The Aztecs

The Aztecs: Empire Builders

Buried beneath what is now Mexico City, below the corridors and tunnels of the subway system, are the ruins of the greatest city of the Aztec empire, Tenochtitlan. 

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Aztecs

About three hundred years after the Maya abandoned their cities, another great civilization arose. They were the Aztec people, who lived in what is today central Mexico.

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​The Eagle and the Cactus

According to legend, the Aztec were once a nomadic tribe. They wandered the land, setting up temporary homes here and there, fighting off attackers, and surviving on snakes and lizards.

One day, the god of the sun spoke to the people. The god told the Aztec people to look for a sign—an eagle with a snake in its beak perched on a cactus. On the spot where the eagle perched, the Aztec were to build a great city.

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​The Eagle and the Cactus

The legend goes on to describe how the Aztec finally received the sign the god had told them about. The eagle appeared on a swampy island in Lake Texcoco. On that day, the

Aztec’s wandering ended.

They settled down and began building a city. The Aztec people called their new home Tenochtitlán, which means “the place of the prickly pear.”

Even today the eagle and serpent are shown on the flag of Mexico.

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​The Eagle and the Cactus

The Aztecs ruled an empire in present-day Mexico from 1325-1521.

At its height, the empire stretched to over 6 million people.  They lived in cities, towns, and villages.

Today, the Aztecs are remembered for their grand cities and fierce warriors.

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Dropdown

The Aztec civilization began its rise about ​

Select answer

after the Maya civilization declined.

Multiple Choice

According to the legend, how did the Aztec choose the site on which they built their city?

• They received a sign from a god directing them where to build their city..

• They chose the site based on the location of fresh water.

• They built their city where they found the most fertile land.

• They selected the site because they were tired of walking.

To build this amazing city, the Aztecs had to overcome many geographical challenges.
The Aztecs didn’t have solid land to build on, so they came up with an amazing idea: they built artificial islands.

To do this - First, they picked a shallow part of the lake.

They built a big rectangle using sticks and reeds—kind of like making a giant wooden frame on the water.

They filled the frame with mud from the lake and rotting plants.
This made the rectangle rise up above the water like a small island.

They planted trees around the edges to help hold everything in place.

And that’s it!
They created little man-made islands that were perfect for farming. These chinampas were super fertile and helped feed the whole city.

Tenochtitlan

Now that we’ve learned about Tenochtitlán and its location on an island, let’s talk about how the Aztecs solved one of their biggest everyday problems: How do you get thousands of people on and off an island in the middle of a lake?
Their solution was brilliant: causeways. What is a causeway? A causeway is a raised road built across water or wet ground.

The Aztecs built three major causeways that connected their island capital, Tenochtitlán, to the mainland. The causeways were the main roads in and out of the city. They allowed people to walk or carry goods without needing a boat.

Tenochtitlan

Tenochtitlan was surrounded by water, but the water was undrinkable. The Aztecs solved this problem with aqueducts - a structure built to carry water.

The aqueduct consisted of two clay pipes.
One transported fresh water from the springs into Tenochtitlán for drinking and bathing. The second pipe was a spare, used only
when the first pipe needed cleaning. 

Aqueducts

Over time, Tenochtitlán grew into a massive and well-organized city with pyramids, temples, markets, and palaces. The Aztecs were great engineers, and their knowledge of building on water, creating a system of bridges, and farming with chinampas made Tenochtitlán one of the most impressive cities of its time.

Multiple Choice

What were chinampas?

• the name for Aztec city-states

• bridges that connected the city to the mainland

• A floating or raised garden built on a lake

• walls of skulls at temples

Dropdown

To connect the island city to the mainland, the Aztecs built ​

Select answer

DAILY LIFE

People in Aztec society had clearly defined roles. These roles, along with social class, determined how Aztec men and women lived.


The king was the most important person in Aztec society. He lived in a great palace that had gardens, a zoo, and an aviary full of beautiful birds. Some 3,000 servants attended to his every need. Of these servants, 300 did nothing but tend to the animals in the zoo, and 300 more tended to the birds in the aviary! Other servants fed and entertained the emperor.

