Aztec

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Geography The Aztecs lived in the lower part of North America. First they lived around what is now called Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Colorado. In the 1300's they migrated to the highlands of Mesoamerica onto a small island in the middle of Lake Texcoco. The land that they lived on was also called Aztlán which translates into "White Land". The Aztec's capital city, Tenochtitlan, is where Mexico City now stands. There were many different foods in the Aztec Empire. These foods include many kinds of fruit, vegetables, spices, flowers, dogs, and birds. Since Tenochtitlan was located in the middle of a lake, the main source of food came from water. There were fish, turtles, and oysters. Also, canals were built which made it easier to get food and was a great source of transportation. It allowed the Aztecs to travel to other civilizations if that’s what they wanted to do. The Aztecs were near the Mayans and conquered their civilisation but other than the Mayans the Aztecs didn't have a lot of contact with other civilizations. Their mountainous location made it hard for civilizations to survive so the Aztecs were considered isolated. The Aztecs lived by many bodies of water. In fact, they lived right on top of a lake called lake Texcoco. Another lake they lived by is Lake Xochimilco. Allot of food came from lakes and rivers. Rivers included Balsas River and Cuauhtitlan river. Oceans were the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The Aztec civilization was in between the Pacific And the Atlantic Ocean, which means it was in the middle of North America. The Aztec Empire had a rich source of supplies from rainforests. They were stretched along their civilization. They also had tons of mountains. The highest mountain was called Pico de Orizaba. They also had deserts and plains. One of the deserts was called Desert Vista. Tenochtitlan was very marshy. The Aztec Empire was in the Highlands of Mesoamerica. Time Period

The Aztec civilization emerged in 1325. They came from the lower United States and settled in Central Valley of Mexico. The Aztecs peaked as a civilization between 1440 - 1510. They lasted many years but came to a sudden halt when Spanish conquerors lead by Hernado Cortes came in 1519. Other villages soon teamed up with Hernando Cortes and the rest of the conquers to defeat the Aztec civilization. The Aztecs were defeated in 1522.



Rise and Fall



There are many things that caused the civilization of the Aztecs to rise and fall. The Aztec civilization started rising when they formed the Triple Allience with Texcoco and Tlacopan. They had lots of military power and there was plenty of food and water. The land was very fertile and their plants were growing well. Around 1428 when they conquered Azcapotzalco the civilization started to flourish. Their cities and their structure were great and their economy and religion were going very well. The civilization started to fall after a severe floods in Tenochtitlán. Also, because they made so many sacrifices, there were not as many people. The Spaniards, led by Hernando Cortez, came in 1521, around the time that the Aztec people were suffering from hunger and smallpox. The 60 years of the Chichimeca wars ended with the Spaniards conquering the Aztecs. They destroyed the Aztec Empire and wiped out their religion forever. The Christians made sure that their religion was never spoken of again. The Aztecs conquered many small civilizations around them and used its people to sacrifice to the gods, and slaves and prisoners. They made the people live just like them. The Aztecs Conquered Azcapotzalco in 1428. The Aztecs were conquered once by Hernandez Cortes from Spain. The Spanish only had about 300 men, and killed almost all millions of the Aztecs. If the Aztecs had not sacrificed so many people, they could have had more men to fight. The Aztec civilization's peak started in 1428. They controlled an area that stretched from the Valley of Mexico all the way to the South of Guatemala. The Aztecs used there power to build magnificent temples and cities. Their Civilization had lots of trade going on along with art, food and wealth. There peak ended in 1502. It was hard for the Aztecs because Spanish Conquerors found there civilization and because so many people had died from small pox and been sacrificed there wasn't enough people to fight the conquerors which led to there civilization collapsing. It would have helped if they did'nt live where they did because they would not have had small pox. But in the end the Spanish Conquers would take over the Aztec Civilization.

