Who were the Aztecs?

• The events of this course take place in Mexico, around 1500. This is the region known as Mesoamerica which had not yet been explored by Europeans.
• This region was mainly covered in rainforest, but there are high mountains in the centre, where the climate is cold and rainy. This central area is known as the Basin of Mexico.
• The Aztecs were an ethnic group from the northern part of Mesoamerica, perhaps up near what is now the American border. For reasons that no one knows, they moved south to settle in the Basin of Mexico in the late 1200s.
• From 1427, the Aztecs started to expand their empire, conquering or making alliances with hundreds of small neighbouring states.
• Thousands of years earlier, perhaps around 2500BC, Mesoamerica had been settled by various peoples, including the Olmecs, the Mixtecs, the Zapotecs, and the Maya.
• Many of these peoples were conquered by the Aztecs after 1427, but they had developed a way of life that the Aztecs would imitate, including key religious and social ideas, and the Nahuatl language.
• The capital city of the Aztec empire was Tenochtitlan, now the site of modern-day Mexico City. It was built on a series of islands in Lake Texcoco, and liked to the mainland by three long causeways. Around 1500, the population of the capital was around 200,000-400,000, making it perhaps the biggest city in the world at the time.
• The Aztec empire was made up of around 450 city-states called Altepetl. They traded with each other, made alliances and fought each other, but all were controlled by the Aztec emperor.
• Each Altepetl paid tribute to their Aztec overlords. These could be: precious commodities such as gold and jaguar skins; useful items such as food crops or manufactured goods; services such as labour.
• Aztec society was made up by:

  • Rulers
  • Nobles
  • High commoners
  • Commoners
  • Lower commoners
  • Slaves
• Nobles and Rulers:

  • Nobles 5 - 10% of Aztec society
  • Polygamy of different status
  • Rulers were known as tlatoani
  • When a tlatoani died a new one was chosen by senior nobles
• Sumptuary Laws:

  • Governed what different classes could wear and own
  • Aztecs showed status through clothes and body ornaments
  • Lip plugs of gold or precious stones were worn by nobles, priests, and successful warriors
  • Feathers also showed status, only rulers were allowed to wear them
• Sumptuary Laws:

  • Only high nobles may wear sandals
  • Cloaks with certain designs are only worn by high nobles, other designs could be used by lesser nobles
  • Commoners cannot wear cloaks with designs
  • Only high nobles and brave warriors are allowed to build a home with a second floor
• Commoners:

  • Largest group
  • Lived on the land or in small towns / villages
• Obsidian:

  • A natural volcanic glass
  • It was made into fine jewellery, mirrors, weapons, razors and knives
  • Some made it into complex statues or building blocks and grinders for maize
• Pochteca:

  • A class of professional merchants that carried out medium to long-distance trade
  • Employed bearers who carried everything, there were no pulling animals or wagons
  • Acted as diplomats and spies for the Aztec emperor
  • They were trained warriors so could take military action when necessary
  • Had bases in atleast 12 cities
  • They obtained cocoa beans
• Aztec Markets:

  • The market at Tlatelolco was the most important market in the empire
  • Major cities held markets every week
  • You could buy gold, luxury craft objects, slaves and dogs
  • Markets were monitored to ensure fairness
• Other Aztec crafts:

  • Pottery
  • Matts
  • Baskets
  • Clothes
• Aztec diet:

  • Staple food = maize and beans
  • Maize made into flatbread
  • Other mood = squashes, tomatoes, greens, avocados, prickly pear
  • Spices = hot chilies, herbs, vanilla, honey and syrup
  • Occasionally had meat
  • Ate algae that tasted like cheese
• Maguey:

  • Large cactus that grew across mexico at the time
  • The sap was used to make an alcoholic drink
  • Produced a fibre made into cloth and rope
  • The cloth was used by commoners and could be coloured