The Aztec

Diego Rivera mural, La Gran Tenochtitlàn

Major Global Development

The last Mesoamerican civilization before the arrival of Spanish conquistadors, the Aztec built a hierarchical society based upon war, religion, tribute, and sacrifice.

Chichimeca Migration

• Came from Aztlàn• Chichimecas first left in 900 CE

Aztec Empire

• Mexica migrated to Lake Texcoco in 1325 CE• Worshipped Huitzilopchtli• 200,000 – 700,000 people in Tenochtitlàn

Tenochtitlàn

• Aztec capital, founded in 1325 CE

Chinampas “Floating Gardens”

Pulque

Aztec Society

• Highly stratified• Elites were 5 –

10% of population• Macehualtin =

Peasants + Artisans

• Slaves = 5% of Tenochtitlàn

Gender Differences

• Umbilical cord of girls = under the house

• Umbilical cord of boys = given to warriors

• Sweeping as a spiritual task

Tribute• Once or twice per year• Clothing, maize, animals, stones, jewelry

Religion

• Ometeotl = “Two God” mother/father to all gods

• Texcatlipoca = “Smoking Mirror,” supreme power• Xochiquetzal = (Goddess) Pregnancy, weaving• Tlazolteotl = (Goddess) Carnal love, sin, filth• Mixcoatl = Patron of Chichimecas• Huitzilopochtli = War & sun• Quetzalcoatl = Wind• Tlaloc = Rain

Xipe Totec• God of Spring• Flayed skins• Priests wore the

skins

Tlaloc

• God of rain• Preferred

children• Death by

drowning

Why did sacrifice matter?

• Pleasing gods• A way to

avoid destruction

• Projecting power of rulers

Death

• Mictlan• Dog as “soul companion”• 4 years of wandering• Cremation vs. burial • Mummies

Cihuateteo

• “The Divine Women”• Goddesses who died during childbirth• Accompany the sun from zenith to sunset

Moctezuma

• Became Aztec emperor in 1500

• Waited for return of Quetzalcoatl

Quetzalcoatl

• “The Feathered Serpent”• Tall, bearded, white god who was

going to return

Who were the Conquistadors?

• Most had experience in the Caribbean

• Most were lower middle class, a small # were “hidalgos”

• All expected wealth, land, slaves, & political positions

• Most died in Mesoamerica & South America

Cortès & the Maya

• First encountered in the Yucatan in 1519

• 1,500 Yucatan Maya & 37 Spaniards died

• Geronimo de Aguilar, shipwrecked for 8 years

Who was Malinche?

• Malintzìn, Doña Marina, Malinche• Given to Cortès as a slave• Spoke Nahuatl, Maya, & Spanish

18th Century Spanish Depiction of Cortès & Moctezuma’s First Meeting

Reasons for the Fall of the Aztecs

• Disease: Smallpox, typhoid, cholera, malaria, influenza

• Technology & Weaponry

• Native Allies angry with the Aztecs

Skulls in the Templo Mayor ruins

Tenochtitlàn today

Religion & Colonization

• Aztec temples destroyed

• Franciscan, Dominican, Augustinian friars in charge of conversion to Catholicism

Key Chronological Events

• The Chichimeca wandered out of Aztlàn by the command of Huitzilopochtli.

• Human sacrifice served multiple purposes for this religious civilization that emphasized the power of conquest.

• The Aztec’s strict tribute system allowed the Spanish conquistadors to find allies in their war against the Aztec.