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Aztec Society

​Kings and Nobles

The king was in charge of law, trade and warfare. These were huge responsibilities, and the king couldn't have managed them without people to help.

These people, including tax collectors and judges, were Aztec nobles. Noble positions were passed down from fathers to their sons. As a result, young nobles went to special schools to learn the responsibilities they would face as government officials, military leaders, or priests.

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Aztec Society

Just below the king and his nobles were priests and warriors. Priests in particular had a great influence over Aztecs' lives. They had many duties in society, including:
• keeping calendars and deciding when to plant crops or perform ceremonies
• passing down Aztec history and stories to keep their tradition alive
• performing various religious ceremonies, including human sacrifice.

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Priests and Warriors

Aztec warriors also had many duties. They fought fiercely to capture victims for religious sacrifices. Warriors had many privileges and were highly respected. Warriors were also respected for the wealth they brought to the empire. They fought to conquer new lands and people, bringing more goods to enrich the Aztec civilization.

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Warriors

Not really members of the upper class, merchants and artisans fell just below priests and warriors in Aztec society.
Merchants gathered goods from all over Mesoamerica and sold them in the main market. By controlling trade in the empire, they became very rich. Many used their wealth to build large, impressive houses and to send their sons to special schools.
Like merchants, most artisans were also rich and important. They made goods like beautiful feather headdresses and gold jewelry that they could sell at high prices.

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Merchants and Artisans

Farmers and slaves were in the lower class of Aztec society. Most of the empire's people were farmers who grew maize, beans, and a few other crops. Farmers lived outside Tenochtitlan in huts made of sticks and mud and wore rough capes.

No one in the Aztec Empire suffered as much as slaves did. Most of the slaves had been captured in battle or couldn't pay their debts. Slaves had little to look forward to. Most were sold as laborers to nobles or merchants. Slaves who disobeyed orders were sacrificed to the gods.

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Farmers and Slaves

Categorize

Options (8)

in charge of law and warfare

Gathered goods and sold them

Performed religious ceremonies

Grew maize and other crops

Fought to capture victims

Lower Class

Made goods such as headdresses

Served as important officials

Read the descriptions and place them in the correct category.

Kings and Nobles

Priests and Warriors

Merchants and Artisans

Farmers and Slaves

On their chinampas "floating gardens", Aztec farmers grew a wide variety of vegetables.

Maize or corn was the most important crop – used to make porridge, tamales, and tortillas

​Growing Food

Lesson: The Aztec Civilization

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Lesson: The Aztec Civilization

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The Aztec people lived in a society where family was super important. The family wasn't just about parents and kids; it also included grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Families worked together, celebrated together, and were all part of something much bigger, like their community and their religion.

Children were brought up to be obedient, hardworking, and respectful.   It was no fun to get punished if you were an Aztec kid.  And there were a lot of behaviors kids were punished for like complaining, interrupting, and teasing.

The parent would hold the offending child over burning chili peppers and make him or her breathe in the stinging smoke.

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​Family Life

Men in the Aztec family were usually responsible for providing for the family by working as farmers, traders, or warriors. They often went off to war to protect their city or capture prisoners for religious ceremonies.

​Women were in charge of running the household. They cooked meals, cared for the children, and managed everyday chores like weaving cloth and making pottery.

​Family Life

The Aztec valued education.
Boys went to different schools depending upon their social status.
Noble boys were taught by priests in the temples. They learned to read and write and trained to be future leaders. In addition, noble boys learned about religion, medicine, law, and astronomy.
Boys from lower social ranks attended schools where they learned a trade, such as building roads or repairing temples.
From an early age, all boys trained for battle.

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​Education

Girls were educated
separately.
Girls were commonly taught what they would need to know to be good wives, such as cooking and weaving. 

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​Education - Girls

Aztec schooling ended when they married. Marriages were arranged by the two families.
During the wedding ceremony, the bride’s blouse will be tied to the groom’s cloak. This tying together is a symbol of the connection between a husband and wife.

