❖ Nahuatl-speaking people ❖ Aztlán (“White Land”), Metzliapán (“Moon Lake”) ❖ Triple alliance of the Mexica, Texcoca and Tepaneca ❖ The capital city of the Aztec empire was Tenochtitlan ❖ The Aztec empire was more of a system of tribute than a single system of government ❖ Aztec society was organized around maize agriculture Chocolate ❖ The cocoa bean was highly treasured in the Aztec Empire ❖ The cocoa beans were used to make a thick chocolate drink ❖ They added peppers, corn meal and spices ❖ chocolate = chocolatl ❖ May have played a part in the fall of the empire Aztec culture ❖ Women wove textiles from agave fibers and cotton ❖ Men engaged in craft specializations ❖ The Aztecs did not produce much metal work ❖ They combined gold with precious stones such as jade and turquoise Human sacrifice ❖ Death was instrumental in the perpetuation of creation ❖ Humans were responsible for the sun's continual revival ❖ Some rituals included acts of cannibalism ❖ Both humans and animals were sacrificed, depending on the god to be placated and the ceremony being conducted The Great Temple ❖ The centerpiece of Tenochtitlan was the Templo Mayor, a large stepped pyramid with a double staircase leading up to two twin shrines ❖ This was where most of the human sacrifices were carried out Mythology ❖ One set of myths, called Legend of the Suns ❖ Describe the creation of four successive suns ❖ Each period ends in a cataclysmic destruction Calendar
❖ The Aztecs used two calendars
simultaneously: a ritual calendar of 260 days and a solar one of 365 days ❖ Each day had a name and number in both calendars ❖ Combination of two dates was unique within a period of 52 years ❖ Each 20-day month was named after the specific ritual Music, song and poetry Visual and plastic art ❖ Song and poetry were highly regarded ❖ Was produced on animal skin, on ❖ There were also dramatic presentations cotton lienzos and on Amate paper ❖ Also produced on ceramics and carved in wood and stone Architecture ❖ Aztec cities often competed to construct the greatest temples in the world (e.g. the Templo Mayor) ❖ They simply built over the old structure ❖ Houses were built with logs and were not separated ❖ Houses similar to mountains The Aztec Empire ❖ Was the last of the great Mesoamerican cultures ❖ The Aztecs didn’t start out as a powerful people ❖ The Nahuatl speaking peoples began as poor hunter-gatherers ❖ Tenochtitlan, grew to become the capital of their empire Did you know... ❖ It was against the law to be drunk in public in the Aztec empire, unless you were over 70 years old ❖ Each Aztec home had a steam bath ❖ It is said that the major Aztec weapon could chop off the head of a horse with one blow ❖ They would often sell their own children into slavery ❖ Aztec men were allowed to practice polygamy ❖ They introduced compulsory schooling ❖ Their deceased were usually buried right under their house ❖ The Aztecs had never discovered the wheel Project by: Brînzilă Maria Ciocîrlan Teodora Popa Livia