Download one of several migrant groups to arrive in central

HOW DID THE AZTECS COME TO
DOMINATE CENTRAL MEXICO?
Who were the Mexica?
ONE OF SEVERAL MIGRANT GROUPS TO ARRIVE IN
C E N T R A L M E X I C O I N T H E M I D 1 3 TH C E N T U R Y .
SOUGHT A SIGN FROM THE GODS AS TO WHERE THEY
NEEDED TO SETTLE
EVENTUALLY BUILT A LARGE CITY CALLED
TENOCHTITLAN ON SEVERAL SMALL ISLANDS IN THE
MIDDLE OF LAKE TEXCOCO IN THE VALLEY OF THE SUN.
MEXI
THEY WERE
LOOKING FOR AN
EAGLE, PERCHED ON
A CACTUS, WITH A
SNAKE IN ITS MOUTH
DOES THE IMAGE
LOOK FAMILIAR?
TENOCHTITLAN
• ISLAND LOCATION
• WIDE ROADS
• CANALS
• CAUSEWAYS
•MARKETPLACES
• CHINAMPAS
HOW DO YOU FARM ON AN ISLAND?
FLOATING GARDENS
CHINAMPAS
 DREDGED THE MUCK
FROM THE LAKE’S
BOTTOM AND BUILT
FLOATING GARDENS
 ABLE TO HARVEST AS
MANY AS 7 CROPS A
YEAR
 MAIZE, BEANS, SQUASH,
TOMATOES, PEPPERS &
CHILES YEAR ROUND
HOW DID THEY CREATE AN EMPIRE?
 BY EARLY 15TH CENTURY, THEY DOMINATED
THEIR NEIGHBORS AND DEMANDED TRIBUTE
 ABOUT THE MID-15TH CENTURY, THEY JOINED
WITH TWO NEIGHBORING CITIES TO CREATE A
TRIPLE ALLIANCE THAT GUIDED THE EMPIRE
 THIS “AZTEC” ALLIANCE WAS DOMINATED BY
THE MEXICA AND THEY IMPOSED THEIR RULE
ON APPROXIMATELY 12 MILLION PEOPLE AND
MOST OF MESOAMERICA.
WHY DID THEY WANT AN EMPIRE?
 The main object of the
 The Aztec empire had no
triple alliance was to
exact tribute from
subject peoples.
 Basic tribute was usually
food crops and basic
manufactured goods
such as textiles, fur
blankets, jewelry, and
obsidian knives.
 Sometimes they
demanded slaves.
elaborate bureaucracy or
administration.
 They simply conquered
and assessed tribute,
leaving local people to
rule the area and collect
the tribute.
 They also did not keep a
permanent standing
army, but collected from
489 subject territories.
MEXICA SOCIETY
 rigid hierarchy with public honors and rewards going
mostly to the military elite (all males were looked at
as potential warriors – no matter what the original
social standing) For the most part though, the
military elite came from the aristocracy.
 Military elite were showered with wealth and honor





Extensive land grants
Tribute from commoners
Most successful formed a council to elect the ruler
Ate the best food and consumed most of the luxury items
Law even regulated how they dressed
GENDER EQUALITY?
 Women played almost NO role in politics
 They did however have significant influence over
their families and enjoyed high honors as mothers of
warriors.
 They were also prominent in the marketplace
 The law subjected women to the strict authority of
their fathers or their husbands. With the exception of
a few priestesses, ALL Mexica women were married.
 Society recognized bearing children as equivalent to
a warrior capturing an enemy in battle.
DID THE PRIESTS HAVE INFLUENCE?
ADVISORS
PRIESTS
 Ranked among the
 Had considerable
society’s elite
 Special education in
calendars and ritual
lore
 Presided over all
religious ceremonies
influence over politics
 On a few occasions,
priests even were
elected supreme rulers

Montezuma II (15021520) who was ruler when
the Spanish arrived
LIFE OF THE COMMONERS…
 The bulk of the populace was made up of commoners
 They were organized into communal groups called
calpulli (originally more tribal, later based on
location)
 They often farmed the chinampas, communal lands
designated by the calpulli, and lands owned by the
aristocrats/warriors
 They also had to provide common labor for public
works projects as well
 Slaves were mostly domestic servants and most were
Mexica… foreign slaves were normally sacrifices
MEXICA RELIGION
THEY ADOPTED RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS
FROM OTHER GROUPS THROUGHOUT
MESOAMERICA.
THESE INCLUDED THE BALL GAME,
COMPLICATED CALENDARS (365 DAY SOLAR
YEAR AND A RITUAL YEAR OF 260 DAYS)
ALSO ADOPTED TEZCATLIPOCA AND
QUETZALCOATL.
QUETZALCOATL
 god of peace
 believed to return one day
and bring peace and
prosperity.
 Legend said he was light
skinned and would return
from the eastern sea in the
year ONE REED carrying
many things the Aztecs had
never seen before
HUITZILOPOCHTLI
 Sun god who required daily
sacrifices of human blood to
make the sun rise.
 Mexica warriors believed it
was his providence that made
them successful, so they had
to offer sacrifices to appease
him and maintain the success.
 Sacrifice was not for
entertainment – it was
essential to the world’s
survival
Huitzilopochtli’s Sacrifices
 The Mexica placed much
higher emphasis on
human sacrifice than the
earlier peoples of
Mesoamerica.
 Some victims were
Mexica criminals, but
most were either tribute
from conquered peoples
or warriors captured in
battle.