The Aztecs

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The Aztecs
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The Aztecs

• A tribe of hunters and farmers who migrated to
  the shores of Lake Texcoco in the 1200s.
• Founded Tenochtitlan in 1325.
• Empire borders stretched from the Gulf of Mexico
  to the Pacific Ocean and as far south as
  Guatemala.
• Became a powerful tribe that was skilled in the
  art of war.

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Tenochtitlan

• Capital city of the Aztec empire.
• Most modern city of the time.
• Empire grew to more than 5 million at its peak.
• Built on an island, in Lake Texcoco, that had
  been enlarged until it was two square miles.
• Had a population of half a million people.

• The city was connected to the mainland by three
  causeways/bridges.
• Divided into four districts.
• Modern day Mexico City is built over the ruins of
  Tenochtitlan.

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Aztec Warfare

• Aztecs conquered surrounding tribes and forced
  them to pay large tributes.
• Tribute Taxes
• Conquering other tribes allowed the Aztecs to
  gain wealth and slaves for sacrifice.
• The conquered peoples were not happy and were
  easily convinced to revolt against the Aztecs.

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Aztec Government

• As the civilization grew, they formed city-states
  that were governed by an emperor.
• A council of nobles always chose the emperor from
  members of the royal family.
• The most important emperor was Montezuma.

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Montezuma

• Became emperor in 1502.
• Built many temples, water conduits, and
  hospitals.
• Expanded the empire as far south as Honduras.
• Even though the other conquered tribes disliked
  him, he was thought of as a great ruler by the
  Aztecs.
• Brought the Spaniards to Tenochtitlan.

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Religion

• Polytheistic many gods
• Each village and each occupation had its own
  patron god.
• Worshipped over 60 gods and goddesses some
  helpful, some harmful.
• To win favor from the helpful gods, the Aztecs
  made offerings to them.
• Sometime these offerings were human sacrifices.
• Pyramids were used as Temples.
• Sacrifices were made on an altar at the top of
  the pyramid.
• Blood would run down the steps.
• Most sacrificial victims were prisoners of war.

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Quetzalcoatl God of learning and the
priesthood, also god of arts and crafts
Tlaloc Rain god, most important to farmers
Huitzilopochtli Sun god an god of war, chief
god of the town of Tenochtitlan
Homoyoca Ancient Sun god
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Advanced Civilization

• Aztecs had . . .
• Mathematical system to maintain their empire
• Calendar systems to organize their empire
• Farming system was very efficient
• Developed irrigation systems to help their crops
  grow during dry periods.

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Aztec Calendar

• Used two types of calendars.
• Lunar based on the moon
• Solar based on the sun
• The lunar calendar had 260 days
• Divided into 13 months, each month having 20
  days.
• The Lunar calendar was considered magical and
  used to decide which days would be used for
  religious ceremonies and rituals.

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Aztec Calendar

• The solar calendar had 365 days
• Divided into 18 months, each month having 20
  days.
• This calendar helped them determine planting and
  harvesting times.
• The extra five days were nothing days added to
  the end of each year and were considered unlucky.
• No activities were performed during the nothing
  days.
• At the end of the 5 days the Aztecs gave a
  sacrificial victim to the gods.

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Aztec Calendar Stone Discovered in 1790
12 feet in diameter and weighs 20 tons
Solar Calendar
Lunar Calendar
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Aztec Calendar The image of the Sun god Tonatiuh
is carved in the center of the Aztec calendar
stone. Other carvings represent the Aztec days
and religious symbols. Each month was
represented by a dot. The individual days were
given a specific name and symbol.
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Art

• Art used religious subjects and themes.
• The best remaining examples of Aztec art are
  architecture and sculpture.
• Used stone, wood, jade, turquoise, metal,
  emerald, and volcanic glass.
• Most Aztec gold treasures no longer exist as they
  were taken and melted down to reuse the gold.
• Many buildings and pieces of artwork were
  destroyed by the Spanish.
• Aztecs also made pottery and woven cloth.

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Aztec Sports

• Tlachtli is a ball game that was played during
  religious ceremonies.
• Court Requirements
• Played on a court. In the shape of a capital I.
• A vertical stone ring was in the middle of the
  side walls.
• The object of the game was to put the ball
  through the ring.
• They used a hard, rubber ball. This ball could
  only be moved by the players hips, knees, legs,
  and elbows.
• This game was used to determine who was to be
  sacrificed next.
• THE WINNERS!!!!

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Agriculture

• Slash and burn method.
• Terraces and Canals
• Chinampas were small islands formed in lake and
  swamp area.
• Made by digging mud at the bottom of the lake or
  swamp and piling it into little mounds.
• Sometimes called floating gardens, even though
  they did not really float.
• Common foods
• Corn (Maize), beans, squash
• Sweet potatoes, tomatoes, papayas,
• Rubber, cotton and cacao beans

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Language

• Had no alphabet.
• Wrote in glyphs (pictures).
• Paper was made from the bark of the wild fig
  tree.
• The bark was soaked and beaten into sheets.
• These sheets were coated with a varnish and stuck
  together.
• They were then folded like an accordion (codex).
• Spoke Nahuatl.
• Some Aztec words
• Acapulco, Mexico, avocado, chocolate, and tomato.

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The END of the Aztecs

• 1519
• Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes lands on
  eastern coast of Mexico looking for gold
• Conquistador Spanish explorer or soldier
• Had 11 ships, 500 soldiers, 1000 sailors and 16
  horses
• In order to prevent his men from leaving, he
  burned his ships.
• Success or death.

• Cortes trained his men and nearby natives that
  disliked the Aztecs.
• By the time he reached Tenochtitlan, he had 1500
  fighters . . . 1000 were natives.

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Cortes the Aztecs

• The Aztecs saw Cortes and his men, and believed
  that he was an Aztec god, Quetzalcoatl, who had
  returned to earth.
• He was taken back to Montezuma (emperor) and
  Tenochtitlan, where he saw what he called the
  city of gold.
• Cortes was given gold in the hopes that he would
  take the gifts and leave.
• After two years of struggle, Cortes and the
  Spanish were able to defeat the Aztecs in 1521.
• During this time, Montezuma was a prisoner in his
  own palace.
• Cortes hoped he could rule the Aztecs if he kept
  their leader hostage.
• 240,000 Aztecs were killed, and the city was
  destroyed.

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How were the Spanish able to conquer the Aztecs
so easily?

• Guns
• Cannons
• Horses
• Thought the men and their horses were one
  creature.
• European diseases
• Smallpox
• 1520 thousands died
• The Aztec enemies helped the Spanish

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Life after the Aztecs

• Major consequence of the Spanish conflict with
  the Aztecs . . .
• Creation of a new Spanish empire by the end of
  the 1500s.
• Stretched from the southern tip of California to
  the tip of South America.
• Thousands of colonists moved from Spain to settle
  in the New World.
• Influenced religion, customs and trade.