The Aztecs:

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The Aztecs

• By Holly Boivin

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Government

• The Aztec government was different from
  other government systems of that time period. It
  was kind of like a system of tribute, where
  conquered cities had to pay respect to the Aztec
  empire. They were better off economically in
  return. Also in return, the conquered cities paid
  money. This was how the Aztec government became
  so powerful. Most nobles and leaders lived in
  Tenochtitlan, the capital city. The most powerful
  leader was called the huey tlatloani, who still
  had to consult nobles before making decisions.

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Religion

• Aztecs were polytheistic, meaning they
  worshipped many gods. A lot of their gods were
  nature gods. Some others represented ideas. They
  believed that there were 13 Heavens and 9 Hells,
  and you went to the best one for you once you
  died. The Aztecs believed that their gods needed
  to be given human hearts, so they sacrificed
  people by cutting their hearts out. It was
  considered an honor to be sacrificed.

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Geography

• In its time period, the Aztec empire was one of
  the most powerful Mesoamerican empires.

It went all the way from the Pacific Ocean to the
coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The capital was
Tenochtitlan. They had over fifteen million
people living in 489 communities. They literally
lived in the middle of a lake. Tenochtitlan
became Mexico City, the capital of Mexico now.
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Daily Life

• The daily life of the Aztecs was similar in some
  ways to life today. The husband was in charge of
  supporting the family, and some of the things
  they did during the day are farming and
  craftwork. Education was also very important in
  Aztec daily life. All of the children were
  taught, boys by their fathers until the age of
  ten, and girls sometimes went to school and
  sometimes stayed home and were taught by their
  mothers.

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Housing Shelter

• The Aztecs lived in houses with only a few
  rooms. Most commoners had just one. Only nobles
  had two-story homes, though. The roofs of the
  houses were always flat, and they could use it
  like and extra room in the hot weather. Adobe, a
  form of sun-dried brick, was used to build the
  houses. Stone, however, was used for pyramids
  and temples.

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Culture

• The Aztecs culture was a combination of other
  cultures of their people. Pilli and macehualli
  were the names of the social classes.

Pilli was the nobles and macehualli was the
commoners. There were many other classes in their
culture as well. The emperor came first, then the
nobles and priests. Then there were commoners and
slaves. Slaves could gain freedom by purchasing
it or using another method.
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Interesting Facts 1

• Aztecs made hand-painted books called codices.
  The codices were kept in a large library in
  Tenochtitlan. Cortes and his army destroyed the
  whole library when they conquered the Aztec
  empire.

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Interesting Facts 2

• The Aztecs, to Cortes and his armys surprise,
  bathed quite a lot. This startled them because
  Europeans didnt bathe very often and sometimes
  went for days in the same clothes.

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History

• The Aztecs ancestors started off on an island
  in Lake Texcoco. They arrived in either 1325 or
  1345. According to legend, they chose a place
  where there was an eagle on a cactus with a snake
  in its mouth. This was a sign of good luck. When
  they named their city Tenochtitlan, they decided
  on that name because it meant place of the
  cactus.

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Sources

• http//www.historyforkids.org/learn/southamerica/b
  efore1500/religion/aztec.htm 
• http//www.aztec-indians.com/aztec-government.html
  
• http//www.kidskonnect.com/subject-index/16-histor
  y/250-ancient-aztec.html
• http//wiki.answers.com/Q/What_was_the_geography_l
  ike_on_the_Aztec_territory
• http//www.aztec-indians.com/aztec-daily-life.html

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Sources (cont.)

• http//www.aztec-indians.com/aztec-homes.html
• http//nyupress.org/sisterstories/feathered.fir/az
  tec.houses.html
• http//www.localhistories.org/aztec.html
• http//www.aztec-history.com/aztec-culture.html
• http//www.watertown.k12.ma.us/cunniff/americanhis
  torycentral/02indiansofnorthamerica/Interesting_Fa
  .html
• http//www.ask.com/questions-about/Aztec-Clothing

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