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Daily Life in Tenochtitlan 25.1 lntroduction In Chapter24, you learnedhow the Aztecsbuilt their empire in centralMexico. Now you will explore what life was like in the Aztecs' capital city of Tenochtitlan. Imagine that you are anAztec child living outsideTenochtitlanin the 1400s c.e. One morning your father,a chili pepper farmer, takes you to the great market at Tenochtitlan.Your father finds the vegetablesection,where he spreads out his mat and displayshis peppers. Then he beginsto shoutout prices. He gladly tradeswith a noblewoman, exchangingpeppersfor preciouscacao beans.Later he tradeshis remaining peppersfor a handmadeclay cooking pot for your mother. After all the peppersare gone, your father takes you on a long stroll around the city. You see the Great Temple where priests perform sacrifices and the ball court where noblesplay a game called tlachtli. You gaze in wonder at the beautiful houseswhere noble families live and the splendidpalaceof the Aztec ruler.After the long walk home, you hungrily eat a simple mush made of maize before going to sleep. This imaginary trip to Tenochtitlan suggestsmany aspectsof daily life for Aztecs in the 1400s.In this chapter, you'll learn more abouthow the people of Tenochtitlanlived. You'll explore Aztec class structure, marriage, family life, food, markets, religious practices, and recreation. Daily Life in Tenochtitlan 279 25-Z Glass Structure Aztec society was divided into five main social classes.At the top of the class structurewere the ruler and his family. Next came a noble class of governmentofficials, priests, and high-ranking warriors. The third and largest class was made up of commoners,citizens who were not of noble rank. Below the commoners were the peasants,who were neither slavesnor citizens. At the bottom of the class structure were the slaves. Each classhad its own privilegesand responsibilities.However,an Aztec's statuswas not fixed. Commonerscould move up in social class by performing brave deedsin war or by studying to be priests.And a noble could fall in rank if he failed to live up to his responsibilities. Let's look at the role of each class, beginning with the ruler and his family. semidivine morethanhuman butnotfullya god hereditary passed onfrom parent to child; inherited The Ruler The Aztec ruler, or emperor, was consideredsemidivine. Called tlatoani, or "he who speaks,"the emperormaintained the empire and decided when to wage war. The position of ruler was not hereditary, as it was in many other societies.When an emperor died, his son did not automatically become ruler. Instead, a group of advisors chose the new ruler from the emperor's family. Each new ruler was expectedto acquire new possessionsof his own. This was an important motive for constant warfare. Thisarnryork showspeoplefromvariousclassesof Aztecsociety. Usethe information fromthetextandvisual cluesin the imageto try to identify whichgroupin theAztecclass structure eachfigurerepresents. Government Officials, Priests, and Military Leaders The emperor was supportedby a noble class of governmentofficials, priests, and military leaders.Officials in Tenochtitlan counseledthe emperor, worked asjudges, and govemed the city's four districts. Other nobles throughout the empire ruled cities, collected tribute (payments), or erectedpublic buildings and roads. The emperor appointed government officials for life. Noble statuswas not hereditary,but most sons of nobles earnedhigh offices themselves. Priests conducted all religious rites and servedindividual gods. Some priests ran the schools that trained boys for governmentjobs and the priesthood. Other priests studied the skies and made predictions about the future. Generally only nobles becamepriests, but sometimesan Aztec from lower classesrose this high. Girls could becomepriestesses. 280 Chapter25 Commonerscould also rise to becomemilitary leaders.All Aztec men were trainedto be soldiers,and a common soldiercould become *'f Y J'. a leaderby capturingenemiesin battle.Military leaderscommanded groupsof soldiersand took part in war councils. Gommoners The broad classof commonersincludedseveral smallerclasses.The highest-rankingcommonerswere professional traderscalledpochteca.The pochtecaled caravansto distantlands to acquireexotic goods.Some also servedas spiesfor the emperor, reporting what type of tribute a city could provide. Aztecoainters createdbeautiful murals for emperors andother high-ranking Aztecofficials. The pochtecahad their own god and lived in a separatesectionof Tenochtitlan. They paid taxeswith rare goods.They enjoyedmany privileges.For example, they could own land and sendtheir children to the nobles' schools.Unlike noble