TENOCHTITLAN

By Sabarna Das

Tenochtitlan 1325-1521 Capital of Aztec Empire Present day Mexico City Government: Monarchy Language: Nahuatl 200,000 inhabitants

Geography Shallow part of Lake Texcoco Connected to mainland by causeways Lake Texcoco was endorheic basin lake Levee kept the waters separated

Planning of the city 4 parts with 20 districts each 3 main streets leading to three

causeways Each district had channels with bridges Each district had a marketplace Public building, temples and school in the

center

Templo Mayor Temple in Tenochtitlan Architectural style: late postclassic period

of Mesoamerica Temple for Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc Built in 1325 and rebuilt 6 time

Palace of Moctezuma II

Five buildings, near the National Palace

2 zoos for hunting and watching

Botanical garden with a huge variety

Aquarium containing fish and aquatic birds.

It also included a dark room where Montezuma meditated.

Agriculture Artificial islands called Chinampas Reed mats covered with mud on water Fenced with mud, silt and rotten

vegetables Lots of healthy vegetables

Class Structure Five main social classes Ruler considered semi divine Ruler decided the officials Highest ranking commoners: pochteca

Family Life Men had higher class than women Married woman could own property and

sell goods. Some older women also practiced a

profession Commoners: both had to take of their

children Women did creative jobs

Recreation Played patolli Everyone can play Also played tlachtli like mayans Nobles most likely to play

Decline of Tenochtitlan 1521: Seige of

Tenochtitlan Last battle before

the decline Led by Spanish

conquistador Hernán Cortés

Bibliography "Tenochtitlan." n.d. Wikipedia. Date

accessed: 15 Mar. 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenochtitlan

"Salem Press." Object Moved. Salem Press. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. http://salempress.com/store/samples/agri

culture/agriculture_aztec.htm "Templo Mayor." Wikipedia. Wikimedia

Foundation. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templo_May or

Bibliography contd. "Montezuma's Palace Excavated In Mexico

City | GroundReport." Hyperlocal News & Opinion Around the World. Ground Report. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. http://www.groundreport.com/Arts_and_Culture/Montezumas-Palace-Excavated-In-

Mexico-City/2863061 "Farming." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation.

Web. 15 Mar. 2012. http://library.thinkquest.org/27981/farmin

g.html

Bibliography contd. "Common-place: Imperial City of the

Aztecs: Mexico-Tenochtitlan." Common-place. Common Place. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. http://www.common-place.org/vol-03/no- 04/mexico-city/

“Daily Life in Tenochtitlan” n.p. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. http://staff.4j.lane.edu/~loo/worldstud/americas/Chap25Aztec.PDF

Bibliography contd. "Fall of Tenochtitlan." Wikipedia.

Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Tenochtitlan

Image Sites Slide 1:

http://www.delange.org/TemMayor/TemMayor.htm

Slide 2: http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsAmericas/CentralAztecEmperors.htm

Slide 3: http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/aztecs1.htm

Image Sites contd. Slide 4:

http://mrmoyer.pbworks.com/w/page/21727065/Geography%20Aztec http://wideurbanworld.blogspot.com/2011/10/urban-planning-in-ancient-central.html

Slide 5: http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fil:Templo_Mayor_Tenochtitlan.jpg http://www.tripwolf.com/en/guide/show/664396/Mexico/Templo-Mayor

Image sites contd. Slide 6:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Photographic-Montezuma-emperor-century-Heritage-Images/dp/B001NSGSIQ

Slide 7: http://anthropogen.com/2011/04/24/chinampa-raised-bed-hydrological-agriculture/

Image sites contd. Slide 8:

http://staff.4j.lane.edu/~loo/worldstud/americas/Chap25Aztec.PDF

Slide 9: http://staff.4j.lane.edu/~loo/worldstud/americas/Chap25Aztec.PDF

Slide 10: http://media.photobucket.com/image/tlachtli+/nopitypeterXNA/mayan/Tlachtli.gif http://staff.4j.lane.edu/~loo/worldstud/americas/Chap25Aztec.PDF http://www.mexicomaxico.org/Tenoch/Tenoch2Tlachtli.htm

Slide 11: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hern%C3%A1n_Cort%C3%A9s http://clio.missouristate.edu/chuchiak/HST%20350--Theme%209--Final_conquest_and_siege_of_teno.htm