Download Warriors holding prisoners.

Ancient Aztec Civilization
Warfare and Expansion
Tenochtitlan
Daily Life: Yautepec
Warfare
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Aztec Empire
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held in loose control physically, but control
held by intimidation and overwhelming
power.
made an overwhelming force, as it did for
the British in India, where no immense
standing armies or garrisons needed.
Armies
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Armies (main army numbered nearly 500,000)
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all males were militarily trained, in schools.
further training was under a more experienced warrior.
social prestige and advancement for both commoner and noble
available in military.
more likely, that a noble would gain more prestige due to better
access to training.
military societies graded according to caste.
rank determined by kinship, social status, military achievement,
and personality.
fluid and volatile organizations.
Jaguar and Eagle Knights
http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~delacova/aztec-warfare.htm
Florentine Codex
http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~delacova/aztec-warfare.htm
Mendoza Codex
Warriors holding prisoners.
http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~delacova/aztec-warfare.htm
Expansion
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Declarations of war kept inside society to
gain surprise.
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intelligence was also a factor, spies,
merchants and diplomats acted to aid in war.
relay stations 2 and a half miles apart relayed
information.
supply lines and armories provided food and
weapons.
Expansion
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During the 15th century the military strength of the
Aztecs increased. They grew from a small tribe of
mercenaries into a powerful and highly disciplined
military force. They also formed alliances with their
powerful neighbors Texcoco and Tacuba, known as the
Triple Alliance. It was a time for building and the city
Tenochtitlán grew and prospered.
By the end of Aztec rule, in 1520, 38 conquered tributary
provinces had been made, who had to make payments.
However, some of the tribes at the borders stayed
strongly independent.
Aztec Empire ca. 1519
http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~delacova/aztecs/aztecs20.gif
Tenochtitlan
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In the beginning stages of Tenochtitlán, development,
Aztec life was very difficult in their undesirable location.
Tenochtitlán was located on a marshy island with limited
resources, they built a few thatch and mud huts, and
some small temples.
The Aztecs would have to work constantly to maintain a
city on swampy land.
There was also continuing tensions between the Aztecs
and the neighboring peoples on the mainland who
despised them.
Despite these obstacles, the Aztecs worked hard to
improve the quality of their lives.
Tenochtitlan
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As the Aztec empire expanded, specialized craftsmen
and common laborers were brought to Tenochtitlán to
expand the city.
Since it was built on swamp land, large wooden stakes
were driven into the soft ground to provide secure
foundations for the new buildings.
They were able to use the stone Tezontli to construct the
buildings on the unstable ground.
Despite these precautions, the larger temples and
palaces would often sink below ground level.
As a result, the older building were continuously repaired
or rebuilt with the newer structures built over the older
core.
Tenochtitlan: Aztec Capital
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Artificially created island with Tlatelolco (Market)
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Built up by chinampa construction and use of small islets and
landfills.
The main city was only the largest of at least ninteeen island
communities in Lake Texcoco.
Measured at least 5.4 sq miles
High-density urban development limited to the main island.
System of measurement
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Complex, but consistent and practical.
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omitl (bone)=1.8 feet.
maitl (hand)=5.4 feet
Layout
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avenues laid out on 400 maitl (2160 foot) and cross streets
spaced at 400 omitls (720 feet).
earliest temple dates to 1428, with construction and
refurbishment continuing all the time.
Tenochtitlan Reconstruction
Tlatelolco
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Heart of island consisted of two ceremonial
precincts and the market of Tlatelolco.
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series of adjacent plazas arranged around major
buildings.
including temples, administrative structures, palaces.
Lists for the center include
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25 pyramid temples
9 priests quarters
7 skull racks
2 ball courts
arsenals, shops, etc.
Market
http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~delacova/aztec-life.htm
Skull Racks
http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~delacova/aztecs1.htm
Ballcourt
http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~delacova/aztecs1.htm
Sacred Central Square
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Sacred Central Square
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planned from arrival of Mixecas and based on
astronomical principles.
Solar Alignment
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The sun's rays shining between the shrines of
Tlaloc and Hutzilopochtli atop the Templo Mayor
into the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, occured at sunrise
on March 21, the equinox.
It is said that the Templo Mayor was
reconstructed, at Moctezuma's behest, as the
alignment was slightly twisted.
It can be seen from the temple ruins that it is
skewed so that it is pointed nearly 7 degrees
south of true east to match the sun's path
Tenochtitlan Ruins: Central Square
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/CIVAMRCA/AZTECS.HTM
Great Temple (Temple Mayor)
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Great Temple (Temple Mayor)
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aligned with the rising of the sun at the equinox.
twin pyramid with two staircases.
two temples or shrines at top, one to Huitzilopochtli and one to
Tlaloc.
skewed seven degrees east of true north I order to
accommodate such observations.
also aligned with Mt. Tlaloc and another sacred mountain.
placed where a priest saw an eagle eating a snake on top of a
cactus.
