Aztec Empire

Capital	Tenochtitlan
Official language	Nahuatl
Government Head of Nation High councillor Electing council Approving Council	Tributary Empire Hueyi Tlatoani (non-hereditary autocrat) Cihuacóatl Oligarchs (military, religious, nobility) 80+ calpulli leaders (elder)
Establishment Dissolution Population 1520	1428 1521 est. There are some towns in Mexico which are spelled "Tenochtitlán" like San Lorenzo An official language is a Language that is given a special legal status in a particular Country, State, or other territory Nahuatl ( is a group of related languages and dialects of the Aztecan or Nahuan branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a Monarchic or Republican Nation-state A tribute (from Latin tribulum, contribution is wealth one party gives to another as a sign of respect or as was often case in historical contexts of submission An empire (from the Latin " Imperium " denoting military Command within the ancient Roman government) is a State that Tlatoani (tlàtoāni tɬaʔtoˈaːni plural nci tlàtòquê,) is the Nahuatl term for the ruler of an Altepetl, a Pre-Hispanic An autocracy is a Form of government in which the Political power is held by a single self-appointed ruler The cihuacoatl (cihuācōātl|siwaːˈkoːaːtɬ for "female serpent" was a supreme leader (after the Aztec Emperor) or advisor within the Aztec A military is an Organization authorized by its Nation to use force usually including use of Weapons in defending its Country (or by attacking A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos Nobility is a government-privileged title which may be either hereditary (see Hereditary titles) or for a lifetime In Precolumbian Aztec society a Calpulli (from the Nahuatl meaning "large house" was the designation of an organisational unit below the level The term Elder (or its equivalent in another language is used in several different countries and organizations to indicate a position of authority ~20,000,000

The Aztec world

Aztec society

Nahuatl language Aztec calendar Aztec religion Aztec mythology Human sacrifice in Aztec culture

Aztec history

Aztlán Aztec codices Aztec warfare Aztec Triple Alliance Spanish conquest of Mexico Siege of Tenochtitlan La Noche Triste Moctezuma II Hernán Cortés

Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who achieved political and military dominance over large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the Late post-Classic period in Mesoamerican chronology. Precolumbian Aztec society was the highly complex and stratified Society that developed among the Aztecs of central Mexico in the centuries Nahuatl ( is a group of related languages and dialects of the Aztecan or Nahuan branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family The Aztec calendar is the Calendar system that was used by the Aztecs as well as other Pre-Columbian peoples of central Mexico. Aztec religion is a Mesoamerican religion combining elements of Polytheism, Shamanism and Animism within a framework of Astronomy and calendrics The Aztec civilization recognized a polytheistic mythology which contained the many gods (over 100 and supernatural creatures from their religious beliefs Human sacrifice was an aspect of historical Aztec culture/religion although the extent of the practice is debated by scholars The Aztecs were a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries Aztlán ( from Nahuatl Aztlān) is the Legendary ancestral home of the Nahua peoples, one of the main cultural groups in Mesoamerica Aztec codices (singular Codex) are Books written by Pre-Columbian and colonial-era Aztecs Aztec warfare concerns the aspects associated with the militaristic conventions forces Weaponry and strategic expansions conducted by the Late Postclassic This article refers to an alliance of three Aztec city-states The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán La Noche Triste ("the night of sorrows" was an episode during the Spanish conquest of Mexico where Hernán Cortés ' conquest of the Aztec Empire Moctezuma, also known as Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin (Motēuczōma Xōcoyōtzin|mo Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro 1st Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca ( 1485&ndash December 2, The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Nahuatl ( is a group of related languages and dialects of the Aztecan or Nahuan branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Mesoamérica is a Region extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua, defined Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into a number of named successive eras or periods from the earliest evidence of human habitation

Often the term "Aztec" refers exclusively to the people of Tenochtitlan, situated on an island in Lake Texcoco, who called themselves Mexica Tenochca or Colhua-Mexica. There are some towns in Mexico which are spelled "Tenochtitlán" like San Lorenzo Lake Texcoco (Lago de Texcoco was a natural Lake formation within the Valley of Mexico, a basin with an average Elevation of 2236 m Above

Sometimes it also includes the inhabitants of Tenochtitlan's two principal allied city-states, the Acolhuas of Texcoco and the Tepanecs of Tlacopan, who together with the Mexica formed the Aztec Triple Alliance which has also become known as the "Aztec Empire". The Acolhua are a Mesoamerican people who arrived in the Valley of Mexico in or around the year 1200 CE. Texcoco ( Classical Nahuatl: Tetzco(hco, tetsˈkoʔko was a major Acolhua City-state in the central Mexican plateau region of Mesoamerica Tepanecs or Tepaneca are a Mesoamerican people who arrived in the Valley of Mexico in the late 12th or early 13th centuries Tlacopan (meaning "florid plant on flat ground" also called Tacuba, was a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican city-state situated on the western shore This article refers to an alliance of three Aztec city-states In other contexts it may refer to all the various city states and their peoples, who shared large parts of their ethnic history as well as many important cultural traits with the Mexica, Acolhua and Tepanecs, and who like them, also spoke the Nahuatl language. The altepetl, in Pre-Columbian and Spanish conquest -era Aztec society, was the local ethnically based political entity In this meaning it is possible to talk about an Aztec civilization including all the particular cultural patterns common for the Nahuatl speaking peoples of the late postclassic period in Mesoamerica.

From the 12th century the Valley of Mexico was the nucleus of Aztec civilization: here the capital of the Aztec Triple Alliance, the city of Tenochtitlan, was built upon raised islets in Lake Texcoco. Valley of Mexico is a highland Plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with the present-day Distrito Federal and the eastern half of the State There are some towns in Mexico which are spelled "Tenochtitlán" like San Lorenzo Lake Texcoco (Lago de Texcoco was a natural Lake formation within the Valley of Mexico, a basin with an average Elevation of 2236 m Above The Triple Alliance formed its tributary empire expanding its political hegemony far beyond the Valley of Mexico, conquering other city states throughout Mesoamerica.

At its pinnacle Aztec culture had rich and complex mythological and religious traditions, as well as reaching remarkable architectural and artistic accomplishments. The Aztec civilization recognized a polytheistic mythology which contained the many gods (over 100 and supernatural creatures from their religious beliefs Aztec religion is a Mesoamerican religion combining elements of Polytheism, Shamanism and Animism within a framework of Astronomy and calendrics A particularly striking element of Aztec culture to many was the practice of human sacrifice. Human sacrifice was an aspect of historical Aztec culture/religion although the extent of the practice is debated by scholars

In 1521, in what is probably the most widely known episode in the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Hernán Cortés, along with a large number of Nahuatl speaking indigenous allies, conquered Tenochtitlan and defeated the Aztec Triple Alliance under the leadership of Hueyi Tlatoani Moctezuma II; In the series of events often referred to as "The Fall of the Aztec Empire". The Spanish colonization of the Americas was Spain 's conquest settlement and rule over much of the Western hemisphere. Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro 1st Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca ( 1485&ndash December 2, Tlatoani (tlàtoāni tɬaʔtoˈaːni plural nci tlàtòquê,) is the Nahuatl term for the ruler of an Altepetl, a Pre-Hispanic Moctezuma, also known as Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin (Motēuczōma Xōcoyōtzin|mo The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Subsequently the Spanish founded the new settlement of Mexico City on the site of the ruined Aztec capital. Mexico City (in Spanish: Ciudad de México, México DF, México or simply Méjico) is the Capital city of Mexico

