Free Essays on Aztecs

Aztecs By: Josef E-mail: Dxyster@aol.com The Aztecs Around 1168 AD, a Nahua tribe called the Aztecs left their mysterious homeland known as Aztln and migrated south to Central Valley. At first the Aztecs were practically enslaved by the other Nahua tribe, but they continued to struggle for power. By the 1300's the Aztecs had founded two different settlements on Islands in lakes. These places are known as Tlaltetalco and Tenochtitln. By the 15th century Tenochtitln was the center of the Aztec world. By the 16th century Tenochtitln dominated all the other cities in Central Valley. The middle of the Aztec Empire was near the Lerma River. This plateau is made up of five different sections; the volcanic axis lies across the southern part of the plateau. This area still has active volcanoes; they receive a lot of rain and have fertile soil. The bajio is located just north of the volcanic axis; it has an average elevation of 7,000 feet. This is where the Aztec capital Tenochtitln was locate d. Accounting for more than half of the plateau is the Mesa Del notre. The Mesa Del notre has an average elevation of 9,000 feet. Along the western ridge of the plateau is the Sierra Madre Occidental. The Sierra Madre Occidental is a long mountain chain that protected the Aztecs from outside invaders. Along the eastern side of the plateau is the Sierra Madre Oriental. The Aztec capital receives anywhere between 30 - 50 cm. Temperatures range from 10 - 15 degrees centigrade in winter, to 20 - 25 degrees centigrade in summer. Aztec society was divided into three classes, the slaves, the common people, and the nobility. The Slave class was mostly made up of criminals and POW's. Slaves could obtain freedom in two ways. The first was to buy it. The second way was to try to escape from their masters. If they reached the royal palace without being caught, they were immediately given their freedom. The commoners, also known as the Maceualtin were given own... Free Essays on Aztecs Free Essays on Aztecs The Aztec Nation A distant sound is heard. It sounds like a deep drum being hit with a heavy instrument. You hear it again and strain your eyes in the direction of the sound. All around you is dense jungle. Snakes slither between your legs. You hear the sound once again. In front of you is a dense stand of ferns. You part them and look down into a wide open valley. The valley gets so wide and it is so green that it takes your breath away. But that is not what you are looking at. You are staring at a huge city with glittering buildings shining in the spring sunlight. Smoke rises up from some of the many houses. You can see and hear children playing in the wide open fields in front of the shining buildings. Lamas and chickens are being bought and sold. You see bags of gold jewelry being bought and sold. Beyond the market place you can watch a religious ceremony. You hear the scream of a person being sacrificed to one of the gods. Beyond the city there are roads made of stone and! canals full of pedestrians and canos. Who are these people and what are they doing here you wonder? The above paragraph describes what an early explorer in Mexico might have seen between 1400 and 1500 AD. The Aztec nation is one of the largest and most advanced Indian nations to ever exist on earth. Just about every part of the Aztec life was advance to such a state that at that time of the world the people were living better than many European nations. The Aztec nation is unique in its history, economy, environment, and way of life then any other nation at that time. Perhaps three to four thousand years ago, small bands of hunting-gathering peoples made their way across the land bridge that was the frozen Bering Strait, migrated southward through what is now Alaska, Canada, the United States, Central America, South America, and Mexico, settling along the way. One such hunting- gathering group settled in the Central Valley of what is now Mexico (Nicholson 1985)... Free Essays on Aztecs Aztec Empire I INTRODUCTION Aztec Empire, Native American state that ruled much of what is now Mexico from about 1428 until 1521, when the empire was conquered by the Spaniards. The empire represented the highest point in the development of the rich Aztec civilization that had begun more than a century earlier. At the height of their power, the Aztec controlled a region stretching from the Valley of Mexico in central Mexico east to the Gulf of Mexico and south to Guatemala. The Aztec built great cities and developed a complex social, political, and religious structure. Their capital, Tenochtitln, was located on the site of present-day Mexico City. An elaborate metropolis built on islands and reclaimed marsh land, Tenochtitln was possibly the largest city in the world at the time of the Spanish conquest. It featured a huge temple complex, a royal palace, and numerous canals. After the Spanish conquest, the empire of the Aztec was destroyed, but