1250-1522 A.D.

<- LAKE TEXCOCO

Located in the Valley of Mexico around Lake TexcocoLegend said find a

cactus with a bird perched that had a snake in its mouth

Land dryAztecs shifted from

hunting to farming

Capital city Tenochtitlán – present day Mexico cityLocated in the

middle of a lakeLinked to

mainland by strips of land

TeotihuacánDominated the

Valley of Mexico from 100-750 A.D.

Aztecs had one king/emperor who ruled over all – chosen by a council of nobles and priests

Nobles served as judges, officials, and governors

Wore elaborate gold jewelry

Most crimes punishable by death or being sold into slavery

Economy based on agriculture

FarmingChinampas – “floating gardens” on reed

mats piled with earthFilled in lakes and made channels for

irrigationGrew corn, squash, and beans

Aztecs conquered others and made them pay tribute, or money paid by conquered people

PolytheisticChief god was

Huitzilopochtli, the sun GodFought with

darkness each night to raise the sun

No promise the sun would win and rise

Sacrifice ensured sun would rise

Human sacrificeAbout 20,000 per yearBodies taken to the top of pyramids ,chests

were cut open, heart ripped out, and body thrown off

Mostly prisoners of war, some slaves, some nobles

Constant warfare necessary to have enough prisoners of war around to sacrifice

Some historians say bodies were sometimes eaten by royalty

EmperorNoblesPriests who appointed King and conducted

ritualsMerchants who took goods like weapons

and rope for skins and cocoaCarried goods on their backs by a strap

over their foreheadsTraded by feet or by small boatAlso served as spies

Commoners who farmed landWarriors who could rise in status by

capturing and killing enemiesLandless peasants wandered in search of

workSlaves were mostly prisoners of war and

criminalsCould own landCould buy freedom

Merchants

Farmer

Priests were the keepers of knowledge and the writers of history

Schools ran for sons of nobles

365 day calendar and a 260 day ritual calendar

Calculates the end of the world as December 21, 2012

Treated with herbs

Used prisoner of war bodies to study anatomy – could set bones

Steam baths used as treatment

Spanish came in 1519 A.D. search of Gold, God, and GloryLed by Hernan

CortesAztec thought

Cortes was the god Quetzalcoatl

Emperor Montezuma II (Moctezuma II) taken hostage and neighboring tribes joined Spanish

3/4ths of the Aztecs died from war and disease