Download Aztecs - SBAS

TASK
• Create a title page in your books with the heading AZTECS and
the following basic facts
• - the Aztecs were found in Mexico and some parts of Central
America
• - they existed between the 12th and 15th century (1376 –
1525)
• - the capital was called Tenochtitlan
• - the Aztecs spoke Nahuatl
Who were the Aztecs?
• Aztecs are the collective name given to seven
Chichimec tribes of northern Mexico, who
controlled the valley of Mexico and much of
central America.
Where did they live?
What types of houses did they live in?
• Materials included in common house construction included wood, straw,
stone, sand, lime, and clay. Straw would often be used for roofs. Adobe
bricks, very common in the construction of houses in the Aztec empire,
would be made from water, sand, clay, and a material such as straw.
Floors might be dirt, stone, or plastered.
Size varied due to the wealth of the family and location. For example, house sizes
would be smaller in the big city of Tenochtitlán, while in more rural areas houses
would be larger (that's a general rule, though not always the case). But the same
basic pattern was followed - basically, one large room, occasionally with a small
room added on. There were likely two doors and no windows. There would be
space in one of the walls for a small religious shrine. A typical house layout may
have been around 15-25 square meters (50-82ft).
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Aztec architecture
Facts about Aztec Temples
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Aztec temples were called Teocalli (God Houses).
The Priests used the temples to pray, worship
and make offerings to the Gods.
Templo Mayor
Height: 60m/197ft
The gods: Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc
Distinctives: A double temple
Completed: 1497
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Pyramids of the Sun and Moon
Materials: Built of stone and covered with stucco and polychrome paint
Height: 65m/215ft (sun) 42m/138ft (moon)
The gods: Tlaloc and Chalchihuitlicue (or the Sun and the Moon)
The pyramid of the sun is the 3rd largest in the world
Covering: At their peak, it's believed the pyramids were plastered and painted
bright red
CHALLENGE
• Your challenge is to create an Aztec house or temple
based on the pictures and plans shown to you. You
must label your model or diagram with sentences in
Spanish to describe it e.g. An Aztec house has 1 main
room with smaller rooms coming off of it. Minimum
of 5 sentences.
• You can draw your diagram or make your model from
boxes, plasticine, paper . . . The list is endless!
What languages did they speak?
• The Aztecs spoke Nahuatl.
• Today Nahuatl languages are spoken in rural communities in Mexico. The
language has changed from the traditional Nahuatl and has been
influenced by the Spanish language. Currently there are 1.45 million
speakers of Nahuatl.
• Did you know that the words Avocado, tomato, chilli, chocolate and coyote
are all from the Nahuatl language? Also scribes and priests were the only
people that could write.
• in xochitl, in cuicatl "The flower, the song" – meaning "poetry"
• in cuitlapilli, in atlapalli "the tail, the wing" – meaning "the common
people"
• in toptli, in petlacalli "the chest, the box" meaning "something secret"
• in yollohtli, in eztli "the heart, the blood" – meaning "cacao"
• in iztlactli, in tenqualactli "the drool, the spittle" – meaning "lies"
The Nahuatl alphabet was introduced by the Spanish as
many pictograms did not represent the meanings of all
the spoken words.
Nahuatl
• http://a-znames.com/name-origins/nahuatlorigin-top-names/
• http://globalrecordings.net/program/C04461
Task
• Create your own pictograms to represent the
English alphabet
Project
• Use the following website to create a poster
about on of the following:
Feathered Serpent Pyramid
Pyramid of the Moon
Pyramid of the Sun
Avenue of the Dead
Ciudadela
http://archaeology.la.asu.edu/teo/INDEX.php
Movies about Teotihuacan
• http://archaeology.la.asu.edu/teo/movies/ind
ex.htm
Mathematics
http://lawrencehallofscience.org/pass/passv11/PASSv11cAztecMayanMath.pdf
TASK
• Use the Aztec number system to create 10
sums for another student to complete.
Aztec Money
• Cacao beans were used as money – a small
rabbit would cost about 30 cacao beans, but
to sell a child would cost 600 cacao beans.
• It was common for poorer families to sell their
children.
• Aztecs also used a type of cotton called
Quachtli. The Quachtli was worth a lot more
than cacao beans – a man could live for half a
year on 10 Quachtli.
What clothes did they wear?
http://www.aztec-history.com/ancient-aztec-clothing.html
The basic garment for males was a breechcloth, called
maxtlatl . The maxtlatl would often be worn under a
cloak or cape called tilmahtli. Various styles of tilmatli
existed which served to indicate the status of the
wearer.