The Templo Mayor was founded c. AD 1325, and then
rebuilt and successively enlarged by later rulers, with a
total of seven major construction stages. Each phase
included two giant twin staircases that led to twin
temples at the top of the Great Pyramid.
Templo Mayor
http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~delacova/aztecs1.htm
Human Figure from Templo Mayor
http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~delacova/aztecs1.htm
Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc
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Temples placed to right and left of great templeHuitzilopochtli and Tlaloc.
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from there extended the four major avenues running east-west
and north-south.
divide city into four quarters each marked by a major temple.
The twin temple to the south was dedicated to
Huitzilopochtli, the patron deity of the Aztecs and the
deity who had led them on their journey to Tenochtitlan.
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In front of this temple was placed a sacrificial stone.
Enormous stone serpents run along the balustrades and in front
of the platforms on both Huitzilopochtli's side of the pyramid and
around the entire Templo Mayor.
Temple Remains
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/CIVAMRCA/AZTECS.HTM
Coyolxauhqui stone
The Coyolxauhqui stone
found at the base of the
stairs on Huitzilopochtli's
side of the Templo Mayor
suggests that the Templo
Mayor gave permanent
physical form to myths like
that of Coatepec, or "Snake
Mountain."
Tlaloc
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The temple on the northern side of the twin
temple was dedicated to Tlaloc, a deity
associated with rain and agricultural fertility.
Mirroring the sacrificial stone on Huitzilopochtli's
side of the pyramid was a chac mool on Tlaloc's
side.
Tlaloc's temple held the seeds of cultivated
plants.
Instead of the serpents that decorate the
opposite side of the pyramid, frogs decorate
Tlaloc's half, probably referencing his
associations with water and fertility.
Temple Remains
http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~delacova/aztecs1.htm
Artifacts from Tenochtitlan
Serpent
Grasshopper
Rattlesnake
http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~delacova/aztecs1.htm
Yautepec
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Yautepec was an Aztec urban center
whose ruins today lie under the modern
town of the same name in the Mexican
state of Morelos.
Three recent archaeological projects make
Yautepec one of the most intensivelystudied Aztec cities outside of the imperial
capital Tenochtitlan.
Yautepec
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A team of Mexican government archaeologists
began excavations at the mound in 1989, under
the direction of Hortensia de Vega Nova, and
fieldwork has continued through 1996.
The excavators discovered an enormous stone
platform some 6,000 square meters in area (0.6
hectares, or about 1.5 acres) that had been the
royal palace of the king (tlatoani) of Yautepec.
The first Aztec royal palace to be excavated by
archaeologists.
http://www.albany.edu/~mesmith/yaucity.html
Excavations
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The locations of the excavations and houses are shown
on the map of Yautepec.
One elite residence (structure 6), five commoner
dwellings (structures 1-4 and 7), and one intermediate
structure (no. 5).
This is the first set of urban Aztec houses excavated
anywhere in central Mexico.
The urban houses were quite similar in size and
construction to the rural houses we had excavated
previously at Cuexcomate and Capilco.
The population density of Yautepec was not much higher
than the rural sites, and this implies that this city had
considerable open space for gardens and fields within its
borders.
http://www.albany.edu/~mesmith/yaucity.html
Royal Palace
http://www.albany.edu/~mesmith/yaupal1.gif
Aztec Nobility
http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~delacova/aztecs1.htm
Daily Life: Commoners
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Their domestic artifacts were nearly identical to those
excavated at Aztec rural sites with one major difference.
Evidence for part-time domestic craft production was
much more abundant and widespread among Yautepec
houses than at their rural counterparts.
Some Yautepec households were involved in producing
blades and other tools of obsidian, and the manufacture
of ceramic figurines was also a common domestic
activity (as evidenced by molds).
Adult burials were also found at Yautepec.
Economy
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As at all Aztec sites, the most common production
activity at Yautepec was the spinning and weaving of
cotton cloth.
All Aztec women engaged in textile production, and
recovered numerous ceramic spindle whorls and spinning
bowls at every excavation of a domestic context
Household ritual involving small clay figurines was
another common activity at Yautepec households.
Hundreds of these figurines were excavated, most of
which are images of Aztec women. Men are also
represented, as are animals and plants, and deities
Stone outline of “commoner”
house.
http://www.albany.edu/~mesmith/yaupal1.gif
Reconstruction of daily life.
http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~delacova/aztec-life.htm
Artifacts
Clay figurines
http://www.albany.edu/~mesmith/yaupal1.gif