Government

An emperor ruledThe Aztec’s government and the emperor had people to help him control the population. In the Aztec Empire, there were classes of people and the highest was the King, royal family, the emperor. The nobles were the second and it was the order of leader, who spoke for King, wealthy merchants, common people, owned by a group of family in Tenochtitlan, and slaves prisoners were in the lowest class. At first, in the areas the rulers conquered, they worked hard on guiding early construction of the city and communicated and built the roads better. They had levels of people in Aztec’s government as well. The emperor was in the highest class, then executive / city council, nobles, Calpulli, and family individuals. The emperor made all the decisions and people believed that all of those were the right decisions like they believed in god. Leaders, who ruled different parts of the empire, spoke for the king in front of the people. The priests were the ones who sacrificed people for gods to make them more powerful and happy. Warriors were rewarded for their bravery, and families who lived in Tenochtitlan, owned common people and shared the land with them. Slaves could buy their own slaves or freedom and their kids didn’t have to be slaves. If they have been mistreated or married to their owners, they could be set free. However, the prisoners were usually used for a prey.

The Aztecs had many laws. The laws were simple but very harsh. They had different laws for people from cities that were conquered. Of course, they followed the laws because they were scared. Strangulation, stoning and beating were common punishments. Many of the punishments were death. Examples of laws are if a commoner were caught wearing cotton clothes, they would be put to death. Also, If you cut down a living tree, you were put to death. If you were drunk, you got your head shaved and house destroyed or death. You would become a slave if you were caught handling stolen property. If you went out of the field boundary, you would be put to death. The punishment for kidnapping someone, was becoming a slave. If you were selling substandard goods, your property would be taken away. Minor theft would result in slavery, and major theft in death. Treason would result in death, loss of property, destruction of land and children sold into slavery. The penalty for slander would be the loss of ones lips. As you can see, the Aztecs had many laws.The Aztec court lasted for 80 days. The Empire and his leaders would be at every case. There would be four judges, which each had assistants. The Aztecs relied on evidence to make their decisions, from oral testimony, confessions, or circumstantial evidence. Before making their decisions, they would consult the ruler, who appointed all judges and held them to high standards of conduct. Minor crimes would go to the Supreme Judicial Court. They are a lot like modern day court sessions. Different classes of people had different rights. The nobles had the most rights. They could farm land but not own it. On the other hand, commoners could own land. Slaves had many rights but not as many as the other classes. Everybody had the right to own slaves, even slaves themselves. Slaves had the rights to buy freedom. Commoners had the right to be whatever they wanted to be. 20% of the population was dedicate to agriculture and food production and 80% of the society were warriors, traders, and artisans. These are the rights of the Aztecs.

Religion

[[image:http://docs.google.com/File?id=dff663jr_252cdrn4sgr_b width="169" height="172" align="left" caption="An Aztec God" link="Technology"]]
The Aztecs, like most other civilizations of that time period believed that the sun was very powerful. They worshiped the sun in a temple called the Teocalli. The Temple was surrounded with real skulls of the people who had been sacrificed there. The Aztecs would sacrifice people so the sun would come up making sure the world did not come to an violent end. There were no special people being sacrificed it could be a ma n, women, kids, black or white. The Aztecs also believed that the earth was flat. There were over a thousand gods that the Aztecs worshiped. The Aztecs where polytheistic. They ruled many human actives and aspects of nature. The Aztecs government was also linked with their religion, because they believed the world would end every 52 years the government would destroy everyone's furniture and precious belongings. The Aztecs also believed that when someone would die they would live again in the after life. They believed that here where 13 Heavens and 9 Hells. The worst Hell was called "Mictlan".