Aztec culture and history is primarily known:

• From archaeological evidence as it is found in excavations such as that of the renowned Templo Mayor in Mexico City and many others. Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos The Templo Mayor (commonly known by this Spanish name meaning " Great Temple " was the main temple of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan
• From indigenous bark paper codices. Aztec codices (singular Codex) are Books written by Pre-Columbian and colonial-era Aztecs
• From eyewitness accounts by Spanish conquistadors such as Hernán Cortés and Bernal Díaz del Castillo. Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro 1st Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca ( 1485&ndash December 2, Bernal Díaz del Castillo (1496 &ndash 1584 was a Conquistador, who wrote an eyewitness account of the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards under Hernán
• And especially from 16th and 17th century descriptions of Aztec culture and history written by Spanish clergymen and literate Aztecs in the Spanish or Nahuatl language, such as the famous Florentine Codex compiled by the Franciscan monk Bernardino de Sahagún with the help of indigenous Aztec informants. The Florentine Codex is the name given to 12 books created under the supervision of Bernardino de Sahagún between approximately 1540 and 1585 The term Franciscan is commonly used to refer to members of Catholic Bernardino de Sahagún (1499 &ndash October 23 1590) was a Franciscan missionary to the Aztec ( Nahua) people of Mexico

Nomenclature

Sculpture commemorating the moment when Aztecs found the sign from the god Huitzilopochtli. In Aztec mythology, Huitzilopochtli, also spelled Uitzilopochtli (Huitzilopōchtli wi

According to the mythico-historical Aubin codex, seven Nahua tribes lived in Aztlán under the rule of a powerful elite. Aztec codices (singular Codex) are Books written by Pre-Columbian and colonial-era Aztecs Aztlán ( from Nahuatl Aztlān) is the Legendary ancestral home of the Nahua peoples, one of the main cultural groups in Mesoamerica The seven tribes fled Aztlán, to seek new lands. Aztlán ( from Nahuatl Aztlān) is the Legendary ancestral home of the Nahua peoples, one of the main cultural groups in Mesoamerica The Mexicas were the last group to leave. The Aubin Codex relates that after leaving Aztlán, their god Huitzilopochtli ordered his people to never identify themselves as Azteca, the name of their former masters. In Aztec mythology, Huitzilopochtli, also spelled Uitzilopochtli (Huitzilopōchtli wi Instead they should henceforth call themselves Mexìcâ.

The word "Aztec" was not originally an endonym for any ethnic group, but achieved wide use as an exonym first in the English language and later in Spanish from the 19th century on. An exonym (from Greek el ἔξω exo = out el ὄνομα onoma = name is a name for a place that is not used within that place by the local An exonym (from Greek el ἔξω exo = out el ὄνομα onoma = name is a name for a place that is not used within that place by the local English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Some modern day scholars use the word "Aztec" to refer to the Nahuatl speaking peoples of Mexico before the Spanish conquest in 1519 and the word "Nahua" to refer to the same peoples after the conquest. ^[1] Because no people ever referred to itself as "Aztecs", and because the peoples to whom the word is popularly used to refer never saw themselves as a unified ethnic group, many scholars now prefer to refer to particular ethnic groups individually e. g. the "Mexica", "Acolhua" or "Tepaneca" rather than subsuming them under a single term such as "Aztec".

The Spanish conquistadores referred to them as "Mexicas" or "Culua-Mexicas". This article is about the Spanish explorer soldiers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuriesfor other uses see Conquistador (disambiguation A Conquistador In Mexico, archaeologists and museums use the term Mexicas. The wider population in and outside Mexico generally speaks of Aztecs. In this article, the term "Mexica" is used to refer to the Mexica people up until the time of the formation of the Triple Alliance. This article refers to an alliance of three Aztec city-states After this, the term "Aztecs" is used to refer to the three peoples who made up the Triple Alliance, or in the wider context to all the Nahuatl speaking peoples as bearers of "Aztec culture".

Mexica

See also: Toponymy of Mexico.

Mexìcâ (IPA: [meʃiʔkaʔ]) is a term of uncertain origin. Very different etymologies are proposed: the old Nahuatl word for the moon, the name of their leader Mexitli, or a type of weed that grows in Lake Texcoco. Nahuatl ( is a group of related languages and dialects of the Aztecan or Nahuan branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family Mexitli was a legendary great leader and war god of the Aztecs (before they became known as the Mexica possibly in his honour during the wandering years Lake Texcoco (Lago de Texcoco was a natural Lake formation within the Valley of Mexico, a basin with an average Elevation of 2236 m Above Mexican scholar Miguel León-Portilla suggests that it is derived from mexictli, "navel of the moon", from Nahuatl metztli (moon) and xictli (navel). Miguel León-Portilla (born in Mexico City, February 22, 1926) is a Mexican anthropologist and historian and a prime authority on Nahuatl ^[2] Alternatively, mexictli could mean "navel of the maguey" using the Nahuatl metl and the locative "co". The Century Plant or Maguey ( Agave americana) is an Agave originally from Mexico but cultivated worldwide as an ornamental plant

According to a Mexica legend, it was Huitzilopochtli, the war deity and patron of the Mexica who gave them their name. In Aztec mythology, Huitzilopochtli, also spelled Uitzilopochtli (Huitzilopōchtli wi The most probable interpretation is that the name comes from Mexitl or Mexi a secret name for the deity. In Aztec mythology, Mextli (also Mexitl or Tecciztecatl) was a god of war and storms and was born fully armed as a warrior ^[3]

Aztec

In Nahuatl, the native language of the Mexicas, Aztecatl means "someone who comes from Aztlán". Aztlán ( from Nahuatl Aztlān) is the Legendary ancestral home of the Nahua peoples, one of the main cultural groups in Mesoamerica In 1810 Alexander von Humboldt originated the modern usage of "Aztec" as a collective term applied to all the people linked by trade, custom, religion, and language to the Mexica state and the Triple Alliance. (September 14 1769 &ndash May 6 1859 was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister philosopher and linguist This article refers to an alliance of three Aztec city-states In 1843, with the publication of the work of William H. Prescott, it was adopted by most of the world, including 19th century Mexican scholars who saw it as a way to distinguish present-day Mexicans from pre-conquest Mexicans. William Hickling Prescott (May 4 1796 &ndash January 29 1859 was an American Historian, known for his books The History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic This usage has been the subject of debate in more recent years, and the term "Mexica" is becoming more common. ^[4]

Nahuatl (nahuatl/nawatlahtolli) Classical Nahuatl (also known as Aztec, and simply Nahuatl) is a term used to describe the variants of the Nahuatl language. Nahuatl ( is a group of related languages and dialects of the Aztecan or Nahuan branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family The majority of the speakers live in Central Mexico in the states of Estado de Mexico El Distrito Federal, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Morelos, Guerrero, Veracruz, Michoacán and Hidalgo. Mexico State or State of Mexico (often abbreviated to " Edomex " from Estado de México in Spanish) is a state in the Mexico City (in Spanish: Ciudad de México, México DF, México or simply Méjico) is the Capital city of Mexico Is a Mexican state located in the center east of the country to the east of Mexico City. Tlaxcala (tlasˈkala is one of the 31 states of Mexico, located to the east of Mexico City. Morelos is one of the constituent States of Mexico. Morelos has an area of about, making it the second-smallest of the country's states The State of Guerrero is a state in the southern meridional region of Mexico. Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave is one of the 31 states that constitute the republic of Mexico. Michoacán formally Michoacán de Ocampo (from Nahuatl Michhuacān "place of the fishermen" is one of the 31 constituent states Other variants of the language "Nahuatl" were spoken by many of the central Mexican city-states under the domination of the Aztec Empire. Nahuatl was originally written with a pictographic script which was not a full writing system but instead served as a mnemonic to remind readers of texts they had learned orally.

