Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Bernardino de Sahagún wikipedia , lookup
Tepotzotlán wikipedia , lookup
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire wikipedia , lookup
National Palace (Mexico) wikipedia , lookup
Templo Mayor wikipedia , lookup
Fall of Tenochtitlan wikipedia , lookup
Aztec Empire wikipedia , lookup
Aztec warfare wikipedia , lookup
Human sacrifice in Aztec culture wikipedia , lookup
Aztec religion wikipedia , lookup
Daily Life in Tenochtitlan 25.1 Introduction In Chapter 24. you learned hov, the Aztecs built their empire in central :l\1exico . .!'-iow YOll will explore v,hat life was like in the Aztecs' capital city of Tenocbtitlan. Imagine that you are an Aztec child JiYing outside Tenochritlan in the 1400s C.L One morning your father. a chili pepper farmer. takes you to the market at Tenochtitlan. Your father finds the vegetable section. where he spreads out his mat and displays his peppers. Then he begins to shout out prices. He gladly trades with a noolewoman. exchanging peppers for precjoll~ cacao beans. Later he trades his remaining pepper~ for a handmade clay cooking PO! for your mother. After all the peppers are gone. your father takes you un a long stroll oround the city. You :"ee tile Great Temple where priests perform sacrifice::. and the ball COlirt where nobles playa game called llacizrli. You gaze in wonder at the beautiful house:- where noble fami lies lj\'e and the splendid palace of the Aztec ruler. After the long walk home. you hungrily eal a simple mush made of maize before going to sleep. This imaginary trip to TenochtitJan sugge:--ts. many aspects of daily life for Aztecs in the 1-+00" In thi~ chapter. you·]] learn more about how Lh", people of Tenochlirlan li\ed. You·l] explore ALlee class structure, marriage, family [[fe, food, markets, reli gious practices, and recreation. Daily Life in Tenochtitlan 1 279 25.2 Class Structure \\a~ di\'ided into the main social cl;l~seS. At the top Aztec of the class structure \\ere the ruler and his family. :\ext came a noble and f1Jgh-r::mking walTiors. The class of government offici;:l1s. third and largest class was made up of commoners. citizens who were not of noble ranK. Below the commoners v. ere the peasants. who were neither slaves nor citizens At the bottom of tbe class structure were the slaves. and respclOsibilities. However. an Each class had its ov.n Aztec's Status was not fixed. Commone:'o; could move up in slIci;}1 class b: performing bray e deed" in war or b: sLUdying to be priests. And a noble could fall in rank if he failed to I)\e up to his responsibilities. Let' look at the role of each class. beginning \o\ith the ruler and his but not fully a god The Ruler The .'\'zkc ru ler. or emperor. was considered semi d1vine. Called tlatoal1i. or "he who spc:aks:' the empaor maintained neledli1t13ry passed on from the empire and decided when to \\age war. parent to child; inherited The position of ruler \\a~ not ir::a:ed~tarv, as it was in many other societies. 'When an emperor died. his son did not automatically become ruler. Jnstead. group of advisor" chose the new ruler from the emper 01'\ family. Each nc:\\' ruler \\<15 expectee! to new of motive for constant warfare. his own. This \\ as an semidiviir:le more than human This artwork snows people from vari Government Officii:Jls, Priests, and Military Leaders The which groJp in the Aztec ciass emperor \\ as sLlpponelfby a l1(1bk class of glAernment officials. and lmlitary leaders. Officiab ill Tcnocbtitlan cOLlllsekd the emperor. worked as judges. and governed tbe four districts. Other nobles throughout the empire ruled cities. collected trihute (payments J. or structure each figure represents. erected o:.Js classes of Aztec society. Use the information from the text and visua: clues in the image to try to identify buildings and roads. The emperor gov ernment officials for life. :"Joble status was not hereditarv. but most sons of nobles earned high offices themselves. Priests conducted all religious rites and served indiVIdual ran the schools that Some trained and the ~tLIdied tbe Other pnesls made predic s)'::c> .. n,j tions ::11>-,," cile future. Generally ;)()bles became bur ~ometime:s an Aztec from lower classes rose rhi, high. Girls could become pne,tesses. 