Download All About The Aztecs

Must of the stuff you need to know about the Aztecs in about 5 minutes.
By: Chayanne Hyde
The Daily Life of an
Aztec Family
The daily life of an Aztec
family was very much
like today’s modern
family. The men worked
in farms or if they were
gifted in the arts, the
craftworks. Women
stayed home and weaved
clothes for their family
and cooked. Every
member of the
household, including the
children, helped in the
household.
The Geography of the
Aztecs
The Aztec capital city was
Tenochtitlan, now called
Mexico City. The Aztecs were
surrounded by mountains
and they literally lived in the
middle of a lake. To the south
of the land, they had a
grassland were they fought
many battles against
enemies. In the land, there
were palaces, parks, ball
courts, a zoo, a very busy
market, and a gigantic
temple to worship their
Gods.
The Aztec
Government
The Aztec government was a
series of branches. The Huey
Tatiana (Great Speaker) was in
charge of the land, almost like
the president in modern days.
The city council was after the
Tatiana and it supported
anything the Tatiana put into
order. The Calculi was after
the city council and they were
a group of families
responsible for one part of the
land. The Calculi took care of
local problems such as school
and land issues.
The Aztec Language
The language the Aztec
spoke is called Nahuatl.
Nahuatl is a group of
related languages of the
Nahuan (Previously called
Aztecan) branch of the UtoAztecan language family.
Other languages were
spoken in the Aztec
civilization also. For
example, Pima, Comanche,
and Shoshone were
spoken within the Aztec
civilization.
The Aztec Religion
According to the
mythology of the Aztecs,
the three top Gods were
Huitzilopochtli (God of
War), Tezcatlipoca (God of
Magic and Darkness), and
Quetzalcoatl (God of
Intelligence and SelfReflection). The Aztecs
also sacrificed humans
believing that the Gods
needed to be nourished.
Human hearts were also
given as a gift to the Gods.
The Aztec Social
Pyramid
The supreme ruler was at
the top of the social
pyramid. Next were the
priests and nobles of the
land. After them were the
officials and merchants.
Next on the social pyramid
were craftsmen or artisans.
After them were the
commoners and peasants.
Finally, all the way at the
bottom of the social
pyramid were the slaves.
The Architecture of
the Aztecs
Sacrificial pyramids were
important so each major
city had at least one. The
royal palace was very big
including a two story
house with a big courtyard.
One of the most famous
pyramids is the pyramid of
the sun in Teotihuacan.
Aztec homes were usually
made out of adobe with
thatched roofs. They were
two buildings, one was the
main home and the other
was the steam bath.
The Agriculture of the
Aztecs
The Aztecs used
chinampas to grow their
crops. Chinampa is an
agricultural field created by
swamp drainage or landfill
operations along the edges
of lakes. A common crop
grown by the Aztecs was
maize and squash. When
looking at all the
agriculture of the Aztecs, it
is easy to say it was very
complicated.
The Aztec’s
Contribution to
Modern Society
They were the first people
to have mandatory
education. They were the
first people to successfully
remove fluid from the knee,
which helped the doctors
of modern society. They
also developed an accurate
system of measurement.
The Aztecs also gave the
first idea of a calendar,
their form of music and
dance, and poetry.