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Aztec Weddings

Aztecs lived in small homes with their parents and children. Extended families—meaning grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins—often lived in the same house or close by, and everyone helped take care of each other.

Inside the house, there were four main areas. One area was where the family would sleep, generally on mats on the floor. Other areas included a cooking area, an eating area, and a place for shrines to the gods.

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Aztec Homes

To treat the sick, doctors first had to discover what had caused the illness.  If they decided it was a god, special sacrifices might be required.  

But the Aztec doctors also treated illnesses and injuries with a wide range of natural products.

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Aztec Medicine

When Aztecs wanted to kick back and unwind, they danced, sang, ate, and drank.  They also played sports.  Nobles would throw huge banquets.

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Aztec Fun

Like the Olmec and the Maya, the Aztecs played Pok-A-Tok.

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Aztec Fun

Drag and Drop

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responsible for providing for the family by working as farmers, traders, or warriors. ​

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were in charge of running the household.​ All ​

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went to school. ​

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were commonly taught home skills, such as cooking and weaving. 

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

Men

Women

boys

Girls

Cats

Aliens

Superheroes

The Aztecs had a fairly sophisticated code of law. There were numerous laws including laws against stealing, murder, drunkenness, and property damage. 

The Aztecs had harsh punishments. The criminals were taken to a court where there was a group of judges who would decide the punishment if he was guilty.

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Aztec Law

The Aztecs had strict rules about what people could wear, and these laws were meant to keep people in their place and maintain the hierarchy of their society.

Commoners, who made up most of the population, wore simple clothes made from rough fabrics. They could wear clothing like simple loincloths or tunics, but they weren’t allowed to wear the same fancy decorations or colors as the nobles.

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Aztec Law on Clothing

The nobles wore the finest clothes, often made from cotton or colorful fabrics. Their clothing included featherwork, jewels, and other luxurious materials.

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Aztec Law on Clothing

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Hairstyle in Aztec society was not just about looks—it was a way to show who you were. Whether you were a noble, a warrior, a priest, or a commoner, the way you wore your hair helped others know your identity and role in society.

​Aztec Hairstyles

Multiple Choice

Why were clothing laws important in Aztec society?

• So Aztecs could keep with fashion trends.

• Clothing laws were used to promote trade.

• Clothing laws reinforced social status and identity.

• To make the Aztecs look better than their enemy.

The Aztec marketplace was a busy, exciting place where people from all over the Aztec Empire came to trade goods, buy food, and socialize. Here, people trade cacao (chocolate) beans and cotton blankets for other items. In one corner of the market, a man is trading rabbits, deer, and small dogs that are bred for food. Across the way a woman displays pottery. You notice all sorts of other goods, including sandals, feathers, seashells, turkeys, wood, corn, bananas, pineapples, honeycombs, and fabrics. One section of the market is set aside for trading enslaved people.

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Aztec Market

Traditional Economy: The Aztecs didn’t use money in the way we do today. Instead, people bartered or traded goods. For example, you could trade a basket of corn for a piece of pottery or a feathered cloak.

Sometimes, people used cacao beans (used to make chocolate) as a kind of money, especially for larger transactions. You could buy things like food, cloth, or even a house using cacao beans as currency.

Some markets also had special merchants, who worked as brokers to help people trade goods more efficiently.

Aztec Market

​How did they trade?

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Aztec warfare was an important part of their culture and society. The Aztecs were skilled warriors who believed that fighting in battle was a way to honor the gods and ensure the survival of their people.

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It was a matter of survival. The Aztecs believed that war was necessary to keep the gods happy and to make sure the sun continued to rise every day. They believed that capturing prisoners for sacrifices helped ensure good harvests, victories in future battles, and the safety of the Aztec people.

Aztec Warfare

​Why Did the Aztecs Fight?

In Aztec society, warriors were highly respected. Warriors were trained from a young age, learning how to fight and how to use various weapons. They also had to pass tests to prove their bravery in battle, such as capturing enemy soldiers rather than just killing them.
How Did Battles Work?

