Download Daily Life in Tenochtitlan

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.
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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
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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
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Tellochtitlan, beginninf' with marriage cu~t(\nb VIe >1I focus Jllosrh
011
the llwjorit) of Aztec,~. the
C\.)m111 (lIkTC,.
Daily Ule in Tenochtjrlan
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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:'
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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
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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
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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,
... >
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il'lll
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c'll
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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
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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.
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Chapter 25
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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
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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
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