280 Cbapter 25 Commoners coukl abo rise men ,Vere trained [0 1(\ ,: leader by capturing enemies Il1 groups of ~oldier~ and took part Commoners become 111i he ~(JJdiers. and <: common 'oldier cOlild become battle. Miliwn leaders commanded Il1 war councils. The broad cla~~ of commoner, included ~everal smaller classes. The highest-ranking commoner~ "'ere professional traders called pochleca. The pochteca led cara\'ans to distant lands Aztec painters creaTed beautiful to acquire exotic murals for emperors and other Some also sen'ed as <;pies for the emperor. high-ranking Aztec officials. reporting what type of tribute a city could pro\'ide, The pochteca had their own god and lived in a separate section of Tenochrnlan, They paid taxes with rare good,. They enjoyed many pri For example. the) could own land and send their children w the nobles' schools. L;nlike - noble status. membership in this class was hereditary, Below the pochteca came crafrspeopJe and artisans. like potters. Jewelers. and painters, Some worked in their homes and at the market Other~ rraded their worked in the ~pecially l\lo~t palace and made Hem, for the elllp::ror. com!l1oners workt'd ;tS farmers. fish"T~, labon:r~, and ,en'ants, Instead of o\\]Jing JaileL they were loaned or ;;md for homes and farms lw their co/pulli. ('ornmOl1er~ or ward, .'\11 paid tribute to the nobilIty in tllt' form of crops. bbor. or manufactured Peasants About 30 pt'rcent of the Aztec people v,ere peasalHs. Unlike slaves. peuple in thi'- class were free'. but rhey \\ere cun,iclered inferior to commoner", Peasants did not bt'long to a calpulli and were not loaned land to farm, Instead. thc\' hired our their senices to noblt's. Slaves At the bottom of Aztec society were the slaws. Prisoners of war. lawbreakers. or debtors might be forced into sla\Cr~. L'nlike slave" in many societies, Aztec slaws had a numb,,:] of rights The) could own propert). goods> and even other 5Ia\>e:;., In addition. ~laye" ward a neighborhood tha~ is a did not pass rheir sLatus on to their children. \\ ho were born free, In political unit within a city fact. the mOlller of the emperor Itzcoarl wa~ ;\ slaye. !>.1any I I i, II,! I ! ~! 1;\) I,F ::.LIYCS then own freedom after working off a debt. upon :,::o111plering their term of punishment for a crime. or \\,hen their ma~rers died. :! \'()\\ jet's look at what daih life wa~ like for the Aztec's of 'I II Tellochtitlan, beginninf' with marriage cu~t(\nb VIe >1I focus Jllosrh 011 the llwjorit) of Aztec,~. the C\.)m111 (lIkTC,. Daily Ule in Tenochtjrlan ~81 r 25.3 Marriage a gift of money or goods presented to a man or a woman upor marriage poiygamy mamage in which a man or a womar has more than one spouse .\b'Tl~lge unci life v"ert:? Importalll to Aztec" of all sociai classes, l\larnage marked an Aztec cbild' entry intu adulti100cL Most men malTled around the age of :::0. while young '-'omen tended to IllQr)"\ aroLlnd 16. were by [be families tbe bride and groom. The young man' s cbose the bride. Tbey then the ser \ ices of a matchmaker. an older woman who approached tbe bride's famil). It ,-,as customary for the bride's family to refuse at first. The matchmaker then returned a fe\v d[t) later. This time the bride's family usually accepted the union and :'let the dowry. EVen among commoners. an Aztec wedding was as elaborate as at the bnde's house. the families could afford, The festi \ities RelalJ\e~. friend.'