Aztec battles were often fought for territory or to capture prisoners for sacrifice. Instead of simply killing enemies, the Aztecs focused on capturing soldiers alive. This was because they needed to present prisoners to the gods for religious rituals. Once captured, the prisoners would be taken back to the city, where they were often sacrificed in temples to honor the gods, especially the sun god Huitzilopochtli.

Aztec Warfare

The Aztecs had different types of warriors, each with specific roles:

Eagle Warriors: These were elite warriors who wore feathered costumes and helmets shaped like eagle heads. They were considered the most skilled and feared fighters in battle.

Jaguar Warriors: Another group of elite warriors, Jaguar Warriors wore jaguar skins and were known for their ferocity and strength.

Common Warriors: Regular warriors who fought in battles but did not have the same status as the elite warriors.

Aztec Warfare

Aztec warriors used a variety of weapons, including:

Macuahuitl: A wooden sword with obsidian (volcanic glass) blades attached to the sides. This was their main weapon and could cut through an enemy's flesh.

Atlatl: A tool used to throw spears or darts with greater speed and power.

Tlaloc Shields: Small, round shields made of wood or animal hide that warriors carried for defense.

Club: Some warriors used a club, often covered with spikes or obsidian to deal damage up close.

Aztec Warfare

The Aztecs made people they conquered pay tribute. Tribute is a payment to a more powerful ruler or country. Conquered tribes had to pay the Aztecs with goods such as cotton, gold, or food. This system was the basis of the Aztec economy.

Aztec Warfare

Match

Match the Aztec soldier/weapon with its description.

• Most Skilled Warrior

• Known for their strength

• Fought in battles not considered elite

• Sword with obsidian blades

Eagle Warriors:

Jaguar Warriors

Common Warrior

Macuahuitl:

• Eagle Warriors:

• Jaguar Warriors

• Common Warrior

• Macuahuitl:

Aztec Religion

Like the Maya, the Aztec were polytheistic, they believed in multiple gods and goddesses.

They believed in gods of nature, gods of health, and gods of war. The Aztec believed that the sun god could not make his daily journey from east to west without nourishment. They believed that the sun would not rise and the world would end if they did not feed him.

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​Gods and Sacrifices

Aztec lived in a region surrounded by volcanic

mountains. It was an area where earthquakes

were likely to occur. They believed that the gods controlled these forces of nature. If the people angered the gods, the gods might

rattle the earth or release hot lava from the mountains. So, like the Maya, the Aztec made sacrifices to the gods.

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​Gods and Sacrifices

For their survival (so they believed), Aztec priests led bloody ceremonies on the top of the Great Temple in Tenochtitlan. These priests cut themselves to give their blood to the gods.

Priests also sacrificed human victims to their gods. Many of the victims for these sacrifices were warriors from other tribes who had been captured in battle. Priests would sacrifice these victims to "feed" their gods human hearts and blood, which they thought would make the gods strong. Aztec priests sacrificed as many as 20,000 victims a year in religious ceremonies.

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​Gods and Sacrifices

Aztec Temple - 3D model by Chrismartinartist [40f6f12] - Sketchfab

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Multiple Choice

What religious ideas did the Olmecs, Mayans, and Aztecs all share in common?

• Polytheism

• Monotheism

• Christianity

• Hinduism

Multiple Choice

What did the Aztec religion demand that they do to honor gods and bring the sun everyday?

• Offer tortillas to the gods.

• Play chess.

• Perform dances to celebrate the seasons.
• Perform human sacrifices to honor the gods.

Acheivments

The Aztecs also studied astronomy and created a calendar much like the Maya one.

The calendar helped the Aztecs choose the best days for ceremonies, for battles, or for planting and harvesting crops. The Aztecs also knew many different uses for plants. For example, they knew of more than 100 plants that could be used as medicines.

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​Achievements

The Aztecs had a complex writing system.