status,membershipin this class was hereditary. Below the pochtecacame craftspeople and artisans,like potters,jewelers,and painters.Someworked in their homesand tradedtheir goods at the market.Others worked in the royal palaceand made items speciallyfor the emperor. Most commonersworked as farmers, fishers.laborers.and servants.Insteadof owning land, they were loanedplots of land for homesand farms by their calpulli, or ward. All commonerspaid tribute to the nobility in the form of crops,labor, or manufacturedgoods. About 30 percentof the Aztec peoplewere peasants. Unlike slaves,peoplein this classwere free, but they were considered Peasants inferior to commoners.Peasantsdid not belong to a calpulli and were not loanedland to farm. Instead,they hired out their servicesto nobles. Slaves At the bottom of Aztec societywere the slaves.Prisoners of war, lawbreakers,or debtorsmight be forced into slavery.Unlike slavesin many societies,Aztec slaveshad a numberof rights. They could own property,goods,and even other slaves.In addition,slaves did not passtheir statuson to their children,who were born free. In fact, the mother of the emperorItzcoatl was a slave.Many slaves gainedtheir own freedomafter working off a debt, upon completing ward a neighborhood thatis a political unitwithina city their term of punishmentfor a crime, or when their mastersdied. Now let's look at what daily life was like for the Aztecs of Tenochtitlan,beginningwith marriagecustoms.We'll focus mostly on the majority of Aztecs,the commoners. Daily Life in Tenochtitlan 281 25.3 Marriage dowry a giftof moneyor goods to a manor a woman oresented uponmarriage polygamy marriage in whicha manor a womanhasmorethan onesDouse Marriage and family life were important to Aztecs of all social classes.Marriagemarkedan Aztec child's entry into adulthood.Most men marriedaroundthe age of 20, while young women tendedto t {alt- marry around16. Marriageswere arrangedby the families of the bride and groom. The young man'sfamily chosethe bride.They then engagedthe services of a matchmaker,an older woman who approachedthe bride's ri. family. It was customaryfor the bride's family to refuseat first. The matchmakerthen returneda few days later.This time the bride's family usuallyacceptedthe union and setthe dowry. Even amongcommoners,an Aztec wedding was as elaborateas the familiescould afford.The festivitiesbeganat the bride'shouse. Relatives,friends,the groom'steachers,and the importantpeopleof S' .}l the calpulli enjoyeda banquetwith the bride and gaveher presents. ThispagefromtheCodex Mendoza showsa youngcouple's marriage That evening,the guestsmarchedto the groom's home for the wedding ceremony.An old woman, usually the matchmaker,carried the bride on her back. To symbolizethe bond of marriage,during the ceremony the matchmakertied the groom'scloak to the bride'sblouse. After the ceremony,the young couple retiredto the bridal chamber festivities. Canyouidentify thebride, to pray for four days, while their guestscelebrated.On the fifth day, thegroom, andthematchmaker? the couple emergedand attended anothergrand banquet.Then they rl r settleddown on a pieceof land in I L ," . ltuVn t' the groom'scalpulli. The Aztecs permittedmen to practicepolygamy, or to marry more than one wife. An Aztec man could take as many wives as he could afford. However,only one of the wives was consideredthe "primary" wife, and only marriage 7 to the primary wife was celebrated with specialrites and ceremonies. r If a marriagewas unhappy,either spousecould ask for a divorce.A man could divorcehis wife if she $+n* neglectedher dutiesat home,had a poor temper,or did not bear chilc.!hS- dren.A woman could divorceher husbandif he beat her. deserted wn*9t .l ^ It l[ 1-<e*n ;,i .^ ,'cJf ,(^^f, to** 282 Chapter25 t*1 her, or failed to supporther and her children.Aztec societyencouraged divorcedwomen to remarry. tl + 25.4 Family Life Men had higherstatusthan women in Aztec society,and within tJ the family the fatherwas the master of the house.Aztec women.however, had their own rightsand responsibilities.Married womancould own propertyand sell goods.Someolder \i ,*#, rrl ro !.r.r { women alsopracticeda profession. suchas matchmakingor midwif'ery. Arnongcommoners,the skills of both men and women were necessary to carefor the householdand ry the family. Men built the houseand worked as farmersor at a crafi. Womenfixed meals.tendedthe garden,and lookedatier livestock. Ir Many Aztec wollen wove beautiful clothesof many colors.Sornemade cloaksin patternsof sun designsor with imagesof shells,fish,cacti. snakes.or butterflies.Womentraded thesecloakstbr othergoodsat the market. 