>. the teachers. and the importam people of the enjoyed a banquet with the bnde and gave her presents. This page from the Codex Mendoza shows a young festivities Can you the groom, and tne matchmaker? i. That e\ ening. the guests marched to the groom' s home for the wed ceremony. An old wuman. uSllolly tbe matchmaker. carried the bride on her back. To s~ mbolize the bond of during the cere mony the matchmaker tied the gm(Jrn'~ cloak. to the bride's blou:-,e. After the ceremony. the young couple retired to tbe bridal chambel celebrated. On the fifth cla\. to pra) for four da) s. \\hile their the couple emerged amI unC'IHJed anuther banquet. Then thl'Y ~ettlecl clown on ~1 piece of !~llld in the groom' seal pulli, The Aztecs permitted men to practice poiygamy, or to marry more than one wife ..-\n .-\ztec man could take as many wives as he could affllrd. Ho\\e\er. only one of the wives was con,-.;idered the "priman" wife. and to tbe primary '-' ife v.. os celebroted \xith special rites and ceremonies. If a marriage waO' unhappy. either spouse could ask for a divorce, A man could di vorce bis wife if she neglected her dutles at home. bad a poor temper. or did Dot bear chil dren, A woman could divorce her husband if he beat her. deserted her and her ber. or failed to children. Aztec society di\orced ',,'omen to remarr\. I' I:' I ------- a 25.4 Famity Life Men had higher status than women in Aztec society. and within the fami] y the father \vas the master of the house. Aztec women. howe\ er. had their own rights and respon sibilities. MalTied woman could own property and sell goods. Some older women also practiced a sllch a~ matchmakmg or midwifery. Among commoner~. the ski1l5 of both men and women were neces sary to care for the household and the family. Men built the house and worked as farmers or at a craft. Women fixed meals. tended the garden. and looked after li\e:;tock. Jlv1any Aztec \>'/0111e11 wove beautiful clothes of mam color<,. Some made cloab in pattern' of SLlll or ,)"ith Images of '-beLs. fish. cacti. snake.,. or butterflies. \\/omen traded at the thc~c cloaks for uther market. Olle of a wOI11~m's most impor talll ' was to bear and care for ,- childrt:n. The Aztecs belie\ed that the purpose of marriage wa, to bring children lnto the world. ~o the\ hon birth ored a \\\J111 an .s role ill a" much a~ they did a man's role in fighting warc" Aztec parenb training their children at a yuung age. All chil dren of commoners helped out around the house. Little boys fetched I I ,I 1,1 'I! ',i, : ,I II : I Parents taught their sons and daugh ! !. ters important skills, such as canoeing, weaving, and cooking. water and wood. while older boys learned how to fi~h and handle a canoe. Eventually boys accompanied their fathers to \>, ork or to the market. Glrls' tasks centered on running a home and included cleaning house and grinding maize. 'When they \,ere about se\C'11 year~ old. learning w weC)\e from their mothers. In addition to working. all boy" attended scl1()oJ. Commoners prob abl:- started <.,choo] around the age of ~ix. but they onl:- attended parttime. At the or "house (if mostly trained to be soldiers. The SOI1~ of nobJes went 10 the call11(cOC imtead. There the) learned the skills of bcinfC priests. go\ernment official,. ur miJitan I, commanders. Life m Tel1()chtitla:l 2S3 r 25.5 Food foods and foods The <"'\zrecs of ate buth of rhe Aztec diet, from ciJsunr place~. The that \,ere hO\VCVeL was maize. The Aztecs found ILuze ~u useful because it could be dried and then stored for a long time. \Vol11en hoiled ~md skinned maize kernels and ground them into baked fresh tortillas nOLlr. Then for each mea] on clay griddle;,. They also made tamales by wrapping maize in husks and steaming it. The daJly routine of Aztec COI11 of nw[;ers ~h()ws the for se\eraJ maize. After hour~_ commoner" ale a meal in the bte morning. The meal usuall~ consisted of a maize porridge called was often sea moie. The ~(lned \\ith pepper, or sweetened with . At middav< commoners ~I[e their main lllcal of [unillas. maize cakcs. boilecl bean">_ ur tamales. Pepper or [(lIllJtO S~llICt;' ~ol11eriJ1les up thc:st· dishes ..vlo~t familic~ had onl) t\\(1 111C;l;S. But some ate a thin pOITidge. ll~ually mack of nUlze. jdst bef,xc gGing to bed. Aztec \ariety ,'Ol11mODtTS had occasional their me<ds. Tu provide meat for speci~d occasions. families In Imgbt raise a fc'" turkeys or a l1airless breed of Or hunt wild game. s,uch as rabbits and pige()ll~. Aztec farmers also grew SUCll cwp~ as red peppers. tomatue~. sage. The preparation of tortillas and other foods was a Aztec women. task for sLJuash. green beans. sweet potatues. and avocados, \Xrhen LTOP" were I.ad. the Aztecs turned to other :>OLlrce~ of food. caught \'v<lr.er and collected insect eggs. They and creawres. such as e\el1 ~kll1lll1ed algae. Cl type of plant. off tbe surf::tce of the lake and formed it into sm::tll cakes. The wealthy ate quite Cl different diet. both on a daily basis and al ants and a delicacies like the feasb (l1e\ anended. lizardlike creature: c~111ed an a.\Uioll. The uppt.'r cla:-,ses also are exotic Cl1CO~1 \\ith theIr morning meal and and crabs at their b~lnljLlets, ... > H:. i :::.r'"U·I'.: "I 1;1'1 II,i, ' ;,11 .1 'i;~ " , '.":'1'.':.':. I I'ii !'" il'lll " :1 c'll :.... ""1 People bartered, or traded, in the 25.6 Markets lvlarkets were an important part of tbe Aztec economy. Each in had its own market. usually located ir. the square in front of the marketpiace for the things they needed. towns held markets n'ery day. while small the town' stemple. heJd them about eYery fJ\e days. Some towns had their own specialties. The people of Tenochtirlan l111ght \ni\ellO nearby Texeoco for fine cloth and to :'\C(1)11311 tu bm for meat. the bustling marl-:et in Tenochtitlan. people bought At 11 and sold c\crylhing from food and utensils 10 warrior costumes. quetzal feathers. and sb\'cs. Jn:;teacl of tern. trading olle kind of muney. :".ztces Llsed a barter sys had for another. Some \·aILle. For inQ::ll1ce. a warrior's costume :md shield an were \\ orth about cotton cloab. Many indiyiduals brought their ware~~ to market. Farmers brought extra crop~ had gr(w:n. while craftspeople brought handmade The po;::hteca had a specJaI brought exotic in tbe markets. since they places. The~ from fille green Jade and quetzal feathers. They also pro\ided raw materials that were una\ailable around Tenochtitlan. For they sold metals like gold and sil\er. as well a~ tortoiseshells for making spoons. Guards watched over the market to make sure sellers acted honestly. When a problem arose-for example. a per::,on cheallng-the a seller of tool-: the parties to a court located at one end of the market. There three' saL to hear the story and render their \erdict. I The market so had a social purpose. came there to meet friends. gossip. and hear the news of the day. Scnne people simp1: strolling lip and down the aisles. buying snacks and seeing all the things the sellers had to offer. Daily Life in Tenocl1titlan I--~ 285 '.1 j 25.7 Reiigious Practices Religion WQS central 10 Aztec lIfe and society. The Aztecs believed that humans needed the gods to sllrylve. It was the gods who granted a harvest or. if they \'vere displeased. sent earthquakes and floods. Consequently. it was important to please the gods through elaborate rituab and ceremonies. Priests presemed the with flowers. ears of maize. clothing. or images made of wood. while the people sang and danced. from other Mesoamerican The Aztecs adopted some of their groups. For example. Tlaloc. the rain was an ancient Meso american god. Quetza!coatl ("feathered serpent") had been worshiped the Teotihuacans. But the Aztecs' own chief god wat, Huitzilopochtli. the sun god and the god of war. In fact the AzteC'.; called lheIll sehes the "people of the sun'" The .