their civilization remained an important influence on the development of Mexican culture. Many contemporary Mexicans are descended from the Aztec, and more than 1 million Mexicans speak Nahuatl, the native Aztec language, as their primary language. In Mexico City, excavations continue to uncover temple foundations, statues, jewelry, and other artifacts of the Aztec civilization. Aztec refers both to the people who founded the empire, who called themselves Mexica, or Tenochca, and, more generally, to all of the many other Nahuatl-speaking ethnic groups that lived in the Valley of Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest. The name Aztec is derived from Aztln, the mythical homeland of the Mexica; according to tradition, Aztln was located northwest of the Valley of Mexico, possibly in west Mexico. The name Mexico is derived from Mexica. II EARLY HISTORY Long before the rise of the Aztec, the Valley of Mexico was the center of a highly developed civilization. A fertile... Free Essays on Aztecs Aztecs By: Josef E-mail: Dxyster@aol.com The Aztecs Around 1168 AD, a Nahua tribe called the Aztecs left their mysterious homeland known as Aztln and migrated south to Central Valley. At first the Aztecs were practically enslaved by the other Nahua tribe, but they continued to struggle for power. By the 1300's the Aztecs had founded two different settlements on Islands in lakes. These places are known as Tlaltetalco and Tenochtitln. By the 15th century Tenochtitln was the center of the Aztec world. By the 16th century Tenochtitln dominated all the other cities in Central Valley. The middle of the Aztec Empire was near the Lerma River. This plateau is made up of five different sections; the volcanic axis lies across the southern part of the plateau. This area still has active volcanoes; they receive a lot of rain and have fertile soil. The bajio is located just north of the volcanic axis; it has an average elevation of 7,000 feet. This is where the Aztec capital Tenochtitln was locate d. Accounting for more than half of the plateau is the Mesa Del notre. The Mesa Del notre has an average elevation of 9,000 feet. Along the western ridge of the plateau is the Sierra Madre Occidental. The Sierra Madre Occidental is a long mountain chain that protected the Aztecs from outside invaders. Along the eastern side of the plateau is the Sierra Madre Oriental. The Aztec capital receives anywhere between 30 - 50 cm. Temperatures range from 10 - 15 degrees centigrade in winter, to 20 - 25 degrees centigrade in summer. Aztec society was divided into three classes, the slaves, the common people, and the nobility. The Slave class was mostly made up of criminals and POW's. Slaves could obtain freedom in two ways. The first was to buy it. The second way was to try to escape from their masters. If they reached the royal palace without being caught, they were immediately given their freedom. The commoners, also known as the Maceualtin were given own... Free Essays on Aztecs The Aztec lived in the city of Tenochtitlan, which is a fertile basin about 50 miles long and as wide. Surrounded by mountain ranges and several volcanoes, the Aztec has abundant supply of water. With being 8000ft above sea level the day were mild and the nights are cold during much of the year. The Aztecs name means "heron people" their name is derived from the mythical homeland to the north called Azatlan. This in mind their language(Nahuatl) also belong to the linguistic family as the Soshonean, a tongue will represented among the Indians of the Untied States. In the Aztecs culture their main principal crop was maize. Maize was usually cooked with lime then ground to make dough, then patted into tortillas, other principal crops were beans, squash, tomatoes, cotton, chilies. The two crops maguey and agave were used as cord, sacks and sandals and a substitute for cotton in clothing. From the juice of the maguey was use in a mild form of alcohol called pulque, which was the ceremonia l drink. Only the old men of the committee was able to drink pulque freely, otherwise among the younger generation couldn't get drunk except at certain religious feast. Drunkenness was considered a serious offense even punishable by death. In the Aztecs culture there were clans, each clan there was tribes and each tribe was divided up. Then each family were allotted sufficient land for its maintenance, if no one else were alive in the family, then the land were reverted back to the tribe. Urban communities, the land were communal, each group called capulli was composed of a few families that jointly owned a piece of land. Then part of the yield was given to the state as a tax. Rest of yield would be either sold, traded or for their own use. There were two kinds of farmer, first there was the general field workers. They were in charge with preparing the soil, breaking up clods, hoeing(with the coa digging sticks), leveling, setting boundary markers, planting,...