4t. One of a wonrans mtlslinrprlrtantjobs was to bearand carefirr children.The Aztecsbelievedthat the purposeof marriagewas to bring childreninto the world, so they honoreda woman'srole in sivins birth as rnuchas theydid a man'srole in fightingwars. tl Q' age.All chilAztecparentsbegantrainingtheirchildrenat a yoLln-s drenof commoners helpedout aroundthc house.Little boysf'etched waterand wood. while older boys learnedhow to flsh and handlea canoe.Eventuallyboys acconrpanied their fathersto work or to the Parents taughttheirsonsanddaughsuchasfishing, tersimportant skills, weaving, andcooking. canoeing, market.Girls' taskscenteredon runninga homeand includedcleaning maize.When they were aboutsevenyearsold. houseand -erinding -rirls learningto weavefrom their mothers. be-qan In additionto working,all boys attendedschool.Commonersprobably startedschoolaroundthe a-ueof six. bLrtthey only attendedparttime. At the telpoc'ltculli, or "houseof youth," boys rnostlytrainedto be instead.Therethey soldiers.The sonsof nobleswent to the L'ultrrccuc learnedthe skills of being pliests.governmentofflcials.or tnilitary ti cornmanders. Dailv Lil'c in Tenochtitlan 2U3 25.5 Food The Aztecs of Tenochtitlan ate both homegrown foods and foods that were imported from distant places.The mainstay of the Aztec diet, however, was maize. The Aztecs found maize so useful becauseit could be dried and then stored for a lons time. Women boiled and skinned maize kernels and ground them into flour. Then they baked fresh tortillas for each meal on clay griddles. They also made tamalesby wrapping muze in husksand steamingit. The daily routine of Aztec commoners shows the importance of 'maize. After working for several hours, commoners ate a simple meal in the late moming. The meal usually consistedof a maize porridge called atole.The porridge was often seasonedwith peppersor sweetenedwith honey.At midday, commoners ate their main meal of tortillas, maize cakes.boiled beans.or tamales. Pepperor tomato saucesometimes spicedup thesedishes.Most families had only two meals.But somepeople ate a thin porridge, usually made of maize,just before going to bed. Aztec commoners had occasional variety in their meals. To provide meat for specialoccasions,families might raise a few turkeys or a hairless breed of dog. Or they might hunt wild game,such as rabbits and pigeons. Thepreparation of tortillasand otherfoodswasa dailytaskfor Aztecwomen. Aztec farmers also grew such crops as red peppers,tomatoes,sage, green potatoes, and avocados.When crops were squash, beans,sweet bad, the Aztecs turned to other sourcesof food. They caughtwater creatures,such as frogs and shrimp, and collectedinsecteggs.They even skimmed algae, a type of plant, off the surface of the lake and formed it into small cakes. The wealthy ate quite a different diet, both on a daily basis and at the feaststhey attended.They prized delicacieslike winged ants and a lizardlike creaturecalled an axolotl. The upper classesalso ate exotic imported foods. They enjoyed cocoa with their morning meal and pineapples,oysters,and crabsat their banquets. 284 Chapter25 t$ sli * 25.6 MafketS Markets were an important part of the Aztec economy.Each city in the empire had its own market,usually locatedin the squarein front of the town's temple.Large towns held marketsevery day, while small villages held them about every five days.Sometowns had their own specialties.The peopleof Tenochtitlanmight travel to nearbyTexcoco * People bartered, or traded, in the marketplace for thethingsthey needed' for fine cloth and to farawayAcolman to buy dogs for meat. At Tlatelolco,the bustling market in Tenochtitlan,peoplebought and sold everythingfrom food and utensilsto warrior costumes,quetzal feathers,and slaves.Insteadof using money,Aztecs useda bartersystem, trading one kind of good for another.Someexpensivegoodshad an agreed-uponvalue. For instance,a warrior's costumeand shield were worth about 60 cotton cloaks. Many individualsbrought their waresto market.Farmersbrought extra crops they had grown, while craftspeoplebroughthandmade goods.The pochtecahad a specialplace in the markets,sincethey brought exotic goodsfrom farawayplaces.They suppliedfine green jade and quetzalfeathers.They also providedraw materialsthat were unavailablearoundTenochtitlan.For example,they sold metalslike gold and silver, as well as tortoiseshellsfor making spoons. Guardswatchedover the market to make sure sellersactedhonestly. When a problem arose-for example,a personaccusinga sellerof cheating-the guards took the parties to a court located at one end of the market. There threejudges sat, waiting to hear the story and render their verdict. The market also had a socialpurpose.Peoplecamethereto meet friends, gossip,and hear the news of the day. Somepeoplesimply t enjoyedstrolling