History

Main article: History of the Aztecs

Migrational Period

The Nahua peoples began to migrate into Mesoamerica from northern Mexico in the 6th century. The Aztecs were a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries They populated central Mexico dislocating speakers of Oto-Manguean languages as they spread their political influence south. Oto-Manguean languages (also Otomanguean) are a large family comprised of several families of Native American languages. As the former nomadic hunter-gatherer peoples mixed with the complex civilizations of Mesoamerica, adopting religious and cultural practices the foundation for later Aztec culture was laid. During the Postclassic period they rose to power at such sites as Tula, Hidalgo. Tula is a town of 28432 (2005 census in the southwestern part of the state of Hidalgo in central Mexico, some 100 km to the north-northwest of Mexico City In the 12th century the Nahua power center was in Azcapotzalco, from where the Tepanecs dominated the valley of Mexico. Azcapotzalco (Āzcapotzalco|aːskapo'ʦaɬko From Nahuatl Azcalli=ant Potzulli=ant hill co= place Lteraly "In the place of the ant hills" is one of the Around this time the Mexica tribe arrived in central Mexico.

Rise of the Triple Alliance

The Valley of Mexico at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Valley of Mexico is a highland Plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with the present-day Distrito Federal and the eastern half of the State The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas.

The true origin of the Mexicas is uncertain. According to their legends, the Mexica tribe place of origin was Aztlán. Aztlán ( from Nahuatl Aztlān) is the Legendary ancestral home of the Nahua peoples, one of the main cultural groups in Mesoamerica It is generally thought that Aztlán was somewhere to the north of the Valley of Mexico; some experts have placed it as far north as Southwestern United States. Valley of Mexico is a highland Plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with the present-day Distrito Federal and the eastern half of the State The Southwestern area of the United States could be defined as the states west of the Mississippi River, with the qualification of a certain northern limit such as the 37 Others however suggest it is a mythical place, since Aztlán can be translated as "the place of the origin". The mythical story of these travels is recorded in a number of codices from the Spanish colonial era, most prominently the Aubin Codex and the Boturini Codex. The Aubin Codex is a textual and pictorial history of the Aztecs from their departure from Aztlán through the Spanish conquest to the early Spanish colonial Aztec codices (singular Codex) are Books written by Pre-Columbian and colonial-era Aztecs

Based on these codices as well as other histories, it appears that the Mexicas arrived at Chapultepec in or around the year 1248. Chapultepec ( Chapoltepēc "at the grasshopper hill" in the Nahuatl language; c ^[5]

At the time of their arrival, the Valley of Mexico had many city-states, the most powerful of which were Culhuacan to the south and Azcapotzalco to the west. Valley of Mexico is a highland Plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with the present-day Distrito Federal and the eastern half of the State Culhuacan or Colhuacan (Cōlhuàcān|koːɬ'waʔkaːn was one of the Nahuatl -speaking Pre-Columbian city-states of the Valley of Mexico. Azcapotzalco (Āzcapotzalco|aːskapo'ʦaɬko From Nahuatl Azcalli=ant Potzulli=ant hill co= place Lteraly "In the place of the ant hills" is one of the The Tepanecs of Azcapotzalco soon expelled the Mexicas from Chapultepec. Tepanecs or Tepaneca are a Mesoamerican people who arrived in the Valley of Mexico in the late 12th or early 13th centuries In 1299, Culhuacan ruler Cocoxtli gave them permission to settle in the empty barrens of Tizapan, where they were eventually assimilated into Culhuacan culture.

In 1323, the Mexicas were shown a vision of an eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus, clutching a snake in its talons. This vision indicated that this was the location where they were to build their home. In any event, the Mexicas eventually arrived on a small swampy island in Lake Texcoco where they founded the town of Tenochtitlan in 1325. There are some towns in Mexico which are spelled "Tenochtitlán" like San Lorenzo In 1376, the Mexicas elected their first Huey Tlatoani, Acamapichtli, who was living in Texcoco at the time. Tlatoani (tlàtoāni tɬaʔtoˈaːni plural nci tlàtòquê,) is the Nahuatl term for the ruler of an Altepetl, a Pre-Hispanic Acamapichtli (Ācamāpichtli|aːkamaː'piʧtɬi meaning Handful of reeds) was Tlatoani (ruler of the Aztecs (or Mexica of Tenochtitlan Texcoco ( Classical Nahuatl: Tetzco(hco, tetsˈkoʔko was a major Acolhua City-state in the central Mexican plateau region of Mesoamerica

For the next 50 years, until 1427, the Mexica were a tributary of Azcapotzalco, which had become a regional power, perhaps the most powerful since the Toltecs, centuries earlier. Toltec-style Vessel 1jpg|thumb|250px|right|A rather expressive orange-ware clay vessel in the Toltec style Maxtla, son of Tezozomoc, assassinated Chimalpopoca, the Mexica ruler. Maxtla was a Tepanec ruler ( Tlatoani) of Azcapotzalco from 1426 to his death in 1428 Tezozomoc (also Tezozómoc, Tezozomoctli, Tezozomoctzin) was a Nahuatl male name Chimalpopoca (Chīmalpopōca|ʧiːmaɬpo'poːka for "smoking shield" 1397&ndash1427 was the third Tlatoani or Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan In an effort to defeat Maxtla, Chimalpopoca's successor, Itzcoatl, allied with the exiled ruler of Texcoco, Nezahualcoyotl. Itzcoatl (Itzcōhuātl|iʦ'koːwaːtɬ "Obsidian Serpent" was the fourth Tlatoani (emperor of the Aztecs ruling from 1427 (or 1428 Texcoco ( Classical Nahuatl: Tetzco(hco, tetsˈkoʔko was a major Acolhua City-state in the central Mexican plateau region of Mesoamerica Nezahualcoyotl (Nezahualcoyōtl nesawaɬˈkojoːtɬ (meaning "Coyote in fast" or "Coyote who Fasts"( April 28 1402 &ndash June 4 This coalition became the foundation of the Aztec Triple Alliance. This article refers to an alliance of three Aztec city-states

Jaguar warrior, from the Codex Magliabechiano

The Triple Alliance of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan would, in the next 100 years, come to dominate the Valley of Mexico and extend its power to both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific shore. Aztec codices (singular Codex) are Books written by Pre-Columbian and colonial-era Aztecs Tlacopan (meaning "florid plant on flat ground" also called Tacuba, was a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican city-state situated on the western shore The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish: Golfo de México) is the ninth largest Body of water in the world The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions Over this period, Tenochtitlan gradually became the dominant power in the alliance.

