By Manasi Shah

 Lived in Northern Mexico in Tenochtitlan, an island in Lake Texcoco Modern day Mexico City  Called themselves the Mexica  Lived in a warm climate with lots of water available  Had a relatively large empire which was only surpassed by the Incas  Spoke Nahuatl

 Groups of families were called calpulli and they owned land together The leader of a calpulli would make decisions for the group  Nobility and the priests had a lot of power  In cities, all of the calpulli leaders would come together and form the city council  Nomadic until they settled down  No real form of money  Horticultural

 Believed to have originally lived in Aztlan which was somewhere in northern Mexico This may be myth because they cannot actually find Aztlan  Moved around a lot because of wars with other native groups, but finally settled in what is now Tenochtitlan (one of three major city councils that became known as the triple alliance)  In 1519 Spanish traveler, Hernan Cortes, reaches Mexico. By the end of the year he is headed towards Tenochtitlan

 The leader at the time, Montezuma II assumes Cortes is Qeutzalcoatl, an Aztec God, so he welcomes him  Cortes tries to convert the Aztecs to Christianity and is repulsed by their practice of sacrifice  Cortes realizes that his people might still be in danger so he plans to take the emperor out of power

 He has him kidnapped and then manages to take control of the empire  Cortes has to go back to Cuba and while he is there, his people lose control for a while  When he returns they regain power and eventually take down the Aztec civilization.

Religion  Polytheistic  Had many agricultural gods because their life was mostly based on farming  Had a hierarchy of gods with 3 main gods, 4 gods below them, and then hundreds below them  i.e. god of rain, god of growth, the sun god, etc.  Warriors were honorable and believed to become stars in the night sky after they died. Other people could become almost anything

Religion: Sacrifice  Believed that the gods sacrificed themselves to become the Sun, Earth, wind, etc.  Made human sacrifices because they believed that human blood was the gods’ diet  Bloodletting was common  People of a higher status were expected to give more blood  Hearts were also good believed to be good nourishment. Whoever was the bravest at war had the strongest heart and would be taken to a temple to be sacrificed.

Customs  Polygyny was permitted  The dead were cremated  Men got married in their early 20s, women in their teens  Marriage was a rite of passage into adulthood and independence  It was believed that babies were trapped in their mothers’ wombs so when they were born religious leaders read hymns  It was also common to have someone study the child’s astrology

Aztec Contributions and Firsts  Introduced popcorn, chocolate, and chewing gum to the Europeans  “Physicians” were curious about the body and medical research  One of the first to have a system, of roads built  Their culture did not spread, but many of their inventions did. A lot of the food we eat today was introduced to Europeans through the Aztecs and Mayans

 Merchants were called pochtecas They kept to themselves and lived in a separate part of the city Served as spies when they traveled to nearby lands A class below nobles but above common farmers  Traded golden jewelry, feather caps, tortoise shell cups, spices, cocoa beans, cotton, rubber, etc.  No real money, cocoa beans were valued so they were often used for trade  Did not interact with other civilizations except for trade or during war

 Didn’t have plows or vehicles for transportation  Used mostly crops, plants, and water as resources  Clothing was colorful  Cloth was made form twisting cotton and fibers on a stick and then put on a spindle to make threads  Men wore capes and loincloths, women wore dresses Resources, Technology, and Clothing

Literature  System of writing similar to the Mayans  Books were folded like a fan and were called codices  Some famous codices include the Paris Codex, Dresden Codex, and Madrid Codex

Education and Music  Education in the early years was the responsibilty of the parents  One of the first to make education mandatory for everyone Children had to attend school until age 15  Music was an important subject in school  Many songs were sacred hymns which told stories of things the Gods had done

Food  Relied mostly on crops  Maize (corn) was a common ingredient It was used to make tortillas, bread, tamales, and even some drinks  Domesticated a lot of animals such as turkeys for meat and bees for honey  Hunted and fished to get food  Chocolate, especially cocoa beans, were highly valued  Did not eat chicken

Aztec Art  Most art depicted Aztec gods and much of it was used in worship  Variety of pottery, sculptures, and reliefs of gods were made  Used pictographs representing objects or sounds, as symbols  Masks and warrior art was made to honor Aztec gods or important Aztec leaders

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