Aztec women wore a blouse called huīpīlli and a skirt
called cuēitl .
Sandals, called cactli were a sign of status. They were
largely restricted to noble males. Those who entered
temples or appeared before the emperor were required
to be barefoot.
The Aztecs also wore a lot of jewellery – the richer a
person was, the more jewellery they wore.
TASK
• In your books, design a traditional outfit for
students at Streaky Bay Area School –
remember to include shoes, headwear and
jewellery. Label your outfit in Spanish.
Rulers
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The Ruler/Emperor had to perform many duties such as:
As High Priest, the emperor presided over religious ceremonies and built and maintained
temples. The emperor was also expected to offer his own blood in public religious
ceremonies as an act of self-sacrifice.
As “Commander-in-Chief,” the emperor expanded his realm through military conquests of
neighboring peoples and regions. Heading the army and appointing diplomats was one of the
many military duties he performed.
As Supreme Judge, the emperor appointed judges and constables to settle disputes and
punish criminals, especially in the marketplace.
As Chief Engineer, the emperor commissioned a variety of public works, including aqueducts,
causeways, and dams.
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/aztecs/rulers_1.asp
Rulers Continued
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http://library.thinkquest.org/27981/aztecrulers.html
TASK
• Choose a name for your
ruler and design a logo for
them
• Design your town
• Design a flag and coat of
arms
• If you were a ruler, what
10 rules/laws would you
have for your empire and
WHY do you think that
they are important?
Sacrifices
• The Aztecs sacrificed animals and
humans to different Gods. They
believed that by sacrificing things,
then the Aztecs could repay their
debts to the Gods. The temple
pyramids were used for the sacrifices.
• Self-sacrifice was also common where
people would give their own blood to
the Gods.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_
sacrifice_in_Aztec_culture
Aztecs Today
• Although the Aztec empire was collapsed by Hernan Cortes (a
Spanish leader) in 1519, many Aztec descendents still live in
Mexico, practicing their culture.
• There are believed to be more than a million Aztecs in
Mexico.
• Many of today’s Aztecs also share Spanish, American-Indian
etc. heritage.
What did the Aztecs invent?
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http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/index.php?one=azt&two=fac
Chocolate
Chewing gum
Popcorn
Calendar Wheel
TASK
• What one item would you have liked to have
invented and why?
The Aztec calendar
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Aztecs used two different calendars, one measured time, while the other was used
to fix religious festivals.
http://eatourbrains.com/EoB/wpcontent/uploads/2007/12/azteccalendar.jpg
http://www.azteccalendar.com/azteccalendar.html
There is not just one Aztec calendar, there are two more or less independent
systems. One calendar, called the
xiuhpohualli, has 365 days. It describes the days
and rituals related to the seasons, and therefore
might be called the agricultural year or the solar
year. The other calendar has 260 days. In Nahuatl, the
language of the Aztecs, it is called the tonalpohualli or,
the day-count.
TASK
• Use the following website to type in your birthday.
Copy your individual pictograms onto a black piece of
card with lead pencil. Then used coloured pencils to
colour in.
• http://www.azteccalendar.com/calendarcalculator.html
Xihuitl:
solar year
Trecena:
13-day period
Tonalli:
day
Food and drink
• Maize (yellow corn) was the main food source
for the Aztecs along with avocados, tomatoes,
tamales, tortillas, vegetables, meat, corn, chilli
peppers, squash, and chocolate.
Atole – Hot Chocolate
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Ingredients
1/2 cup fresh masa (corn dough) or 1/2 cup masa flour (masa
harina) mixed with a 1/4 cup hot water to blend
5 cups water
3 - 4 tablespoons piloncillo, chopped or 1/4 cup brown sugar plus 2 teaspoons molasses
1 stick cinnamon (canella)
1 vanilla bean (split lengthwise)
Optional, about 1 cup fresh strawberries or pineapple chunks
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Instructions
Place the water and the masa into the jar of a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to a
medium sized saucepan. Scrape the seeds of the vanilla bean into the pan and add the
cinnamon stick. Stir the mixture until it begins to thicken. Add the piloncillo or (or sugar,
molasses combination) and continue to stir vigorously until the sugar is dissolved. Remove
the mixture from the heat.
At this point you could add pureed fruit such as strawberries or pineapple. Remove the
cinnamon stick. Stir the fruit into the mixture and return it to the stove and heat over
medium heat until the mixture is warmed. Remove the vanilla bean and serve hot, in mugs.