Two of the primary architects of the Aztec empire were the half-brothers Tlacaelel and Moctezuma I, nephews of Itzcoatl. Tlacaelel (1397 &ndash 1487 was the principal architect of the Aztec Triple Alliance and hence the Mexica (Aztec empire Moctezuma I (c 1398 – 1469 also known as Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina, Huehuemotecuhzoma or Montezuma I (Motēuczōma Ilhuicamīna|mo Moctezuma I succeeded Itzcoatl as Hueyi Tlatoani in 1440. Although he was also offered the opportunity to be tlatoani, Tlacaelel preferred to operate as the power behind the throne. Tlacaelel reformed the Aztec state and religion. Aztec religion is a Mesoamerican religion combining elements of Polytheism, Shamanism and Animism within a framework of Astronomy and calendrics According to some sources, he ordered the burning of most of the extant Aztec books claiming that they contained lies. He thereupon rewrote the history of the Aztec people, thus creating a common awareness of history for the Aztecs. This rewriting led directly to the curriculum taught to scholars and promoted the belief that the Aztecs were always a powerful and mythic nation; forgetting forever a possible true history of modest origins. One component of this reform was the institution of ritual war (the flower wars) as a way to have trained warriors, and created the necessity of constant sacrifices to keep the Sun moving. A flower war or flowery war (xōchiyāōyōtl is the name given to the battles fought between the Aztec Triple Alliance and some of their enemies most notably

Spanish conquest

Main article: Spanish conquest of Mexico

The empire reached its height during Ahuitzotl's reign, 1486 until 1502. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. His successor, Motecuzōma Xocoyotzin (better known as Montezuma or Moctezuma II), had been Hueyi Tlatoani for 17 years when Hernán Cortés and the Spaniards landed on the Gulf Coast in the spring of 1519. Moctezuma, also known as Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin (Motēuczōma Xōcoyōtzin|mo Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro 1st Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca ( 1485&ndash December 2, The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish: Golfo de México) is the ninth largest Body of water in the world

Despite some early battles between the two, Cortés allied himself with the Aztecs’ long-time enemy, the Confederacy of Tlaxcala, and arrived at the gates of Tenochtitlan on November 8, 1519. Tlaxcala ( Nahuatl Tlaxcallān "place of maize tortillas" was a pre-Columbian City state of central Mexico. There are some towns in Mexico which are spelled "Tenochtitlán" like San Lorenzo

The Spaniards and their Tlaxcallan allies became increasingly dangerous and unwelcome guests in the capital city. Tlaxcala ( Nahuatl Tlaxcallān "place of maize tortillas" was a pre-Columbian City state of central Mexico. In June, 1520, hostilities broke out, culminating in the massacre in the Main Temple and the death of Montezuma. The Spaniards fled the town on July 1, an episode later characterized as La Noche Triste (the Sad Night). La Noche Triste ("the night of sorrows" was an episode during the Spanish conquest of Mexico where Hernán Cortés ' conquest of the Aztec Empire They and their native allies returned in the spring of 1521 to lay siege to Tenochtitlan, a battle that ended that August 13 with the destruction of the city. San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán During this period the now crumbling empire went through a rapid line of ruler succession. After the death of Moctezuma II, the empire fell into the hands of severely weakened emperors, such as Cuitláhuac, before eventually being ruled by puppet rulers, such as Andrés de Tapia Motelchiuh, installed by the Spanish. Moctezuma, also known as Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin (Motēuczōma Xōcoyōtzin|mo Cuitlahuac (c 1476 &ndash 1520 or Cuitláhuac (in Spanish orthography in cuitlāhuac honorific form Cuitlahuatzin) was the 10th Tlatoani Don Andrés de Tapia Motelchiuhtzin Huitznahuatlailótlac, was a nominal ruler of Tenochtitlan under Spanish rule (1525-1530

Despite the decline of the Aztec empire, most of the Mesoamerican cultures were intact after the fall of Tenochtitlan. Indeed, the freedom from Aztec domination may have been considered a positive development by most of the other cultures. The upper classes of the Aztec empire were considered noblemen by the Spaniards and generally treated as such initially. All this changed rapidly and the native population were soon forbidden to study by law, and had the status of minors.

The Tlaxcalans remained loyal to their Spanish friends and were allowed to come on other conquests with Cortés and his men.

Colonial period population decline

Main article: Population history of American indigenous peoples

The Aztec Empire, on the eve of the Spanish Conquest. It is thought that up to 100 million indigenous people may have lived in The Americas when the 1492 voyage of Christopher Columbus began a historical period of large-scale

In 1520-1521, an outbreak of smallpox swept through the population of Tenochtitlan and was decisive in the fall of the city. Smallpox is an Infectious disease unique to humans caused by either of two virus variants named Variola major and Variola minor. San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán It is estimated that between 10% and 50% of the population fell victim to this epidemic.

Subsequently, the Valley of Mexico was hit with two more epidemics, smallpox (1545-1548) and typhus (1576-1581). Typhus is any of several similar diseases caused by Louse -borne bacteria The Spaniards, to consolidate the diminishing population, merged the survivors from small towns in the Valley of Mexico into bigger ones. This broke the power of the upper classes, but did not dissolve the coherence of the indigenous society in greater Mexico.

The population before the time of the conquest is unknown and hotly contested,^[6] but disease is known to have ravaged the region; thus, the indigenous population of the Valley of Mexico is estimated to have declined by more than 80% in the course of about 60 years. ^[7]

Cultural patterns

Government

The Aztec Empire was an example of an empire that ruled by indirect means. An empire (from the Latin " Imperium " denoting military Command within the ancient Roman government) is a State that Like most European empires, it was ethnically very diverse, but unlike most European empires, it was more a system of tribute than a single system of government. In the theoretical framework of imperial systems posited by Alexander J. Motyl^[8] the Aztec empire was an informal or hegemonic empire because it did not exert supreme authority over the conquered lands, it merely expected tributes to be paid. It was also a discontinuous empire because not all dominated territories were connected, for example the southern peripheral zones of Xoconochco were not in direct contact with the center. The hegemonic nature of the Aztec empire can be seen in the fact that generally local rulers were restored to their positions once their city-state was conquered and the Aztecs did not interfere in local affairs as long as the tribute payments were made. ^[9]

Although the Aztec form of government is often referred to as an empire, in fact most areas within the empire were organized as city-states, known as altepetl in Nahuatl. The altepetl, in Pre-Columbian and Spanish conquest -era Aztec society, was the local ethnically based political entity These were small polities ruled by a king (tlatoani) from a legitimate dynasty. The Early Aztec period was a time of growth and competition among altepetl. Even after the empire was formed (1428) and began its program of expansion through conquest, the altepetl remained the dominant form of organization at the local level. The efficient role of the altepetl as a regional political unit was largely responsible for the success of the empire's hegemonic form of control. ^[10]

Tribute and trade

Several pages from the Codex Mendoza list tributary towns along with the goods they supplied, which included not only luxuries such as feathers, adorned suits, and greenstone beads, but more practical goods such as cloth, firewood, and food. The Codex Mendoza is an Aztec codex, created about twenty years after the Spanish conquest of Mexico with the intent that it be seen by Charles Greenstone is a common generic term for valuable green-hued minerals and stones which were used in the fashioning of jewelry statuettes ritual tools and various other artefacts in early Tribute was usually paid twice or four times a year at differing times. ^[11]

