The Aztecs

By:

Sabrina, Saloni, Matias, Ethan, And Fiona

The men from Aztecs wore loincloths with long capes. The women from Aztec usually wore blouses with long skirts. The poor Aztec people generally made their own clothing by weaving their cloth. It was the responsibility of women to make the clothing for their families.

Clothes:

The Aztec’s generally ate maine. Maine is similar to corn. They made tortillas with maine. They also ate beans and squash. Aztecs ate varieties of food such as dogs, insects, fish, honey, and snakes. The most valuable kind of food they had was cocoa beans. They used it to make chocolate!

Food:

All the children from Aztecs were required to go to school. Even slave children had to go to school. When the young children first started learning, they were taught by their parents. But by their teens they had to go to school. Boys went to different schools than the girls. Girls learned to dance, they learned ritual songs, and religion. Boys learned how to farm, craft, and make pottery.

School:

Wealthy families lived in sun-dried brick houses. The king of the Aztecs lived in a huge home with lots of rooms and gardens! Poor families lived in little shacks or huts.

Homes:

Did you know the most popular form of writing is poetry? They wrote about their every day life of gods and mythology. Another word used for poetry they used is called “flower and song”. This is an Aztec Poem about fishing: “Help me white Spirit, soon here you will embrace the red Chichimec, am I calling just one? Indeed all of them I call, the child fish, the man fish, the woman fish, dwellers of the meander” Some Aztecs played music. They played many instruments like flutes, shells, whistles, and drums. But, they did not just play music to enjoy it. They also played music to ask the gods questions such as asking for the weather to be rainy or sunny. Or maybe even asking for the harvest to be well.

Art

Sometimes for fun, Aztecs liked to play games. One game was called Patolli. This game is like other games today because in Patolli, all you have to do is roll a dice and move your character. Another game is called Ullamaliztli. This is a ball game Aztec’s played. Ullamaliztli was played on a court. (Tlachtli court) The rules for this game is unknown but to play this game you will need a large rubber ball. Another game is called Totoloque. In this game your objective is to hit a target with gold pellets. Some activities Aztecs played with are bows and arrows, or marbles and stone.

Games

The Aztecs were famous for their floating gardens. The floating gardens were made of soil, reeds, or grasses. On the floating garden were corn, beans, and tomatoes.

Floating Gardens

They carved sculptures made of stone. The Aztecs carved big and small. The woman statues had their hands on their knees. The men statues had their knees up and their arms crossed.

They made lots of jewelry. The Aztecs used gold, silver, copper, jade, and obsidian to make jewelry.

Sculptures and Jewelry

The Aztecs used to live what is now South Central Mexico. The city of Tenochtitlan was in the middle of Lake Texcoco. The Aztecs lived their because nobody wanted the land.

Tenochtitlan

The most famous art was the feather work. The Aztecs used colored feathers to make beautiful cloaks and headdresses. The wealthy Aztecs could wear the feather work items.

The Feather Work

The Importance of the Sun

The Aztecs believed in many gods. The Aztecs adopted gods from tribes they conquered. A really important aspect of the Aztec religion was the sun. Another name for the Aztecs is “People of the Sun”.

Gods and Mythology Aztecs believed some gods had more

strength and were more important then others. Huitzilopochtli has the most strength and is the most important god. Huitzilopochtli means “Left-Handed Hummingbird”. The god of water is called Tlaloc. Tlaloc helped the Aztecs by giving them rain to survive. The god of wind and life was called Quetzalcoatl. Quetzalcoatl means “Feathered Serpent”. A powerful god with magic, the night, and the Earth was called Tezcatlipoca. It was a rival to Quetzalcoatl. Tezcatlipoca means “Smoking Mirror”. Chicomecoatl was a agriculture, nourishment, and corn goddess. Chicomecoatl means “Seven Snakes”.

1100-The Aztecs left Altan in northern Mexico and went south. They settled in the city of Tenochtitlan.

1200- The Aztecs arrived in a place called the Mexico Valley. 1250- Once they were forced to leave by a tribe called

Culhaucan. 1325-When the Tenochtitlan was found it became the capital

city. The priests picked this location because that was where they saw the foretold sign of an eagle holding a snake while standing on a cactus.

1350- After they got to Tenochtitlan they built causeways and canals around it.

1375- Did you know they called their ruler Tlaoani which means “speaker”.

1428-The Aztec Empire is formed by a triple alliance between the Aztecs the Texcocans and Tacubans. But luckily the Aztecs defeated the Texcocans.

The Aztec Empire Timeline

1440- Montezuma I, the fifth ruler of the Aztec Empire says his rules will mark the height of the Empire.

1440-1469- What he said did come true so he expanded the Empire.

1452- But unfortunately they were damaged by a flood. So there were years of starvation and famine.

1487-The Great temple of the Aztecs was finished. “It was dedicated to gods of thousand of human sacrifices.

1517- The Aztec priests saw a comet and thought it was a sign of impending doom.

1519-There was a Spanish conquistador, the Aztecs treated him well. But they were fooled because he took their king prisoner. Despite that he was driven away the king was still killed.

1520- Cortez the Spanish conquistador joined their enemy and tried to attack the Aztecs.

1521-But he defeats them and takes over the capital city.

The Aztec Empire Timeline

In 1521, the empire was in ruins. Hernado Cortes brought soldiers into Tenochtitlan. They fought and the Spanish won they destroyed the city. “ The Spanish built a new city and called it Mexico city”. They drained Lake Texcoco in the 1600s. To make more room for the city. “The Spanish ruled until the Mexican people formed their own government.” In 1821, Mexico became a independent country.

The Fall of the Empire