Who were Aztecs?

The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican people who lived in what is now Mexico City and the surrounding area beginning in the 14th century. They established a vast empire which lasted about 14 years and which was based on tribute and military conquests. Their society was one of the most advanced of its time, although it did contain some practices such as ritual human sacrifice which, by modern standards, would be considered bizarre and uncivilized. It was only with the arrival of the Spanish in the early 200s that these people lost their power.

Origins and migrations

According to legend, the Aztecs were born inside the Earth, coming out through caves. Their first settlement was Aztlan, thought to be somewhere in northwest Mexico. Experts aren’t sure whether this city was real or mythical, as they have yet to uncover archaeological evidence, but the story goes that the Aztecs moved south from this settlement.

The first Aztecs, who called themselves Mexica, looked for ideal lands to settle during their migration. Other tribes were already in control of many areas, and at times the Mexica served and learned from these indigenous groups. In the mid-13th century they arrived in the Valley of Mexico. Their sun god, Huitzilopochtli, reportedly told them they should build a city where they saw an eagle on a cactus eating a snake. This took place on a deserted island in Lake Texcoco, so even though the land was swampy and had been passed over by others, they founded a city called Tenochtitlan in 13, which is today’s Mexico City.

Empire development

The area around Tenochtitlan was occupied by other tribes who did not always welcome the Mexica. The Toltecs, for example, thought they were barbarians. Even so, they quickly assimilated much of their neighbors’ culture, and the strength of the surrounding tribes helped protect the city from other invading groups. They grew in power and eventually took control of the area, an event somewhat prompted by the conflicts the Tepanecs had with other tribes. When the Tepanec tribe fell from power, the Mexica forged a partnership with people of Texcoco and Tlacopan, forming what is known as the Triple Alliance.

Through conquest, trade, and intermarriage, the Mexica created an empire based more on the payment of tribute than on actual loyalty and common stewardship. Texcoco and Tlacopan slowly faded in strength, leaving the Mexica to rule the empire alone. It peaked in 1519, shortly before the arrival of Hernan Cortes, with an estimated 500 states and 5 to 6 million people. With those in these regions sharing a common culture and language, they were collectively called the Aztecs, harking back to the legend of Aztlan, although many tribes did not use this term themselves.

social structure

Aztec society was roughly divided into two groups. The first was made up of the elite or nobility, called pipiltin, while the commoners, or macehualli, made up the second category. Peasants and serfs worked the land or hunted to support themselves and the nobility. Slavery was common, but it was not hereditary or necessarily lifelong, and slaves could own other slaves. Within this system were priests, warriors, actors and other entertainers, writers of prose and poetry, teachers, itinerant merchants, and other workers in many other trades, making up one of the most advanced civilizations of the period.
Education

The people who lived under the Aztec empire placed a great value on education, with parents having to participate in teaching their children until they were about 14 or 15 years old. They had two main schools, one to teach military techniques and practical skills, and another for academic subjects such as astronomy, science, religion, politics, and writing. The writings became especially important, because in the 15th century the Aztec emperor Moctezuma I burned many books, rewriting much of the people’s religion and history. The prose and poetry that arrived after his reign are thought to provide a more accurate picture of Aztec origins, culture, and life than the new documents approved by the emperor. Although the schools were primarily for boys, girls were still home-schooled in preparation for marriage.

Calendar

The study of astronomy helped the Mexica and those under their rule establish a formal and detailed calendar, made up of two individual systems. The xiuhpohualli, which covered 365 days, was based on agriculture and the movement of the sun and, therefore, is thought to be the “annual” version. The tonalpohualli, which lasted 260 days, outlined sacred rites and events. Together, these made up a 52-year “century”, also known as “the calendar turn”.
Agriculture and economy
Experts estimate that up to 20% of the Aztec population was directly involved in farming and agriculture. The main crop used by people for food was corn, also called maize. Sweet potatoes, squash, beans, chili peppers and fruit were also staple parts of the standard diet. Game birds, including coyote, turkey, and rabbit, provided some meat. The nobility and the common people had different arrangements for growing or harvesting crops, including sharecropping, serfdom, and land leasing, but generally each family had its own garden for its own use.

Part of what made agriculture work in the empire was that people devised different ways to make the marshy land more conducive to agricultural techniques. They used both rain and terracing cultivation, for example, and developed raised plots of land called chinampas that were fertile enough to produce several crops each year. Most impressive, however, was their irrigation system, which included a complex network of canals and dams.
In the market, people used the crops to trade, but the main “money” was cocoa or the chocolate bean. Individuals imported them and used them to buy everything from food to sex slaves. People also relied heavily on tribute to get what they needed. The leaders of Tenochtitlan used the tribute system to stay in power, leaving groups from different areas to fend for themselves as long as they sent items to the city.
Religion, sacrifice and war
Under Moctezuma I, the Aztecs believed that their gods required human blood, in payment for divine blood shed to create mankind, for example, or to make sure the sun kept moving across the sky. The sun god Huitzilopochtli was central to most sacrificial rites, although other Aztec gods also received such tributes. Sacrifices occurred during the 18 annual festivals and at other important times as well, and typically involved forcing people up steps to the top of the temple pyramid, where priests held the victims and cut out their hearts. The bodies were rolled down the stairs, while the hearts were burned as sacrifices.
Warfare and religion went hand in hand for the Aztecs, who usually did not sacrifice their own people but instead used captives. To keep the offering of sacrifices alive, they often had to go to war, which is why they gained a reputation for being aggressive. The use of captives for ritual practices meant they had commercial value, and warriors gained status based on the number of individuals they acquired, not the number of enemies they killed. In this context, religion and sacrifice were a major strain on the economy, because warring people could not help at home and because so many resources were devoted to supplies for battle.
Cannibalism
Anthropologists disagree on the topic of cannibalism among the Aztecs. Some experts, notably Marvin Harris, say they routinely butchered the bodies of sacrificial victims and distributed them for the elite to eat. This practice would have compensated for a low protein diet resulting from overhunting of large game in the area. Others argue that evidence of cannibalism was fabricated or exaggerated by the area’s Spanish conquerors as justification for their intervention.
Declination and fall
The Spanish conquistadors arrived in Mesoamerica just as the empire was at its zenith. Hernan Cortes arrived on November 8, 1519 and in 1521 besieged Tenochtitlan, aided by the Tlaxcalans, enemies of the Mexica and the tribes they ruled. The military might of the Spanish, combined with the diseases – such as smallpox – they brought, quickly toppled the Aztecs.

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