Archaeological excavations in the Aztec-ruled provinces show that incorporation into the empire had both costs and benefits for provincial peoples. On the positive side, the empire promoted commerce and trade, and exotic goods from obsidian to bronze managed to reach the houses of both commoners and nobles. Trade partners included the enemy Tarascan, a source of bronze tools and jewelry. The Tarascan state was a state in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, roughly covering the geographic area of the present day Mexican state of Michoacán Bronze is any of a broad range of Copper alloys, usually with Tin as the main additive but sometimes with other elements such as Phosphorus On the negative side, imperial tribute imposed a burden on commoner households, who had to increase their work to pay their share of tribute. Nobles, on the other hand, often made out well under imperial rule because of the indirect nature of imperial organization. The empire had to rely on local kings and nobles and offered them privileges for their help in maintaining order and keeping the tribute flowing. ^[12]

Economy

The Aztec economycan be divided into a political sector, under the control of nobles and kings, and a commercial sector that operated independently of the political sector. An economy is the realized social system of production exchange distribution and consumption of goods and services of a country or other area The political sector of the economy centered on the control of land and labor by kings and nobles. Nobles owned all land, and commoners got access to farmland and other fields through a variety of arrangements, from rental through sharecropping to serf-like labor and slavery. These payments from commoners to nobles supported both the lavish lifestyles of the high nobility and the finances of city-states. Many luxury goods were produced for consumption by nobles. The producers of featherwork, sculptures, jewelry, and other luxury items were full-time commoner specialists who worked for noble patrons.

In the commercial sector of the economy several types of money were in regular use. Small purchases were made with cacao beans, which had to be imported from lowland areas. In Aztec marketplaces, a small rabbit was worth 30 beans, a turkey egg cost 3 beans, and a tamale cost a single bean. For larger purchases, standardized lengths of cotton cloth called quachtli were used. There were different grades of quachtli, ranging in value from 65 to 300 cacao beans. One source stated that 20 quachtli could support a commoner for one year in Tenochtitlan. A man could also sell his own daughter as a sexual slave or future religious sacrifice, generally for around 500 to 700 beans. A small gold statue (approximately 0. 62 kg / 1. 37 lb) cost 250 beans. Money was used primarily in the many periodic markets that were held in each town. A typical town would have a weekly market (every 5 days), while larger cities held markets every day. Cortés reported that the central market of Tlatelolco, Tenochtitlan's sister city, was visited by 60,000 people daily. Some sellers in the markets were petty vendors; farmers might sell some of their produce, potters sold their vessels, and so on. Other vendors were professional merchants who traveled from market to market seeking profits. The pochteca were specialized merchants organized into exclusive guilds. They made lengthy expeditions to all parts of Mesoamerica, and they served as the judges and supervisors of the Tlatelolco market. Although the economy of Aztec Mexico was commercialized (in its use of money, markets, and merchants), it was not "a capitalist economy because land and labor were not commodities for sale. "^[13]

Transportation

The main contribution of the Aztec rule was a system of communications between the conquered cities. In Mesoamerica, without draft animals for transport (nor, as a result, wheeled vehicles), the roads were designed for travel on foot. Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Mesoamérica is a Region extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua, defined Usually these roads were maintained through tribute, and travelers had places to rest and eat and even latrines to use at regular intervals, roughly every 10 or 15 km. Couriers (paynani) were constantly travelling along those ways, keeping the Aztecs informed of events, and helping to monitor the integrity of the roads. Due to the steady surveillance, even women could travel alone, a fact that amazed the Spaniards, as that was not at all possible in Europe since the time of the Romans. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC

After the conquest those roads were no longer subject to maintenance and were lost in time.

Mythology and religion

Main articles: Aztec religion and Aztec mythology

The Coat of Arms of Mexico, from Aztec mythology

The Mexica made reference to at least two manifestations of the supernatural: tēōtl and tēixiptla. Aztec religion is a Mesoamerican religion combining elements of Polytheism, Shamanism and Animism within a framework of Astronomy and calendrics The Aztec civilization recognized a polytheistic mythology which contained the many gods (over 100 and supernatural creatures from their religious beliefs The Coat of Arms of Mexico has been an important symbol of Mexican politics and culture for centuries Tēōtl, which the Spaniards and European scholars routinely mistranslated as "god" or "demon", referred rather to an impersonal force that permeated the world. Tēixiptla, by contrast, denoted the physical representations ("idols", statues and figurines) of the tēōtl as well as the human cultic activity surrounding this physical representation. The Mexica "gods" themselves had no existence as distinct entities apart from these tēixiptla representations of tēōtl (Boone 1989).

Veneration of Huitzilopochtli, the personification of the sun and of war, was central to the religious, social and political practices of the Mexicas. In Aztec mythology, Huitzilopochtli, also spelled Uitzilopochtli (Huitzilopōchtli wi ^[14] Huitzilopochtli attained this central position after the founding of Tenochtitlan and the formation of the Mexica city-state society in the 14th century. Prior to this, Huitzilopochtli was associated primarily with hunting, presumably one of the important subsistence activities of the itinerant bands that would eventually become the Mexica.

According to myth, Huitzilopochtli directed the wanderers to found a city on the site where they would see an eagle devouring a snake perched on a fruit-bearing nopal cactus. Eagles are large birds of prey which are members of the Bird order Falconiformes and family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera Opuntia Nopales are a Vegetable made from the young stem segments of Prickly pear, carefully peeled to remove the spines They are particularly (It was said that Huitzilopochtli killed his nephew, Cópil, and threw his heart on the lake. Huitzilopochtli honoured Cópil by causing a cactus to grow over Cópil's heart. ) Legend has it that this is the site on which the Mexicas built their capital city of Tenochtitlan. This legendary vision is pictured on the Coat of Arms of Mexico. The Coat of Arms of Mexico has been an important symbol of Mexican politics and culture for centuries

According to their own history, when the Mexicas arrived in the Anahuac valley (Valley of Mexico) around Lake Texcoco, the groups living there considered them uncivilized. Valley of Mexico is a highland Plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with the present-day Distrito Federal and the eastern half of the State The Mexicas borrowed much of their culture from the ancient Toltec whom they seem to have at least partially confused with the more ancient civilization of Teotihuacan. Toltec-style Vessel 1jpg|thumb|250px|right|A rather expressive orange-ware clay vessel in the Toltec style Teotihuacan is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the Pre-Columbian Americas To the Mexicas, the Toltecs were the originators of all culture; "Toltecayōtl" was a synonym for culture. Mexica legends identify the Toltecs and the cult of Quetzalcoatl with the mythical city of Tollan, which they also identified with the more ancient Teotihuacan. Quetzalcoatl (Quetzalcōhuātl keʦalˈkoːwaːtɬ is an Aztec sky and creator god. This article is about the historic cities In the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1, the "Tollan" are an advanced human civilization see

Human sacrifice

Human sacrifice as shown in the Codex Magliabechiano. Aztec codices (singular Codex) are Books written by Pre-Columbian and colonial-era Aztecs

