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Belmont Academy
Department
Of
History
S1 HISTORY
INVESTIGATION
INFORMATION BOOK:
THE AZTECS
D
S1 INVESTIGATION
THE AZTECS
In this booklet you will find information on the Aztecs to help you
with your Investigation.
You should have already chosen the three topics you are going to
investigate.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Religion & Gods
2
Food
4
Dress
5
Warfare
6
Entertainment
8
Writing & Communication
10
Using this booklet and other books and information from the library
you should select and record evidence by taking notes on your three
chosen topics. You can also copy and colour drawings to provide
pictorial information.
Finally you will present your findings.
RELIGION and GODS
Religion was a very important part of Aztec life and affected everything they
did. The Aztecs worshipped many different Gods and each God looked after a
different part of Aztec life.
The Aztecs believed that the Gods watched them all the time and would punish
the people if they did not carry out their wishes and honour them by having
festivals and sacrifices at the correct times. Only if the Gods were happy would
the sun rise and set, the rain make the crops grow and Aztec armies win battles.
All these were necessary for the Aztecs to survive. They built huge stone
pyramids with a temple on top for religious ceremonies and sacrifices to please
the Gods.
IMPORTANT GODS
Huitzilopochtli was the God of war and the sun. His name meant ‘Humming
Bird of the South.’ Aztec warriors believed they were his chosen people. They
believed that each night the sun had to fight the moon and the stars before being
born again (rising) the next morning. The Aztecs were scared that if
Huitzilopochtli grew weak the sun would not rise and that they would die.
To keep Huitzilopochtli strong and powerful the Aztec priests fed him human
hearts taken from slaves or captures warriors. The Aztecs even fought a special
war called ‘War of the Flowers’ to capture prisoners for sacrifice.
Quetzalcoatl was the god of life, learning and the wind. His name meant
‘Plumed Serpent’.
Tlaloc was the God of rain and fertility. His name meant ‘He who makes
things grow’. The Aztecs sacrificed little children to Tlaloc every winter so as
he would provide rain in the coming year. Their tears symbolised falling rain.
They also drowned criminals in Lake Texcoco to make the God happy.
Tezcatlipoca was the God of night and evil. He could give and take away life
and could see everything that happened in the world.
Priests and Sacrifices
Priests and priestesses were very important and powerful. They made the sacred
calendar and knew the best time to perform ceremonies and sacrifices. They
looked after the great temples. They said they could talk to the Gods. They even
cut open their ears to give some of their own blood to feed the sun God
Huitzopochtli. They performed the human sacrifices to the Gods, cutting out the
hearts of the victims.
Magic
The Aztecs believed 20 was a magic number because it was the number of
fingers and toes a person had. There were 20 days in the sacred calendar and
they believed that miracles could happen on them if the Gods were pleased.
FOOD
The main food of the Aztecs was maize (sweetcorn). This was ground into flour
which was made into flat thin pancakes called tortillas. It was also made into
tamales which were stuffed with vegetables, or into a kind of porridge called
atolli which was flavoured with honey. The Aztecs liked spicy foods and many
dishes were flavoured with hot chilli peppers.
They also ate fish, shrimps, frogs and newts, duck and geese. Poor people
sometimes ate slugs, flies, worms and tadpoles. Meat was got from deer,
rabbits, hare and pigeons. Turkey was eaten at festivals. Another popular dish
for special occasions was roast dog.
Menu
A typical day’s menu for an Aztec farmer would be:
Breakfast – atolli and honey
Lunch - tortillas with beans in a spicy tomato and chilli sauce
Supper – atolli
Chocolate was a luxury so only the rich ate it or made a hot chocolate drink
from cacao (cocoa) beans. Our word chocolate is from the Aztec word
chocolatl.
The Aztecs drank water or strong beer called pulque made from the cactus
plany . Only people over the age of 30 years could drink alcohol.
Cooking
This was done over an open fire on a hearth in a house. Pots and pans or a flat
stone griddle, used fro making tortillas, were used. They did not have ovens.
The Market
The Aztecs got their food fresh at the market every day but they did not use
money. They took their goods to market to swap for what they wanted. This is
called bartering. Cocoa beans were also used like coins.
DRESS and APPEARANCE
Physical Appearance
The Aztecs were not very tall, the men were no more than 5’6” tall and the women were
smaller. They had black hair. The men wore it in a fringe. The women wore it long and loose,
but when they married they had to plait it and wind it round their head. Warriors tied it in a
topknot.
Dress
The Aztecs had strict rules about clothes.
Noblemen wore richly patterned loin cloths covered with brightly coloured embroidered
cloaks decorated with feathers and sandals on their feet. They could also wear colourful
feather head-dresses.
Noble women wore bright coloured blouses and skirts.
Ordinary people had to wear plain loin cloths and skirts made from undyed cloth and go
barefoot.
Jewellery
Jewellery was an important part of Aztec dress. They made beautiful jewellery from gold and
precious stones. Only wealthy people could afford these. Poorer people wore jewellery made
from less precious stones and shells.
Noblemen and women wore necklaces and bracelets on their arms and legs.
Nobles and warriors were allowed to wear jewels in their lips, ears and noses at special times.
Cosmetics
Rich women wore yellow make-up made from yellow earth. They used rose water and
incense and chewed a kind of chewing gum called chicle to sweeten their breath.
Men painted their faces and bodies on special occasions. Both men and women decorated
their faces with pictures made from pottery stamps.
Bathing
The Aztecs were very clean people who bathed regularly in the rivers and lakes. They made a
lather from certain plant roots to use as a soap. Most buildings had a steam room like a sauna
today. It was used for personal hygiene and religious rituals.
