Social studies 2nd form

• Chinampas


  A system of farming used by the Aztecs made up of long narrow garden beds sometimes called floating gardens
• Tenochtitlan


  Capital city of Aztec Empire located on an island in Lake Texcoco in present-day Mexico City
• Canals


  An artificial waterway constructed to allow the passage of boats from one passage to another
• Quartz


  A common mineral consisting of silicon dioxide occurring in colorless or colored hexagonal crystals
• Sacrifice


  An act of killing an animal or person as an offering
• Noblemen


  A man of noble rank, title or status
• Milpa


  A traditional gardening method whereby maize is grown on a field and intercropped with beans, squash or potatoes
• Sunstone


  A circular stone slab with carvings that represents the Aztec calendar and sun God
• Causeways


  Raised roads Aztecs built on bodies of water like swamps or lakes, built with sand, dirt and rocks and held in place by large wood stakes
• Porters


  Load carriers, the largest sector of the working population in Aztec times
• Quetzalcoatl


  The Feathered Serpent God who was also the patron of rain, science, agriculture and much more
• Montezuma


  The last Aztec emperor who was overthrown and killed by the Spanish in the 16th century
• The city in each state of the Aztec empire was the Centre of religion and trade
• Farmers and craftsmen from surrounding areas came to sell their wares (articles for sale) including gold, silver, jewels, feathers, mantles, chocolate, skins and leather, sandals and other hand-made products manufactured from roots and fibers
• It is estimated that about 60,000 people passed through the marketplace on a daily basis
• Many women sold fish
• Stone blade makers were busy shaping them and merchants of gold had the metal in pebbles as they came from the mines
• The entire square was enclosed with piazzas (open public squares) under which large quantities of grains were stored
• There were also shops of various kind goods
• The causeways which connected Tenochtitlan to the banks of Lake Texcoco were broad and straight
• The Aztecs were very much advanced in their production, markets and trade. They conquered more land which was shared equally among Aztec clans, and didn't have to depend on the floating gardens as time went on
• Because there were no beasts of burden, porters transported all the foods on their backs across the rugged land
• Main Crops and Food

  • Corn/Maize
  • Beans
  • Peppers
  • Cotton
  • Fish
  • Game (wild hunted meat)
  • Various fruits/vegetables
  • Bread and sweet pastry
  • Honey
  • Pumpkin
• They did not use fat nor frying, so everything was baked, boiled or grilled
• Commoners and peasant farmers tilled the land and harvested the crops
• The milpas or cornfields were the most important farmlands
• The gods of rain and the goddesses of young corn and ripe corn, were worshipped as the corn grew
• After harvesting, the corn was stored in large corn bins and storerooms made of stone and baked clay
• When needed, the grain was grounded in stone mortars and used for cooking and making bread
• In the same milpas or corn fields the Aztec farmer would also plant beans, squash, pumpkins and peppers using the intercropping method
• Sweet potato was grown in the warmer valleys
• Cocoa was a highly prized drink and trade in cocoa beans was most valuable
• Chinampas


  Mesoamerican agricultural system of artificial "islands", constructed over top of freshwater lakes, called "floating gardens" but were actually stationary, with raft-like structures built and then layering dirt and various plant material on top, the water from the lake underneath provided nutrients for the soil, along with other organic material present in the water
• The Aztecs were a nomadic Amerindian tribe who arrived in Mesoamerica around the beginning of the 13th century
• They eventually settled on several small islands in Lake Texcoco where, in 1325, they founded the town of Tenochtitlan, modern-day Mexico City
• They dominated northern Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest in the early 16th century
• The country is called Mexico today because they call themselves Mexica
• They began as a rough warrior tribe in north Mexico and moved south into the valley or Mexico in the central highlands
• For years they fought wars to establish themselves, then made their capital on a small island in Lake Texcoco which lay in the center or the valley (about AD-1250)
• The Aztec Empire include Mountains, Rivers, and Oceans