Download The Aztec

The Aztec
Diego Rivera mural, La Gran Tenochtitlàn
Major Global Development
The last Mesoamerican civilization before the
arrival of Spanish conquistadors, the Aztec built
a hierarchical society based upon war, religion,
tribute, and sacrifice.
Chichimeca Migration
• Came from Aztlàn
• Chichimecas first left in 900 CE
Aztec Empire
• Mexica migrated to Lake Texcoco in 1325 CE
• Worshipped Huitzilopchtli
• 200,000 – 700,000 people
in Tenochtitlàn
Tenochtitlàn
• Aztec capital, founded
in 1325 CE
Chinampas “Floating Gardens”
Pulque
Aztec Society
• Highly stratified
• Elites were 5 –
10% of population
• Macehualtin =
Peasants +
Artisans
• Slaves = 5% of
Tenochtitlàn
Gender Differences
• Umbilical cord of
girls = under the
house
• Umbilical cord of
boys = given to
warriors
• Sweeping as a
spiritual task
Tribute
• Once or twice per year
• Clothing, maize, animals, stones, jewelry
Religion
• Ometeotl = “Two God” mother/father to all
gods
• Texcatlipoca = “Smoking Mirror,” supreme
power
• Xochiquetzal = (Goddess) Pregnancy, weaving
• Tlazolteotl = (Goddess) Carnal love, sin, filth
• Mixcoatl = Patron of Chichimecas
• Huitzilopochtli = War & sun
• Quetzalcoatl = Wind
• Tlaloc = Rain
Xipe Totec
• God of Spring
• Flayed skins
• Priests wore the
skins
Tlaloc
• God of rain
• Preferred
children
• Death by
drowning
Why did sacrifice matter?
• Pleasing gods
• A way to
avoid
destruction
• Projecting
power of
rulers
Death
•
•
•
•
•
Mictlan
Dog as “soul companion”
4 years of wandering
Cremation vs. burial
Mummies
Cihuateteo
• “The Divine Women”
• Goddesses who died during childbirth
• Accompany the sun from zenith to sunset
Moctezuma
• Became Aztec
emperor in 1500
• Waited for return of
Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl
• “The Feathered Serpent”
• Tall, bearded, white god who was
going to return
Who were the Conquistadors?
• Most had experience in the
Caribbean
• Most were lower middle
class, a small # were
“hidalgos”
• All expected wealth, land,
slaves, & political positions
• Most died in Mesoamerica
& South America
Cortès & the Maya
• First encountered in
the Yucatan in 1519
• 1,500 Yucatan Maya
& 37 Spaniards died
• Geronimo de Aguilar,
shipwrecked for 8
years
Who was Malinche?
• Malintzìn, Doña Marina, Malinche
• Given to Cortès as a slave
• Spoke Nahuatl, Maya, & Spanish
18th Century Spanish Depiction of Cortès & Moctezuma’s First Meeting
Reasons for the Fall of the Aztecs
• Disease: Smallpox, typhoid, cholera, malaria,
influenza
• Technology &
Weaponry
• Native Allies angry
with the Aztecs
Skulls in the Templo Mayor ruins
Tenochtitlàn today
Religion & Colonization
• Aztec temples
destroyed
• Franciscan,
Dominican,
Augustinian
friars in charge
of conversion
to Catholicism
Key Chronological Events
• The Chichimeca wandered out of Aztlàn by
the command of Huitzilopochtli.
• Human sacrifice served multiple purposes for
this religious civilization that emphasized the
power of conquest.
• The Aztec’s strict tribute system allowed the
Spanish conquistadors to find allies in their
war against the Aztec.