with sparkling red or white
  paint. The roof was made out of sturdy sticks
  that was tied down so they wouldnt blow off.
  The ancient Aztec homes usually had two separate
  rooms. One room was the main home and the other
  was the steam bath. There were no separate
  rooms, just one big one that was divided into 4
  areas. One part was for sleeping or resting,
  another part was a shrine of gods, and then the
  other part was a kitchen where food was prepared.
  The second part of the house was the steam bath
  where baths were taken. Aztecs thought that
  steam was healthy so thats why is was called a
  steam bath.
• The Aztecs also had one huge temple where they
  worshiped their gods. Then there would be a few
  smaller temples surrounding the big one. The
  Aztecs would only celebrate one religion in their
  city so that is why they didnt have a lot of
  temples. The Aztecs also would sacrifice people
  to show their respect to the gods. For example,
  the Aztecs thought that bad weather meant that
  the gods were angry so they thought they had to
  sacrifice someone to show their respect. The
  Aztecs had many ways they would sacrifice people
  to the gods.
• The Aztecs would use chinampas to plant their
  crops which is a floating garden/crop built with
  mud and straw held down by trees that I explained
  earlier.

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Now

• These days in modern day Mexico City
  (Tenochtitlan), people dont really trade anymore
  but they bargain and sell goods. In Mexico City
  there are tons of markets and stands where goods
  are sold. Things like jewelry, rugs, pottery,
  beads, and food are still sold there, along with
  tons of other objects and foods like figurines,
  games, and some foods like chips, and seasoned
  nuts.
• Today, the majority of people in Mexico City
  live in apartment buildings because it is such a
  crowded city. The people in Mexico City with a
  lot of money would have there own house made out
  of what regular houses are today. Wood,
  concrete, steel, plastic, and other materials.
  These houses would not just have two rooms but as
  many as wanted. Some houses today have maybe 4
  bedrooms and a family room with maybe 2
  bathrooms. The big difference in how today is
  different from the ancient Aztec world is that we
  now have a currency. In Mexico, the currency
  called Pesos is used. Before people just traded
  objects.
• Today, there are many different churches or
  other places that people go to worship whatever
  religion they celebrate. Today people have a
  choice in what religion they want to believe in.
  Back in the ancient world, one society believed
  in one religion.
• The people in Mexico City still plant and farm
  by using the chinampas because Mexico City is
  still surrounded by swamp land. Today farmers
  plant more than just corn.

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