Like the Maya, they kept written historical records in books called

codex. Many pages of Aztec books were made of bark or animal skins. In addition to their written records, the Aztecs had a strong oral tradition. They considered fine speeches very important, and they also enjoyed riddles. These were some popular Aztec riddles:

What is a little blue-green jar filled with

popcorn? Someone is sure to guess our riddle:

it is the sky.

What is a mountainside that has a spring of

water in it? Our nose.

Knowing the answers to riddles showed that one had paid attention in school. Stories about ancestors and gods formed another part of the Aztec oral tradition. The Aztecs told these stories to their children, passing them down from one generation to the next.

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Writing and Literature

The End of the Aztec Empire

Motivated by God, Glory, and Gold, in the late 1400s Spanish explorers and soldiers arrived in the Americas. The soldiers, or conquistadors, came to explore new lands (glory), search for gold,

and spread their Catholic religion (God).

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Cortes Conquers the Aztecs

A small group of conquistadors led by Hernan Cortes reached Mexico in 1519. They were looking for gold. Hearing of this arrival, the Aztec emperor, Moctezuma II, believed Cortes to be a god. According to an Aztec legend, the god Quetzalcoatl was to return to Mexico in 1519. Cortes resembled the god's description from the legend. Thinking that the god had

​returned, Moctezuma sent Cortes gifts, including gold. With getting more gold his motive, Cortes marched to the Aztec capital. When he got there Moctezuma welcomed him,

but Cortes took the emperor prisoner.

Cortes and Moctezuma

Enraged, the Aztecs attacked and drove the Spanish out. In the confusion Moctezuma was killed.
Cortes and his men came back, though, with many Indian allies. In 1521 they conquered Tenochtitlan.

Cortes and Moctezuma

Dropdown

​

Select answer

was the leader of the Aztec Empire when it was conquered by the Spanish.

Multiple Choice

Who was the Spanish explorer who led the conquest of the Aztec Empire?

• Francisco Pizarro
• Juan de Salazar
• Hernán Cortés
• Christopher Columbus

Causes of the Defeat of the Aztecs

How did a few conquistadors defeat a powerful

empire?

First, alliances in the region helped the

Spanish forces. One important ally was an

American Indian woman named Malintzin, also known as Malinche.

She was a guide and interpreter for Cortes.

With her help, he made alliances with tribes who did not like losing battles and paying tribute to the Aztecs. The allies gave the Spaniards supplies, information, and warriors to help defeat the Aztecs.

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​How?

The Spaniards also had better weapons.

The Aztecs couldn't match their armor,

cannons, and swords. In addition to these

weapons, the Spaniards brought horses to

Mexico. The Aztecs had never seen horses

and at first were terrified of them.

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​How?

The third factor, geography, gave the

Spanish another advantage. They blocked

Tenochtitlan's causeways, bridges, and

waterways. This cut off drinking water and

other supplies. Thousands of Aztecs died

from starvation.

​The final factor in the Spanish success

was disease. Unknowingly, the Spanish had

brought deadly diseases such as smallpox

to the Americas. These new diseases swept

through Aztec communities. Many Aztecs

became very weak or died from the diseases

because they didn't have strength to defend

themselves.

​How?

Together, these four factors gave the Spanish forces a tremendous advantage and weakened the Aztecs. When the Spanish

conquered Tenochtitlan, the Aztec Empire came to an end.

End

Multiple Select

What were THREE key reasons the Spanish were able to defeat the Aztecs?

• The Spanish cut off the Aztecs' drinking water.

• Diseases brought by the Spanish wiped out a large portion of the Aztec population

• The Aztecs had better weapons and armor.

• The Spanish formed alliances with other native groups who were enemies of the Aztecs

Drag and Drop

Lesson: The Aztec Civilization

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Labelling

Read carefully and decide whether the statement is a Fact or Fiction.

Drag labels to their correct position on the image

Spanish strongest weapon was disease.

Cortes discovered America.

Malinche was the emperor of the Aztecs

Cortes conquered the Aztecs

Spanish were motivated by 3Gs.

The Spanish brought bears with them