Meet the Aztecs

THE LEGEND OF THE AZTECS

In 1168, Huitzilopochtli, the god of the Aztecs,

commanded his people to migrate south and to look
for an eagle perching on a cactus. There they should
settle and build a great city.
For over 150 years the Aztecs travelled over
mountains and through river valleys in Mexico.
In 1325 the Aztecs arrived in crowded Valley Of
Mexico. The only unoccupied land they could find was
a swampy island.

There they saw an eagle sitting on a cactus,

screaming with its wings open. The Aztecs had finally
found their home.

They would call their home Tenochtitlan, and over

the next 200 years they transformed the swampy
island into one of the greatest cities the world has
ever seen.

THE PHYSICAL LANDSCAPE

The landscape of Mexico is vast and diverse. In

some places, the coastal areas are covered
with tropical jungles and in others with sand
dunes and beaches. Mountain ranges run from
north to south and shelter many fertile valleys.
For the Aztecs, a mountain was more than just
a physical site, it was also a sacred or holy
site. Aztecs believed that mountains brought
you physically closer to the gods.
The temples that Aztecs built to worship their
gods were pyramids in the shape of
mountains.
Their swampy location was not ideal, but
religion was a powerful force in Aztec society
and they felt god had sent them there.

THE POWER OF MOUNTAINS

The mountains that surrounded
Tenochtitlan gave the Aztecs a sense of
security. They protected the city from
attack by invaders.
The mountains however also caused
problems for them. Mountains are so steep
that rainstorms can cause flash floods in
low lying areas.
Aztecs engineers built an earthen dam
across the lake to help control water levels.
Mountains can also keep out clouds that
would otherwise bring rain to the area. To
ensure they had plenty of drinking water,
even in times of drought, the Aztecs built
an aqueduct. This structure brought fresh

AN ISLAND HOME

Lake Texcoco, which surrounded Tenochtitlan,

also provided safety from their enemies.
The Aztecs built causeways linking the lake to
the mainland. Bridges that connected the
causeways to the city and the mainland could
be destroyed to protect from invasions.
The Aztecs became great farmers due to their
floating islands called chinampas.
Chinampas were built in the waters around
Tenochtitlan.
The Aztecs became the most productive plant
cultivators of their time, producing more than
enough food to support a growing population
and a powerful army.

CHANGING THE GEOGRAPHY

Because the Aztecs were

determined to live in Tenochtitlan,
they had to make many changes to
their physical geography.
List all the adaptations Aztec
engineers made in order to survive
and explain why these changes
were necessary.

THE SACRED LANDSCAPE

How important is religion in the decisions that you make in day to day life?
Are there other, more important factors that influence your decision making?
Discuss.

The Aztecs believed that the gods controlled every aspect of their world.
They would turn to the gods for visions and signs showing them how to live.

While the Aztecs believed in many gods, they also believed some were
greater than others.

AZTEC CALENDAR-

EMPHASIZED THE
CLOSE CONNECTION BETWEEN GODS AND
HUMANS, BETWEEN THE SACRED AND
PHYSICAL LANDSCAPES

MEASURING TIME

The Aztecs had two calendars- a solar

calendar and a sacred calendar.
The sacred calendar was 260 days long and
took 52 years to catch up with the solar
calendar.
The great stone calendar, which was
dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, shows how the
world began and how it will end.
The Aztecs believed that there were four
eras before the preset one and each had
been destroyed.
Tonatiuh, the god of the fifth sun, has his
tongue sticking out in the center of the
calendar. This shows his thirst for blood.

Human Sacrifice

Why did the Aztecs believe it was necessary

to give the gods human blood?
The Aztecs believed that killing another
person as a sacrifice had a deeply religious
significance. It was a strong expression of
their devotion to the gods, since they
believed blood nourished the gods.
Without blood, the gods would grow sick
and die. Without the gods, their world would
end.
One of the reasons war was so important for
the Aztecs was because it gave them an
opportunity to capture victims for sacrifice.

TENOCHTITLAN-

THE CENTER OF THE

WORLD

According to the Aztecs, the Earth was a round, flat

disc divided into four sections. In the center, where
the sections met was their capital city of
Tenochtitlan. The gods had assigned a special
location for their great city.
The city itself was split into four sections, which
symbolized four directions. At city center was a
large square, which contained a number of temples.
This is where the Great temple was located.
Like many societies, the Aztecs believed their gods
lived in the sky or the heavens. Aztec priests built
temples on mountaintops so that the physical world
and spiritual world would be one.
When Cortes landed in Tenochtitlan in 1519, the city
was home to 200 000 Aztecs, more than twice as
large as the biggest European cities of that time.

EXPANDING AN EMPIRE- THROUGH

TRADE AND WAR

EXPANDING THROUGH TRADE

Why did the Aztecs have to trade with their neighbors when
they were such amazing farmers? Well, the city of
Tenochtitlan was located 2000 meters above seas level high
in the mountains.
Even with all of their farming skills, the Aztecs could not
produce tropical fruits such as avocados, papayas, and cacao.
These products grew in the rainforests along the coasts.
Tropical birds with brightly colored feathers did not thrive
around the city. The Aztecs greatly valued the feathers from
these birds.
Their city did not have deposits of gold or silver.
The Aztecs loved all of these items, but to get them they had
to trade with other cultures.
Aztec merchants often set off with hundreds of slaves to carry
the goods they purchased. The merchants also acted as spies
for the Aztec army, giving reports and drawing maps of other
cities.

EXPANDING THROUGH WAR

We shall conquer all the people

in the universe. I will make you
lords and kings of every place in
the world, Huitzilopochtli

This ancient prophecy helped to motivate the

Aztecs to create a great empire. By 1519, the
Aztecs controlled an empire larger than any in
North America.
How did they accomplish this? The Aztecs
believed that the group was much more
important than the individual within it. Every
Aztec was prepared to sacrifice his or her life
for the good of the group.
Military service was compulsory for the
Aztecs. Every young man was required to
serve in the army.

COLLECTING TRIBUTE

The wars the Aztecs fought with neighboring

people were very profitable.

Once the Aztecs conquered another group,

they collected tribute, or valuable gifts and
taxes.

Some of the tribute collected included cotton

blankets, feathered headdresses and shields,
strings of jade beads, and cocoa beans.

Cocoa beans, the basis of chocolate, were very

important to the Aztecs. Aside from using the
beans for drinks and food, the beans were also
used for currency.

One of the most important forms of tribute the

Aztecs collected was in the form of prisonerswhich they often used for their human sacrifice
rituals.