Main article: Human sacrifice in Aztec culture

For most people today, and for the European Catholics who first met the Aztecs, human sacrifice was the most striking feature of Aztec civilization. Human sacrifice was an aspect of historical Aztec culture/religion although the extent of the practice is debated by scholars Human sacrifice is the act of Homicide (the Killing of one or several Human beings in the context of a Religious ritual ( ritual killing While human sacrifice was practiced throughout Mesoamerica, the Aztecs, if their own accounts are to be believed, brought this practice to an unprecedented level. For example, for the reconsecration of Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, the Aztecs reported that they sacrificed 84,400 prisoners over the course of four days, reportedly by Ahuitzotl, the Great Speaker himself. The Templo Mayor (commonly known by this Spanish name meaning " Great Temple " was the main temple of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan

However, most experts consider these numbers to be overstated. For example, the sheer logistics associated with sacrificing 84,000 victims would be overwhelming, 2,000 being a more likely figure. A similar consensus has developed on reports of cannibalism among the Aztecs. Cannibalism (from Spanish es ''caníbal'' in connection with cannibalism among the Antillean Caribs, also called anthropophagy (from Greek ἄνθρωπος

In the writings of Bernardino de Sahagún, Aztec "anonymous informants" defended the practice of human sacrifice by asserting that it was not very different from the European way of waging warfare: Europeans killed the warriors in battle, Aztecs killed the warriors after the battle. Bernardino de Sahagún (1499 &ndash October 23 1590) was a Franciscan missionary to the Aztec ( Nahua) people of Mexico

Accounts by the Tlaxcaltecas, the primary enemy of the Aztecs at the time of the Spanish Conquest, show that at least some of them considered it an honor to be sacrificed. In one legend, the warrior Tlahuicole was freed by the Aztecs but eventually returned of his own volition to die in ritual sacrifice. Tlaxcala also practiced the human sacrifice of captured Aztec warriors. Tlaxcala ( Nahuatl Tlaxcallān "place of maize tortillas" was a pre-Columbian City state of central Mexico.

Social structures

Main articles: Aztec society and Aztec slavery

Class structure

A painting from Codex Mendoza showing elder Aztecs being given intoxicants. Precolumbian Aztec society was the highly complex and stratified Society that developed among the Aztecs of central Mexico in the centuries In the structure of the Aztec society Slaves or tlacotin (distinct from war captives also constituted an important class The Codex Mendoza is an Aztec codex, created about twenty years after the Spanish conquest of Mexico with the intent that it be seen by Charles

The highest class were the pīpiltin or nobility. ^[15] Originally this status was not hereditary, although the sons of pillis had access to better resources and education, so it was easier for them to become pillis. Later the class system took on hereditary aspects.

The second class were the mācehualtin, originally peasants. Eduardo Noguera^[16] estimates that in later stages only 20% of the population was dedicated to agriculture and food production. The other 80% of society were warriors, artisans and traders. Eventually, most of the mācehuallis were dedicated to arts and crafts. Their works were an important source of income for the city. ^[17]

Slaves or tlacotin also constituted an important class. As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another Aztecs could become slaves because of debts, as a criminal punishment or as war captives. A slave could have possessions and even own other slaves. However, upon becoming a slave, all of the slave's animals and excess money would go to his purchaser. Slaves could buy their liberty, and slaves could be set free if they had children with or were married to their masters. Typically, upon the death of the master, slaves who had performed outstanding services were freed. The rest of the slaves were passed on as part of an inheritance.

Traveling merchants called pochtecah were a small, but important class as they not only facilitated commerce, but also communicated vital information across the empire and beyond its borders. A pochtecatl (plural pochteca) was a professional long-distance traveling merchant in the Aztec Empire They were often employed as spies.

Cuisine

Main article: Aztec cuisine

The Aztec staple foods included maize, beans and squash to which were often added chilies and tomatoes, all prominent parts of the Mexican diet to this day. The most important staple of Aztec cuisine was Maize (corn a crop that was so important to Aztec society that it played a central part in their mythology Maize (ˈmeɪz ( Zea mays L. ssp mays) known as corn in some countries is a cereal grain domesticated in Mesoamerica Bean is a common name for large plant Seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae (formerly Leguminosae used for human food or animal Squashes generally refer to four species of the genus Cucurbita native to the Mexico and Central America, also called marrows depending They harvested acocils, a small and abundant shrimp of Lake Texcoco, as well as Spirulina algae, which was made into a sort of cake rich in flavonoids. Acocil is the name for either of two Species of Freshwater Crayfish endemic to Mexico - Cambarellus montezumae and Spirulina is the common name for human and animal food supplements produced primarily from two species of Cyanobacteria (also known as blue-green algae Arthrospira The term flavonoid (or bioflavonoid refers to a class of Plant Secondary metabolites According to the IUPAC nomenclature they can be classified into Although Mesoamerican diet was largely vegetarian the Aztecs consumed insects such as grasshoppers (chapulines), maguey worm, ants, larvae, etc. Chapulines are Grasshoppers of the genus Sphenarium. They are considered a Delicacy by many Mexicans They are collected only Maguey worms ( Aegiale hesperiaris) in Spanish Gusanos del maguey, are two varieties of edible Caterpillars that infest Maguey Insects have a higher protein content than meat, and even now they are considered a delicacy in some parts of Mexico.

The only domesticated animals known to the Aztecs were dogs and turkeys which were also both consumed. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches The Mesoamerican, as well as the modern, domesticated turkey is a descendant of the Wild Turkey of the Americas, rather than the Ocellated Turkey which is found in far southern Mexico. The domesticated turkey is a large Poultry Bird raised for food The Wild Turkey ( Meleagris gallopavo) is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. The Ocellated Turkey ( Meleagris ocellata) is a species of Turkey residing in the Yucatán Peninsula. Mesoamerican cultures relied on the turkey (Mexican Spanish guajolote, from Nahuatl huexolotl) as a major source of protein (meat and eggs), and utilized its feathers extensively for decorative purposes. Mexican Spanish ( español mexicano in Spanish is the Spanish language as it is spoken in Mexico. Nahuatl ( is a group of related languages and dialects of the Aztecan or Nahuan branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family The turkey was associated with their trickster god Tezcatlipoca,^[18] perhaps because of humorous aspects of its behavior. Tezcatlipoca (Tezcatlipōca teskatɬiˈpoːka was a central deity in Aztec religion, associated with a wide range of concepts including the night sky the night Turkeys were taken to Europe by the Spanish, where they also became popular as a domesticated animal. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.

Wild game was also a part of the Aztec diet. Aztec elites are also known to have consumed human flesh in certain ceremonial contexts but it is dubious that it ever formed an important part of their diet.

Aztecs also used maguey extensively; from it they obtained food, sweetening additives (aguamiel–"honey water"), fibers for ropes and clothing, and drink (pulque, a fermented beverage with an alcoholic content roughly equivalent to beer, used mainly in ceremonial contexts). The Century Plant or Maguey ( Agave americana) is an Agave originally from Mexico but cultivated worldwide as an ornamental plant Pulque, or octli, is an Alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of the Maguey, and is a traditional native beverage

Cacao beans were used as money and also to make xocolatl, a frothy and bitter beverage, lacking the sweetness of modern chocolate drinks. CACAO is a research Java Virtual Machine developed at Vienna University of Technology. The Aztecs also kept beehives and harvested honey.