-\Zlecs sa\\ the sun as a walTior who each night against the forces of darkness. In Aztec beEd. the suni\al of the universe depended upon the sun these battles. And the \\ay to keep the sun strong was to olTer him nourishment in the form of blood. For this reason. most Aztec ritual:; included i some form of blood sacrifice. Aztec priests 1ll0rllIl1g hundreds of birds to Huitz:lopochrJi. PrIests also pierced their ~kin with cactus spike;, to olTer their own blood. Thc richest form of sacrifice. however. was that humans. The Aztecs panicubrly valued the sacnfice of warriors captured in battle. because believed that the blood of strong warriors \\as e:specially nourishing. Scholars think the Azrec~ also used human s;lcrifice to frighten other cities mto accepting their rule. In Tenochtitlan. up to several thousand peo ple may ha\e gone to sacrificial deaths e:lch year. Four priests pinned the Yictim to the stone in front of Huitzilopochtli' temple. ,vhile This illustration from the 1500s shows another cut Aztecs making a human sacrifice to in the belIef that they would accompany the sun the sun god. across the OLIt the li\ing beart. Some yicti111s may havc died willingly in his daily battle The Aztecs also made sacrifices to orher gods. They threw the sacri ficial yictims of the fire god into a great blaze. To honor the goddess of corn. they cut off \\omen' s heads. Overall. [he Aztecs practiced human sacrifice on a much larger scale than any other Vle~oaI11ericall group. 286 Chapter 25 £ 25.8 Recreation \\'hile work. warfare. and rituals were -. -, ! all important to the Aztecs. they al"o had some time for recreation. They enjoyed music and dancing. and nobles liked to go on hunts. Another entertainment \-vas pC/IOLli. a game played on a cro~s-,haped board di\'ided into 52 "quares. The board sym bolized the 260-day calendar. v-hich the Aztecs shared with the Maya and other Mesoamerican peoples. Five times around the board equaled 260 day,. To move around the board. players tl1re" several white beans marked with holes. The holes told them how many spaces to move the colored stones that served as game pieces. The first person Patolli was a popular game among around the board five times was the winner. Aztecs and other Mesoamerican peo All social classes played patolli. but it's likely that only members of the ball game rLochrli. Similar to l\1ayan ball games. the nobilit:tlachtli v- as played on a long. DalTOW court shaped like the letter I and sUlTounded by high walls. A small ring projecle6 oYer the court from each ~ide \\all. Two teams faced each other across a line that ran bet \\een the rings. The (If the game was to ples. White beans marked with holes were thrown like modern dice to tell players how many spaces they could move on the cross-shaped board • a rubber ball through the ring on the other's team ,ide of the court. Players could 'i •I not toucb the ball with their hands or feel. so they threw themselyes ! on the ground to hit the ball wirh their elbows. knees. and hips. Hundreds of spectators gathered to watch each game. They often risked clothes. feathers. and gold by belling on v-hicb ream \\'(lUld win. Some people lost all their wealth in such bet;; and had [0 sell them selves into <:Iaver:-. Tlachtli had religiolls meaning as well. The Aztecs believed that the tlachtli court represemed the world and the ball represented a heawnly body. Because of the~e religious ties. the Aztecs built their tlachtIi COUJ1S near the most important temples. like tbe Great Temple in Tenochtitlan. 25.9 Chapter Summary In this chapter. you learned about daily life in the Aztecs' capital city of Tenochtitlan. You read abollt the structure of Aztec society and the customs governing marriage and family life. You discovered what the Aztecs ate. hm,' they traded goods in their markets. and how they worshiped and played. In the next chapter. you will travel to South America to learn about another people who built an empire in the 1 Americas: the Incas. Daii\ Life in Tenochtitlan 21::7 i