up and down the aisles,buying snacksand seeing all the wonderful thinss the sellers had to offer. Daily Life in Tenochtitlan 285 25.7 Religious Practices Religionwas centralto Aztec lif'eand society.The Aztecsbelieved that humansneededthe godsto survive.It was the godswho granteda 1 good harvestor, if they weredispleased. sentearthquakes and floods. it was importantto pleasethe godsthroughelaborate Consequently, ritualsand ceremonies. Priestspresentedthe godswith flowers,ears of maize,clothing,or imagesmadeof wood, while the peoplesang and danced. .t,t The Aztecsadoptedsomeof their godsfiom otherMesoamerican groups.For example,Tlaloc,the rain god, was an ancientMesoamericangod. Quetzalcoatl("featheredserpent")had beenworshiped by the Teotihuacans. But theAztecs'own chief god was Huitzilopochtli,the sun god and the god of war. In fact, the Aztecscalledthemselvesthe "peopleof the sun." i, The Aztecssaw the sun as a warrior who fbught eachnight againstthe forcesof darkness. In Aztec belief,the survivalof the universe dependedupon the sun winning thesebattles. And the way to keepthe sun strongwas to offer hirn nourishmentin the form of bloodFor this reason.mostAztec ritualsincluded someforrn of blood sacrifice.Every morning Aztec priestssacriflcedhundredsof birds to Huitzilopochtli.Priestsalsopiercedtheir skin with cactusspikesto offer their own blood. * The richestfbrm of sacrifice,however,was that of humans.The Aztecsparticularlyvalued the sacriflceof wariors capturedin battle, becausethey believedthat the blood of strong warriorswas especiallynourishing.Scholars think the Aztecsalsousedhumansacrificeto fiighten othercitiesinto acceptingtheir rule. In Tenochtitlan,up to severalthousandpeople may havegoneto sacrificialdeathseach year.Four priestspinnedthe victim to the stone in fiont of Huitzilopochtli'stemple,while Thisillustration fromthe1500s shows anothercut out the living heart.Somevictimsmay havedied willingly Aztecs making a humansacrifice to in the beliefthatthey wouldaccompany the sungod in his daily battle thesungod. acrossthe sky. The Aztecsalsomadesacrificesto othergods.They threw the sacrificial victims of the fire god into a greatblaze.To honor the goddessof corn,they cut off women'sheads.Overall,the Aztecspracticedhuman group. sacrificeon a much largerscalethan any otherMesoamerican 286 Chapter25 I f; * 25.8 Recreation While work, warfare,and rituals were all importantto the Aztecs.they alsohad *. 1 sometime for recreation.They enjoyed music and dancing,and noblesliked to go on hunts. waspatolli, a Anotherentertainment gameplayedon a cross-shaped board \ divided into 52 squares.The boardsymbolizedthe 260-daycalendar,which the Aztecssharedwith the Maya and other peoples.Five times Mesoamerican aroundthe boardequaled260 days.To move aroundthe board,playersthrew a severalwhite beansmarkedwith holes. The holes told them how many spacesto movethe coloredstonesthatservedas gamepieces.The first person aroundthe boardfive timeswasthe winner. playedpatolli,but it's likely thatonly membersof All socialclasses the nobility playedthe ball gametluchtl/.Similarto Mayan ball games, tlachtli was playedon a long, naffow court shapedlike the letterI and suroundedby high walls.A small ring proiectedover the court from &r gameamong Patolli wasa popular AztecsandotherMesoamerican neoples.Whitebeansmarked withholes werethrownlikemoderndiceto tell playershowmanyspacestheycould move0nthe cross-shaped board. eachsidewall. Two teamsfacedeachotheracrossa line that ran betweenthe rings.The objectof the gamewas to get a rubberball throughthe ring on the other'steam sideof the court.Playerscould r) not touchthe ball with their handsor feet.so they threw themselves on the groundto hit the ball with their elbows,knees,and hips. gatheredto watcheachgame.They often Hundredsof spectators riskedclothes,f'eathers, and gold by bettingon which teamwould win. Somepeoplelost all their wealthin suchbetsand had to sell themselvesinto slavery. Tlachtli had religiousmeaningas well. The Aztecsbelievedthat the tlachtlicourt represented the world and the ball represented a heavenly body.Becauseof thesereligiousties.theAztecsbuilt their tlachtlicourts nearthe most importanttemples,like the GreatTemplein Tenochtitlan. 25.9 Chapter $ummary ti In this chapter,you learnedabout daily life in the Aztecs'capital city of Tenochtitlan. You read about the structureof Aztec society and the customs governing marriage and family life. You discoveredwhat the Aztecs ate, how they traded goods in their markets, and how they worshipedand played.In the next chapter,you will travel to South America to learn about another people who built an empire in the Americas:the Incas. Daily Life in Tenochtitlan 287 I