Technology

Technology helped the Aztec civilization to develop and there were a few innovations the Aztecs made. They created mandatory education among their peoples, cocoa bean, antispasmadic medication, which was to relax muscles (today, to help with surgeries), and popcorn. The Aztecs had a great irrigation system. Where the Aztecs was settled was not quite fertile, and the people had to use irrigation, fertilizers and constructing terraces into hills to create flat land. They also used ploughing, sowing and harvesting to farm. However, they used sticks to soften soil, instead of plows. The Aztecs tended to build buildings on a similar pattern in the empire, although it was smaller for poorer classes and bigger for nobles. There were a few kinds of roofs. Flat-pole roofs, peaked roofs, or some buildings were just built on platform. Most houses were made with wood, straw, stone, sand, lime, and clay. Adobe bricks were very common material to construct houses in Aztec. They were made with water, sand, clay, and straws. The Aztec Empire also had a calendar called Tonalpohualli. Tonalpohualli has the basic structure of ancient Mesoamerican calendar. It has a cycle of 260 days and each day is represented by the mixture of a number from one to thirteen and one of the twenty day signs. A set of thirteen numbered days is known as trecena (from //trece// which means "thirteen" in Spanish).


 * ~ Trecena ||~ Deity ||
 * 1 Crocodile – 13 Reed || [|Ometeotl] ||
 * 1 Jaguar – 13 Death || [|Quetzalcoatl] ||
 * 1 Deer – 13 Rain || [|Tepeyollotl] ||
 * 1 Flower – 13 Grass || [|Huehuecoyotl] ||
 * 1 Reed – 13 Snake || [|Chalchiuhtlicue] ||
 * 1 Death – 13 Flint || [|Tonatiuh] ||
 * 1 Rain – 13 Monkey || [|Tlaloc] ||
 * 1 Grass – 13 Lizard || [|Mayahuel] ||
 * 1 Snake – 13 Quake || [|Xiuhtecuhtli] ||
 * 1 Flint – 13 Dog || [|Mictlantecuhtli] ||

Economy The Aztec marketplaces were legendary for the most exotic plants, meats, vegetables, fruits, medicinal plants and herbs, feathers, pelts, stones, dyes, art, wares, fabrics and more. The goods were produced for the ruler or sold in the local markets. Trading was not very important to the Aztecs. They traded with nearby tribes around them, but not a lot. When going south, the Aztecs traveled by canoe or made slaves carry the products by foot. The Long-Distant Merchants (Pochteca) were instrumental to bring back information about other regions, size of towns and tribes as well as maps of the best routes to reaching all these far way places. Merchants were also paid to bring back information on how strong the military was in case of war. The Aztecs traded many things. They traded food, slaves, firewood, clothing, feathers art, dyes, and tools. Also, for a large price, they sold jewelry. Some of the other things that they traded were rubber, cotton, and jaguar skins. The Aztecs did not have normal metal currency. Instead, they used cacao beans to trade with. Sometimes, the people of Tenochtitlan traded frogs, fish, and algae with other cities in exchange for building materials. It was hard for the Aztecs to trade because they lived in the middle of a lake. They also did not have many beasts of burden. It was also hard because it was so hot and because of the mountains it was hard to get to other places. The Aztecs were smart and figured out that to get to other civilizations they had go by boats. The Aztecs economy was based on a system of social classes. The higher class you were at, the richer you were. Aztec's economy could be divided into two sectors. A political sector, which is under the control of nobles and kings, and a commercial sector. Economically, the Aztecs relied on agriculture and also to big wars they had. This system also works for individuals as well. Farmers grew food to make money, merchants made art to sell, and also traded with other tribes. When a person is in economic trouble, he/she could sell self into a slavery. So, in these ways the system of social classes were connected with the Aztecs economy.
 * ~ Trecena ||~ Deity ||
 * < 1 Monkey – 13 House ||< [|Patecatl] ||
 * < 1 Lizard – 13 Vulture ||< [|Itztlacoliuhqui] ||
 * < 1 Quake – 13 Water ||< [|Tlazolteotl] ||
 * < 1 Dog – 13 Wind ||< [|Xipe Totec] ||
 * < 1 House – 13 Eagle ||< [|Itzpapalotl] ||
 * < 1 Vulture – 13 Rabbit ||< [|Xolotl] ||
 * < 1 Water – 13 Crocodile ||< [|Chalchiuhtotolin] ||
 * < 1 Wind – 13 Jaguar ||< [|Chantico] ||
 * < 1 Eagle – 13 Deer ||< [|Xochiquetzal] ||
 * < 1 Rabbit – 13 Flower ||< [|Xiuhtecuhtli] ||

