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AZTECS
Growing
Empire
- from a territory called Aztlan (meaning place of
reeds)
- named Aztecs for the area Aztlan
- called themselves Mexica or Tenochca
Language
- Nahuatl
- words used today from their language include:
- Acapulco, Mexico, avocado, chocolate,
tomato
Social Classes - 4 main classes
- 1st class: upper class nobles (land owners)
- 2nd class: commoners - farmed calpolli land
made crafts & gave
tribute to nobles in return
for protection
rd
- 3 class: serfs: farmed nobles’ land
- 4th class: slaves – captives in war; criminals;
citizens unable to pay debt
Aztec Society – clan was the basis of all Aztec society &
government
- clan comes from the word “calpolli” (meaning
house)
- Great Speaker – all powerful ruler at the top
- rules governed how they dressed, what kind of
houses they could live in, & what they ate
- each calpolli owned most of their land
- elected officials created a democracy
- voted on important decisions
- governed their lives
- women could not vote
- arranged marriages
- could not marry in own clan
Aztec
Calendars
Aztec
Warriors
- women became part of husband’s clan
- 2 types
- Lunar (Counting of the Days)
- Solar (Counting of the Years)
- Lunar calendar – based on phases of the moon
- # of dots represented months
- glyphs represented days
- year started with the alligator
- each of the 20 days had its own
name
- Solar calendar – similar to our calendar
- used 52 year time periods to divide history like
our 100 years (century)
- believed they lived in the 5th time period
- time periods known as “suns” (lived in 5th
sun)
- calendar – was a sun stone
- 12 feet in diameter
- weighed over 20 tons
- sun god in the center
- war was a way of life
- importance reflected in religion,
ceremonies, social structure, schooling,
and dress
- special war ceremony held at birth of boys
- boys entered military training school at age 6
- boys became warriors at age 10
- warriors became Aztec citizens after capturing
or killing 4 prisoners
- becoming a jaguar or eagle knight was highest
honor
- shields: made of stone or reeds
used in battle, given as gifts, or traded
shield designs unique to each warrior
- showed rank & feats of bravery
Aztec Medicine - combination of religion, belief in magical powers, & the use
of plants & herbs to make medicine
- believed illnesses had 1 of 3 cause
1-punishment from an angry god or goddess
2-an enemy used black magic to cause it
3-natural causes
- practiced magic to avoid illness
- priests tended the sick
- serious illnesses were treated by the “cure doctor” or
“shaman”
- rubbed body of patient to remove “magic dart”
causing illness
- used plants, roots, herbs, & barks to make medicines
- rubbed parts of plant on skin to relieve aches &
pains
- patient inhaled fragrance of plant or smoke of
burning plant
- combined dried plants with liquids to make
medicines
Montezuma - great emperor of the Aztecs
- helped empire grow
- 2 theories for his death
- some people believe that Cortes stabbed Montezuma to death
- some people believe that the Aztec people were angry that
Montezuma let Cortes take over without a fight because
he believed Cortes was a God; so they stoned him to death
Spanish
- Hernando Cortes: leader of the Spanish explorers (conquistadors)
Arrival
- looking for gold riches & slave labor
- conquer the Aztecs in 3 years with the help of enemy tribes
- remaining Aztecs become slaves
- wipe out Aztec civilization
- victory due to better weaponry & disease (small pox) Spanish
brought to Aztec cities killing many people