The Aztec

ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of MexicoKimberly Martin, Ph.D.

The Aztecs

• “People from Atlan”, “MexicaTenochca”, “Mexicas”,

• Spoke Nahuatl• Chosen people of Huitzilopochtli, Sun God• Monumental architecture• 365 Day Calendar• Dams and sophisticated water

management• Chinampas for frarming

Tenochtitlan• 1350 CE saw the beginning of construction of

Tenochtitlan• Founded on an island on the west side of Lake Texcoco.• In conjunction with legend about eagle sitting on a

cactus holding a snake in its beak.• Monumental architecture• Temples to Huitzilopochtli (Sun God) and Tlaloc (Rain

God)• Palace Complex• 200,000 people in 1519 (largest cities in world 300,000

in Old World)• Canals as main transport corridors in the city• Connected to mainland by causeways.

Lake TexcocoValley of Mexico

Aztec Capital

City of Tenochtitla

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