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.
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