Slide 2 by Filbert Presley Slide 3 Who are Aztecs? Aztecs is a
group of Mexican Indian people who settled in the valley of Mexico
(it is Central Mexico today) in the early 16th century. The city of
Tenochtitlan was the capital of the Aztec Empire. It was an island
in Lake Texcoco lies between Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean.
Slide 4 Slide 5 The name Aztec came from a place called Aztlan
(Place of white Herons) where the Aztec came from. The people of
Tenochtitlan called themselves The Mexica, which is where the name
Mexico comes from. Slide 6 Aztec Timeline 1111 The Mexica leave
Northern Mexico 1299 The Mexica arrive in the valley of Mexico 1345
The Aztecs starts to build Tenochtitlan 1440 The Aztec Empire
starts growing 1502 Montezuma II becomes the Tlatoani 1517 The
Spanish explorers land in Mexico 1519 Cortes enter Tenochtitlan
1521 The Aztecs lose the war and empire end Slide 7 Different class
of Aztecs 1.The Nobles were the highest class such as priests,
government, advisor or warriors. 2.The working people (commoners)
were the middle class, such as farmers or craftspeople. 3.Slaves
were the lowest class, such as prisoners or criminals. Slide 8 What
did the Aztecs wear ? Working class people and slaves wore
plain/simple clothes made of fibers from the Maguey plant. Nobles
wore colorful cotton decorated with feathers and jewelry. They
painted their bodies, colored their faces yellow, and stained their
teeth red. Slide 9 Where did the Aztecs live? Nobles lived at the
center of the city. They had two levels large houses with many
rooms and many furniture with curtain, flowers and decoration.
Commoners lived on the outer edge of town. They had one level house
with two rooms only (which was for cooking and eating and the other
room for sleeping), no furniture. Slide 10 What did the Aztecs eat?
Maize or corn was the most important food for Aztecs, besides
tomatoes, chili peppers, beans, squash, avocado, turkey, fish, dog.
For breakfast and dinner, they ate Atole ( a soup made from corn).
For lunch, they ate tortillas wrapped with beans, tomatoes and
peppers. Slide 11 Rich Aztecs dined on crab, oysters and turtle.
They enjoyed special drink called Chocolatl. Poor Aztecs drank
water only. Slide 12 The Aztecs Language Aztecs spoke Nahuatl. In
some parts of Mexico, a million people still used this language
until today. Glyphs are symbols of their writing system. Slide 13
The Aztecs Invention They were excellent builders. They turned a
small island into a huge city. The most important Aztecs building
were pyramid-shaped temples that was built from rock. They lived by
firm rules. The rules kept crime very low in Aztec culture. They
wrote poetry and songs about life. They performed dancing. Slide 14
They made instrumental tools from animal skins, bones or shells.
They created art from huge blocks of stone and gold. They builted a
strong army such as Jaguar and Eagle knights. They developed a
written language. They introduced hot chocolate to Europeans. Slide
15 The Aztecs used calendar to counting the days. Slide 16 What did
the Aztecs hunt? The Aztecs hunt turkey, dogs, rabbits, deer and
wild duck. They fished for turtles, salamanders, frogs, tadpoles
and shellfish. Slide 17 The Aztecs Government The king called The
Tlatoani ruled the Aztecs. Each paid taxes to the Tlatoani. The
Tlatoani had a group of advisors and priests to help him. Slide 18
Aztecs Warriors The Aztecs were ruthless warriors. They built up an
empire because of their fighting skills. Most boys wanted to be
warriors. Young boys were trained to fight. They were taught how to
take prisoners. All Aztecs men, except slaves, had to do military
service and learn how to fight Slide 19 The Aztecs Religion Tlaloc
was one of the most important Gods because he was thought to bring
the rain that made the plants grow. Children were killed every
winter as sacrifices to Tlaloc. They were offered to the god so
that he would provide rain. Slide 20 The Aztecs Economy Aztecs did
not use money. They bought and sold goods by barter. Most markets
were open 5 days a week. Thousands of people came from all over to
buy and sell goods. In the center of Tenochtitlan they bought gold,
jade, black beans, pottery, slaves, puppies and salt. Slide 21 The
Aztecs Civilization None still alive until now. Aztec civilization
is gone but parts of its culture have endured, such as Aztec
writing and Aztec food (Tortillas). By 1521, the Aztec empire were
destroyed by war between Montezuma II and Hernan Cortes, and were
also destroyed by smallpox that Spaniards brought from Europe.
Slide 22 Slide 23 Unanswered Questions What did science mean to
them? Where did the name tlaloc come from? What made Montezuma to
be a king? When was Montezuma born? Who were Montezumas mother and
father? Slide 24 Resources Rees, Rosemary, The Aztecs, Heineimann
Library, 1999, Pages 48 Wyborny, Sheila, The Aztec Empire,
Blackbirch Press, 2004, Pages 4 Deedrick, Tami, Aztecs, Raintree
Steck Vaughn, 2002, Pages 15 Apte, Sunita, Aztec Empire,
Scholastic, 2010, Pages 10 Bingham, Jane, Aztec Empire, Raintree,
2007, Pages 33 Macdonald, Fiona, Aztec Warriors, National
Geographic Society, 2005, Pages 35 Chris, Peter, The Aztecs,
Raintree Steck, 2000, Pages 30