Toys, games and music
• Children played tlachtli – a ball game for teams much like a combination of
basketball and soccer and patolli – a gambling game played with dried
beans and pebbles
• Religion was very important part of Aztec life and music was a huge part of
religious ceremonies (and story-telling) - the instruments they used were
shells, rattles, whistles, horns, bells and drums.
Games
• The Aztec ball game
• Ullamaliztli, the famous Aztec ball game, was played on a tlachtli ball
court (the game is sometimes referred to as Tlachtli). The ball court was
one of the first things built when the Aztecs settled a new area, making it
the most important of the ancient Aztec games. It was a very difficult
game played with a large rubber ball (the name of the game comes from
the word ulli, or rubber).
• Patolli, the Aztecs were passionate about one of the most common
ancient Aztec games - patolli. Patolli is actually a type of board game,
which was played by the common people as well as the nobles. The name
comes from the word for small red beans, which were used to play the
game.
• http://www.aztec-history.com/ancient-aztec-games.html
Ullamaliztli
The teams would face each other on the court. The object in theend was to get the ball through the
stone hoop. This was extremely difficult, and so if it actually happened the game would be over. In fact,
according to historian Manuel Aguilar-Morenao, some courts didn't even have rings. Another important
rule was that the ball was never allowed to touch the ground. Players couldn't hold or even touch the ball
with their hands - only the elbows, knees, hips and head were used. As you may imagine, this made for a
very fast paced game, and the players had to constantly throw themselves against the surface of the court
to keep the ball from landing. The players were skillful, and the ball could stay in the air for an hour or
more.
Because it was so hard to get the ball through the hoops, there were other objects as well. Players could
hit one of the six markers along the sides of the court. Or, they would be given points for other skillful
plays. Fouls were also given if the players couldn't get the ball across the centre line, or if they touched
the ball with the wrong part of the body, such as the hand or calf.
Play a game of Patolli on Miss
Blackmore’s computer (if we can get
it to work!!)
Aztec Gods
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Aztec Gods: (having many gods and goddesses is called polytheastic)
Chalchiuhtlicue – goddess of the lakes and streams
Chantico – goddess of the hearth
Chicomecoatl – goddess of maize
Coatlicue – goddess for the pain of life
Huehuetectim - god of fire
Huitzilopochtli – god of war, sun and the nation
Mictlantecuhtl – god of the dead
Quetzalcoatl - god of knowledge, creation, priesthood, and wind
Tezcatlipoca – god of magic, war and death
Tezcatlipoca – god of speech and language
Tlaloc – god of rain
Tloque Nahuaque - Lord of everywhere, the one supreme force, both male and
female
Xipe Totec – god of spring and new life, god of suffering Xochipilli - prince of
flowers, god of dawn, dance and love
TASK
Either draw or use the computer (drawing program of your choice) to create
your own Aztec God – what would there name be and what would they be
famous for e.g. supplying fresh clean water to all cities in the world, providing
peace and tranquillity to all children
History
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The Aztec Triple Alliance, also known as the Aztec Empire, was an alliance of three
Aztec city-states: Tenochtitlan; Texcoco; and Tlacopan. These city-states ruled the
area in and around the Valley of Mexico from 1428 until they were defeated by the
Spanish conquistadores and their native allies under Hernán Cortés in 1521.
The Aztec Triple Alliance was formed by Itzcoatl of Tenochtitlan, Acolhuacans of
Texcoco, and the smaller city-state of Tlacopan in 1428. Despite the name,
Tenochtitlan was the dominant partner, and Tlacopan the weakest. Tenochtitlan
and Texcoco each received 2/5 of all tribute, and Tlacopan received 1/5. By the
time the Spanish arrived in 1520, Tlacopan had nearly disappeared as a separate
city-state, and the lands of the Alliance were ruled from Tenochtitlan.
At its height, the Alliance controlled most of central Mexico from coast to coast,
except for a small area southeast of Tenochtitlan: the Kingdom of the Tlaxcalteca,
roughly bounded by the modern-day Mexican state of Tlaxcala. It was the
Tlaxcalans who allied with Cortés in 1521 to ultimately destroy the Alliance.
COMPREHENSION
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What was the triple alliance?
When were there Aztecs?
Who destroyed the alliance and when?
List 10 new things that you have learnt about
the Aztecs – share these with your family
References
• http://www.aztec-history.com