Art and Architecture The Aztecs had lots of temples. They were most famous for the sacrificial temples. A sacrificial temple had two long staircases going up to the top. The staircase was usually decorated with skulls and stone blocks. The sacrifices would take place at the top. The pyramid would have a back room containing the idol of the pyramid. Mosaics were very common in temples. Some different pyramids are the twin pyramids. The Twin pyramids had two different temples on top. The top left pyramid was to honor Tlaloc, the god of rain. It was painted blue and white, to represent water and moister. The right hand temple was painted red and white, to represent Huitzilopochtli, god of war and sacrifice. Another kind of temple is a round temple. It was built in honor of Quetzalcoatl, the god of wind. It was built round to not interfere with wind god's entrance. The Aztecs had great design sin pyramids. There was allot of symmetry in them.

The Aztecs had lots of temples. They were most famous for the sacrificial temples. A sacrificial temple had two long staircases going up to the top. The staircase was usually decorated with skulls and stone blocks. The sacrifices would take place at the top. The pyramid would have a back room containing the idol of the pyramid. Mosaics were very common in temples. Some different pyramids are the twin pyramids. The Twin pyramids had two different temples on top. The top left pyramid was to honor Tlaloc, the god of rain. It was painted blue and white, to represent water and moister. The right hand temple was painted red and white, to represent Huitzilopochtli, god of war and sacrifice. Another kind of temple is a round temple. It was built in honor of Quetzalcoatl, the god of wind. It was built round to not interfere with wind god's entrance. The Aztecs had great design sin pyramids. There was allot of symmetry in them.

The Aztec homes were very interesting too. The walls were patched with adobe, which was dirt and water. There were no separate rooms, just one big room. There was one part where the whole family slept, which was also where the family shrine was. The family shrine contained dolls of all of the gods. Another part was the kitchen, where there was a metal for grinding corn and a cornal to bake the meal into tortillas. They had a second building that had a steam bath. Doctors thought that steam baths were therapeutic. There was a fire and chimney next to the steam bath. The water would heat up from the heat. Then, they would pour water on the walls to create steam. The furnace would have to be constantly burning. Overall, you can learn a lot form the Aztecs through art. You know that they very much worshipped their gods. You know that they thought the gods were represented by animals. You learn that they use art for telling stories, keeping records, and paying respect to the gods. You know that they used art to keep time, award warriors, and of course, used lots of art in architecture.

Social Classes and Slavery

The Aztecs had many different social classes that had different rights. The order of the importance of people from highest to lowest went the Emperor, the priests, the nobles, the soldiers, the artisans, the merchants, the women, the fishers, the farmers, and the slaves. The nobles had more rights than commoners although commoners could own land and nobles could not. Slaves had many rights. They could own property and they could also own other slaves. Slaves could buy freedom if they saved up money. Also, the slaves family and children were free and were not slaves just because their mother or father were. If the slaves ran away and managed to run out of the city boundaries them they were free. The only people that could try to catch the slave were the slave's master or the master's son. The emperor had the most power and had power over everybody.

Slaves were war captives or people who broke the law and they did many things. Most slaves did whatever their owners told them to but they were also used for sacrifice and for building buildings. The cities were partly built by slaves but most of the city was built by the Aztec population. Slaves could be war captives, people who committed serious crimes, or people who were going to be sacrificed and chose to be a slave instead. The Aztecs had slaves from the beginning to the end of their civilization.