by Filbert Presley

Who are Aztecs?  Aztecs is a group of Mexican Indian people who settled in the valley of Mexico (it is Central Mexico today) in the early 16th century.  The city of Tenochtitlan was the capital of the Aztec Empire. It was an island in Lake Texcoco lies between Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean.

The name Aztec came from a place called Aztlan (“Place of white Herons”) where the Aztec came from. The people of Tenochtitlan called themselves “The Mexica”, which is where the name Mexico comes from.

Aztec Timeline 1111 The Mexica leave Northern Mexico 1299 The Mexica arrive in the valley of Mexico 1345 The Aztecs starts to build Tenochtitlan 1440 The Aztec Empire starts growing 1502 Montezuma II becomes the Tlatoani 1517 The Spanish explorers land in Mexico 1519 Cortes enter Tenochtitlan 1521 The Aztecs lose the war and empire end

Different class of Aztecs 1.The Nobles were the highest class such as priests, government, advisor or warriors. 2.The working people (commoners) were the middle class, such as farmers or craftspeople. 3.Slaves were the lowest class, such as prisoners or criminals.

What did the Aztecs wear ?  Working class people and slaves wore plain/simple clothes made of fibers from the Maguey plant.  Nobles wore colorful cotton decorated with feathers and jewelry.  They painted their bodies, colored their faces yellow, and stained their teeth red.

Where did the Aztecs live?  Nobles lived at the center of the city. They had two levels large houses with many rooms and many furniture with curtain, flowers and decoration.  Commoners lived on the outer edge of town. They had one level house with two rooms only (which was for cooking and eating and the other room for sleeping), no furniture.

What did the Aztecs eat?  Maize or corn was the most important food for Aztecs, besides tomatoes, chili peppers, beans, squash, avocado, turkey, fish, dog.  For breakfast and dinner, they ate Atole ( a soup made from corn). For lunch, they ate tortillas wrapped with beans, tomatoes and peppers.

 Rich Aztecs dined on crab, oysters and turtle. They enjoyed special drink called “Chocolatl”.  Poor Aztecs drank water only.

The Aztecs Language  Aztecs spoke Nahuatl. In some parts of Mexico, a million people still used this language until today.  Glyphs are symbols of their writing system.

The Aztecs’ Invention  They were excellent builders. They turned a small island into a huge city. The most important Aztecs building were pyramid-shaped temples that was built from rock.  They lived by firm rules. The rules kept crime very low in Aztec culture.  They wrote poetry and songs about life. They performed dancing.

 They made instrumental tools from animal skins, bones or shells.  They created art from huge blocks of stone and gold.  They builted a strong army such as Jaguar and Eagle knights.  They developed a written language.  They introduced hot chocolate to Europeans.

The Aztecs used calendar to counting the days.

What did the Aztecs hunt?  The Aztecs hunt turkey, dogs, rabbits, deer and wild duck.  They fished for turtles, salamanders, frogs, tadpoles and shellfish.

The Aztecs Government The king called The Tlatoani ruled the Aztecs. Each paid taxes to the Tlatoani. The Tlatoani had a group of advisors and priests to help him.

Aztecs Warriors The Aztecs were ruthless warriors. They built up an empire because of their fighting skills. Most boys wanted to be warriors. Young boys were trained to fight. They were taught how to take prisoners. All Aztecs men, except slaves, had to do military service and learn how to fight

The Aztecs Religion Tlaloc was one of the most important Gods because he was thought to bring the rain that made the plants grow. Children were killed every winter as sacrifices to Tlaloc. They were offered to the god so that he would provide rain.

The Aztecs’ Economy Aztecs did not use money. They bought and sold goods by barter. Most markets were open 5 days a week. Thousands of people came from all over to buy and sell goods. In the center of Tenochtitlan they bought gold, jade, black beans, pottery, slaves, puppies and salt.

The Aztecs Civilization None still alive until now. Aztec civilization is gone but parts of its culture have endured, such as Aztec writing and Aztec food (Tortillas). By 1521, the Aztec empire were destroyed by war between Montezuma II and Hernan Cortes, and were also destroyed by smallpox that Spaniards brought from Europe.

Unanswered Questions What did science mean to them? Where did the name tlaloc come from? What made Montezuma to be a king? When was Montezuma born? Who were Montezuma’s mother and father?

Resources Rees, Rosemary, The Aztecs, Heineimann Library, 1999, Pages 48 Wyborny, Sheila, The Aztec Empire, Blackbirch Press, 2004, Pages 4 Deedrick, Tami, Aztecs, Raintree Steck Vaughn, 2002, Pages 15 Apte, Sunita, Aztec Empire, Scholastic, 2010, Pages 10 Bingham, Jane, Aztec Empire, Raintree, 2007, Pages 33 Macdonald, Fiona, Aztec Warriors, National Geographic Society, 2005, Pages 35 Chris, Peter, The Aztecs, Raintree Steck, 2000, Pages 30