A study by Ortiz de Montellano^[19] shows a mean life expectancy of 37 (±3) years for the population of Mesoamerica. After the Spanish conquest, some foods were outlawed, particularly amaranth because of its central role in religious rituals. Amaranthus, collectively known as amaranth or pigweed, is a cosmopolitan genus of herbs There was less diversity of food, which led to chronic malnutrition in the general population.

Recreation

As with all Mesoamerican cultures, the Aztecs played a variant of the Mesoamerican ballgame, named tlachtli or ollamaliztli in Nahuatl. The Mesoamerican ballgame was a Sport with ritual associations played for over 3000 years by the Pre-Columbian peoples of Mesoamerica. The game was played with a ball of solid rubber, called an olli, whence derives the Spanish word for rubber, hule. The players hit the ball with their hips, knees, and elbows and had to pass the ball through a stone ring to automatically win. The Aztec variant of the Mesoamerican ballgame is the only one to be described in postcolonial sources, and not much is known about how other Mesoamerican peoples played the game.

The Aztecs also enjoyed board games, like patolli and totoloque. Patolli (the Nahuatl name or patole (the Spanish form is one of the oldest Games in America Bernal Diaz records that Cortés and Moctezuma II played totoloque together.

Education

Representation of Aztec education.

Until the age of fourteen, the education of children was in the hands of their parents, but supervised by the authorities of their calpōlli. Part of this education involved learning a collection of sayings, called huēhuetlàtolli ("sayings of the old"), that embodied the Aztecs' ideals. Judged by their language, most of the huēhuetlatolli seemed to have evolved over several centuries, predating the Aztecs and most likely adopted from other Nahua cultures.

At 15, all boys and girls went to school. The Mexica, one of the Aztec groups, were one of the first people in the world to have mandatory education for nearly all children, regardless of gender, rank, or station. There were two types of schools: the telpochcalli, for practical and military studies, and the calmecac, for advanced learning in writing, astronomy, statesmanship, theology, and other areas. The Calmecac ( "the house of the lineage" was a school for the children of Aztec nobility ( pīpiltin) in the Late Postclassic period of The two institutions seem to be common to the Nahua people, leading some experts to suggest that they are older than the Aztec culture.

Aztec teachers (tlatimine) propounded a spartan regime of education with the purpose of forming a stoical people.

Girls were educated in the crafts of home and child raising. They were not taught to read or write. All women were taught to be involved in religion; there are paintings of women presiding over religious ceremonies, but there are no references to female priests.

Arts

This ornament features a turquoise mosaic on a carved wooden base, with red and white shells used for the mouths. Probably worn across the chest, this ornament measures 20 cm by 43 cm (8 in by 17 in). It was likely created by Mixtec artisans from an Aztec tributary state. 1400-1521, from the British Museum [1]. The British Museum is a Museum of human history and culture in London.

Song and poetry were highly regarded; there were presentations and poetry contests at most of the Aztec festivals. There were also dramatic presentations that included players, musicians and acrobats.

Poetry was the only occupation worthy of an Aztec warrior in times of peace. A remarkable amount of this poetry survives, having been collected during the era of the conquest. In some cases poetry is attributed to individual authors, such as Netzahualcoyotl, tlatoani of Texcoco, and Cuacuatzin, Lord of Tepechpan, but whether these attributions reflect actual authorship is a matter of opinion. Nezahualcoyotl (Nezahualcoyōtl nesawaɬˈkojoːtɬ (meaning "Coyote in fast" or "Coyote who Fasts"( April 28 1402 &ndash June 4 Cuaucuauhtzin was an Aztec lord of Tepechpan born around the year 1410 Miguel León-Portilla, a well-respected Aztec scholar of Mexico, has stated that it is in this poetry where we can find the real thought of the Aztecs, independent of "official" Aztec ideology. Miguel León-Portilla (born in Mexico City, February 22, 1926) is a Mexican anthropologist and historian and a prime authority on Nahuatl ^[20]

It is also important to note that the Spanish classified many aspects of the Aztec/Nahuatl culture according to the lexicon and organizational categories with which they would distinguish in Europe. In the same way that the second letter of Cortez made a mention of "mesquitas", or in English, "mosques", when trying to convey his impression of Aztec architecture, early colonists and missionaries divided the principal bodies of nahuatl literature as "poetry" and "prose". "Poetry" was in xochitl in cuicatl a dual term meaning "the flower and the song" and was divided into different genres. Yaocuicatl was devoted to war and the god(s) of war, Teocuicatl to the gods and creation myths and to adoration of said figures, xochicuicatl to flowers (a symbol of poetry itself and indicative of the highly metaphorical nature of a poetry that often utilized duality to convey multiple layers of meaning). "Prose" was tlahtolli, also with its different categories and divisions (Garganigo et. al).

Turquoise mask. Mixtec-Aztec. 1400-1521.

The most important collection of these poems is Romances de los señores de la Nueva España, collected (Tezcoco 1582), probably by Juan Bautista de Pomar. Juan Bautista de Pomar (c 1535 &ndash 1590 was a historian and writer interested in Pre-Columbian Aztec history ^[21] Bautista de Pomar was the great-grandson of Netzahualcoyotl. He spoke Nahuatl, but was raised a Christian and wrote in Latin characters. (See also: "Is It You?", a short poem attributed to Netzahualcoyotl, and "Lament on the Fall of Tenochtitlan", a short poem contained within the "Unos Anales Históricos de la Nación Mexicana" manuscript. The Anales de Tlatelolco ( Annals of Tlatelolco) is a Codex manuscript written in Nahuatl, using Latin characters, by anonymous )

The Aztec people also enjoyed a type of dramatic presentation, a kind of theatre. Some plays were comical with music and acrobats, others were staged dramas of their gods. After the conquest, the first Christian churches had open chapels reserved for these kinds of representations. Plays in Nahuatl, written by converted Indians, were an important instrument for the conversion to Christianity, and are still found today in the form of traditional pastorelas, which are played during Christmas to show the Adoration of Baby Jesus, and other Biblical passages.

City-building and architecture

Tenochtitlan, looking east. From the mural painting at the National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City. Painted in 1930 by Dr. Atl. Gerald Murillo ( October 3, 1875 – August 15, 1964) was a Mexican painter and writer who signed his works "Dr

The capital city of the Aztec empire was Tenochtitlan, now the site of modern-day Mexico City. There are some towns in Mexico which are spelled "Tenochtitlán" like San Lorenzo Mexico City (in Spanish: Ciudad de México, México DF, México or simply Méjico) is the Capital city of Mexico Built on a series of islets in Lake Texcoco, the city plan was based on a symmetrical layout that was divided into four city sections called campans. Lake Texcoco (Lago de Texcoco was a natural Lake formation within the Valley of Mexico, a basin with an average Elevation of 2236 m Above The city was interlaced with canals which were useful for transportation.

Tenochtitlan was built according to a fixed plan and centered on the ritual precinct, where the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan rose 50 m above the city. The Templo Mayor (commonly known by this Spanish name meaning " Great Temple " was the main temple of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan Houses were made of wood and loam, roofs were made of reed,^[22] although pyramids, temples and palaces were generally made of stone.