WARFARE
War was necessary for the Aztecs. They dominated the other tribes round about them by
military force. The army was very powerful. When they defeated a tribe they took tributes
from them. These could be food or slaves or precious stones, or feathers. If they refused to
pay tribute the Aztecs would go to war with the tribe again.
The Aztecs needed regular wars to capture many prisoners for human sacrifice to the Gods.
They even fought ‘mock’ wars called ‘Wars of Flowers’ against other tribes just to get live
prisoners. No blood was shed and when they had enough prisoners the fighting ended.
Uniforms and Appearance
Aztec soldiers did not have special uniforms.
Ordinary soldiers wore body armour made from quilted cotton soaked in salt water to
make them stiff. This thick padding could not be pierced by arrows or javelins. They also
wore helmets made from wood and bone and carried shields made from wood and leather
decorated with bold patterns and feathers,
Jaguar and Eagle Knights were special warriors and the best fighters. They wore
jaguar skins or eagle’s head helmets in battle.
Weapons
Aztec weapons were simple but very effective.
A javelin (long spear) was thrown using an atlatl (spear thrower) which made it travel
further and with greater force than if thrown by hand. The very sharp point was made of
volcanic glass called obsidian.
Swords were made of wood edged with pieces of obsidian. These could inflict terrible
wounds on an enemy.
Clubs with heavy wooden heads were used to hit out at the enemy.
Hatchets with copper blades were also used.
Bows and Arrows – the arrows tipped with razor sharp obsidian or bone were fired from
large strong bows.
Slings made from plaited cotton were used to throw stones the size of eggs
Fighting
A battle between an Aztec army and its opponent began with a great deal of noise as each
army tried to intimidate the other by shouting insults, clashing weapons against shields,
blowing whistles and beating drums. The commanders then gave a signal by drumbeats or
clay whistles for the archers and slingers to fire their weapons and the spearmen to hurl their
javelins. Then the two armies rushed towards each other for hand to hand fighting.
Tactics
The army tried to outflank its opponents. This means to get behind the enemy or to attack it
from the side. Sometimes the Aztecs would pretend to retreat and when their enemies chased
them they led them into an ambush or a trap of camouflaged holes which the enemy fell into.
Casualties (Deaths)
Casualties were not high because the main aim was not to destroy an enemy army but to
defeat them and capture as many live prisoners as possible. These were then used in sacrifices
to the gods.
There was no glory in killing the enemy. Warriors were rewarded with land slaves and
clothes for taking prisoners e.g. a warrior who caught four prisoners became a nobleman.
Entertainment
The Aztecs liked to entertain themselves in ways that are not very different from what we do
today e.g. they liked to watch sport and listen to music. Sports and games were played as part
of religious ceremonies.
Sport
The most important was the ball game tlachtli. It was a bit like basketball. Two teams played
on a stone court surrounded by stone walls. They had to try and hit a rubber ball through their
opponent’s stone ring which was fixed high on a wall. They could not use their hands or feet
only their hips, elbows or knees! Players were often hurt and sometimes killed in falls on the
stone court, or by being hit by the hard rubber ball. Everyone came to watch and cheer on
their team and place bets. Only nobles could play and when a goal was scored the losing
team had to give up all its possessions to the winners. The game also had a religious
meaning. The court was like the world and the ball like the moon and sun.
Patolli
All Aztecs played this game. It was a board game like backgammon played on a mat painted
with a design like a saltire cross.(X)They had to throw dice made from dried beans and move
coloured stone counters until they got three in a row. Some players bet all they had on a game
and if they lost and their families had to become slaves.
Music and Dancing
Music, singing, dancing and performing were all popular entertainments. Religious festivals
were full of music and chanting. This brought people close to their gods, just as people sing
hymns in church today. Dancing together also took place during religious festivals.
An orchestra had no stringed instruments (violin, cello) only drums, rattles, gongs and
flutes. Music was not written down so no Aztec tunes are known today.
Singing
Young people were taught to sing in special academies.
Poetry
Poetry was written to be recited to a musical background. Many hymns, poems and songs
survive today.
Other Entertainment
Music, dancing, mimes, poetry reading and plays by professional actors were all
entertainment in the cities.
They could also watch clowns and dwarves and jugglers and acrobats
Writing and Communication
Since the Aztecs had such a large Empire to control written communication was very
important to them e.g. for collection of taxes and instructions from the emperor.
They had no written alphabet. They used tiny pictures called hieroglyphs to show what
they wanted to say. These were always drawn the same way so as everyone knew what
the writer meant e.g. a shield and arrows stood for war, footprints stood for a journey
Pictures could also represent sounds e.g. an eye could mean ‘I’ as a person. Sounds could also be
combined to make up a word e.g. the place Tochtepecan meant on rabbit (tochtli) hill (topetl).
The pictures were drawn with pointed sticks using dyes from soot and plants. They were drawn in
books called codices (plural of codex)
Paper
This was made out of bark from fig trees treated and covered with a chalk paste to make it
smoother to write on. Deerskin was also sometimes used.
The Codex
The picture book was made up of pages stuck together in strips up to eleven metres long.
These were then folded into a zig-zag shape and drawn on both sides making a kind of
pictogram of information. It had to be deciphered like a picture puzzle reading from top to
bottom and left to right.
Scribes
Trained scribes produced the picture writing. Some were historians, others wrote the laws
or wrote out the tribute lists (taxes in form of food, clothing, precious goods owed by the
cities of the Aztec Empire).
Priests wrote the religious books on the gods, temples and festivals.