Around the island, chinampa beds were used to grow foodstuffs as well as, over time, to increase the size of the island. Chinampa is a term describing a method of ancient Mesoamerican agriculture which used small Rectangle -shaped areas of Fertile Arable land Chinampas, misnamed "floating gardens", were long raised plant beds set upon the shallow lake bottom. They were a very efficient agricultural system and could provide up to seven crops a year. On the basis of current chinampa yields, it has been estimated that 1 hectare of chinampa would feed 20 individuals and 9,000 hectares of chinampas could feed 180,000. ^[23]

Anthropologist Eduardo Noguera estimates the population at 200,000 based in the house count and merging the population of Tlatelolco (once an independent city, but later became a suburb of Tenochtitlan). If one includes the surrounding islets and shores surrounding Lake Texcoco, estimates range from 300,000 to 700,000 inhabitants. ^[23]

Relationship to other Mesoamerican cultures

Aztecs admired Mixtec craftsmanship so much that they imported artisans to Tenochtitlan and requested work to be done in certain Mixtec styles. The Aztecs also admired the Mixtec codices, so some of them were made to order by Mixteca for the Aztecs. In the later days, high society Aztec women started to wear Mixtec clothing, specifically the quexquemetl. It was worn over their traditional huipil, and much coveted by the women who could not afford such imported goods.

The situation was analogous in many ways to the Phoenician culture which imported and duplicated art from other cultures that they encountered. Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun For this reason, archeologists often have trouble identifying which artifacts are genuinely Phoenician and which are imported or copied from other cultures.

Archaeologists usually do not have a problem differentiating between Mixtec and Aztec artifacts. However, the Mixtec made some products for "export" and that makes classification more problematic. In addition, the production of craft was an important part of the Mexica economy, and they also made pieces for "export".

Legacy

Most modern day Mexicans (and people of Mexican descent in other countries) are mestizos, of mixed indigenous and European Spanish ancestry. During the 16th century the racial composition of Mexico began to change from one that featured distinct indigenous (Mexicas and members of the many other Mexican indigenous groups) and immigrant (mostly Spanish) populations, to the population composed primarily of mestizos that is found in modern day Mexico.

The Nahuatl language is today spoken by 1. Nahuatl ( is a group of related languages and dialects of the Aztecan or Nahuan branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family 5 million people, mostly in mountainous areas in the states of central Mexico. Local dialects of Spanish, Mexican Spanish generally, and the Spanish language worldwide have all been influenced, in varying degrees, by Nahuatl. Some Nahuatl words (most notably chocolate and tomato) have been borrowed through Spanish into other languages around the world.

Mexico City was built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan, making it one of the oldest living cities of America. Mexico City (in Spanish: Ciudad de México, México DF, México or simply Méjico) is the Capital city of Mexico Many of its districts and natural landmarks retain their original Nahuatl names. Many other cities and towns in Mexico and Central America have also retained their Nahuatl names (whether or not they were originally Mexica or even Nahuatl-speaking towns). A number of town names are hybrids of Nahuatl and Spanish.

Mexican cuisine continues to be based on and flavored by agricultural products contributed by the Mexicas/Aztecs and Mesoamerica, most of which retain some form of their original Nahuatl names. Mexican food is a style of food that originated in Mexico. Mexican cuisine is known for its intense and varied flavors colorful decoration and variety of spices The cuisine has also become a popular part of the cuisine of the United States and other countries around the world, typically altered to suit various national tastes.

The modern Mexican flag bears the emblem of the Mexica migration legend.

Mexico's premier religious icon, the Virgin of Guadalupe has certain similarities to the Mexica earth mother goddess Tonantzin. Our Lady of Guadalupe, also called the Virgin of Guadalupe (Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe or Virgen de Guadalupe is a 16th century Roman Catholic Mexican

For the 1986 FIFA World Cup Adidas designed the official match ball to show in its "triades" Aztec architectural and mural designs [2]. The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from May 31 to June 29.

Modern views of the Aztec culture

Laurette Séjourné, a French anthropologist, wrote about Aztec and Mesoamerican spirituality. Laurette Séjourné ( 1911 - May 25, 2003) was a French archeologist and ethnologist best known for her involvement Her depiction of the Aztecs as a spiritual people was so compelling that new religions have been formed based on her writings. Some parts of her work have been adopted by esoteric groups, searching for occult teachings of the pre-Columbian religions. Séjourné never endorsed any of these groups.

Miguel León-Portilla also idealizes the Aztec culture, especially in his early writings. Miguel León-Portilla (born in Mexico City, February 22, 1926) is a Mexican anthropologist and historian and a prime authority on Nahuatl

Others, such as Antonio Velazco, have transformed the writings by Sejourné and León-Portilla into a religious movement. Antonio Velasco Piña has written three books, Tlacaelel, El Azteca entre los Aztecas, La mujer dormida debe dar a luz, and Regina. When mixed with the currents of Neopaganism, these books resulted in a new religious movement called "Mexicanista". This movement called for a return to the spirituality of the Aztecs. It is argued that, with this return, Mexico will become the next center of power. This religious movement mixes Mesoamerican cults with Hindu esoterism. A Hindu ( Devanagari: हिन्दू is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, Philosophical The Mexicanista movement reached the peak of its popularity in the 1990s.

A painting of Tlaloc, as shown on page 20R of Codex Rios. For the fictional character from the Legends of Dune books see Titan (Dune#Tlaloc. Codex Ríos is an Italian translation and augmentation of a Spanish colonial-era manuscript Codex Telleriano-Remensis, that is partially attributed to Pedro de los

Each of the historical sources has its own unique problems. None of the sources is free from bias and every source must be viewed with some skepticism until cross-checked against other contemporary sources or the archaeological records.

Aztec codices

There are few extant Aztec codices created before the conquest and these are largely ritual texts. Aztec codices (singular Codex) are Books written by Pre-Columbian and colonial-era Aztecs Post-conquest codices, like Codex Mendoza or Codex Rios, were painted by Aztec tlacuilos (codex creators), but under the control of Spanish authorities. The Codex Mendoza is an Aztec codex, created about twenty years after the Spanish conquest of Mexico with the intent that it be seen by Charles Codex Ríos is an Italian translation and augmentation of a Spanish colonial-era manuscript Codex Telleriano-Remensis, that is partially attributed to Pedro de los The possibility of Spanish influence poses potential problems for those studying the post-conquest codices.

The conquistadors

The accounts of the conquistadors are those of men confronted with a new civilization, which they tried to interpret according to their own culture. Cortés was the most educated, and his letters to Charles V are a valuable firsthand account. Charles V (24 February 1500 &ndash 21 September 1558 was Unfortunately, one of his letters is lost and replaced by a posterior text and the others were censored prior their publication. In any case, Cortés was not writing a dispassionate account, but letters justifying his actions and to some extent exaggerating his successes and downplaying his failures.

Bernal Díaz del Castillo accompanied Cortes, but he wrote decades after the fact, he never learned the native languages, and he did not take notes. Bernal Díaz del Castillo (1496 &ndash 1584 was a Conquistador, who wrote an eyewitness account of the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards under Hernán His account is colorful, but his work is considered erratic and exaggerated.

Although Francisco López de Gómara was Cortes' chaplain, friend, and confidant, he never visited the New World so his account is based on hearsay. Francisco López de Gómara (1511?-1566? was a Spanish historian at Seville, who is particularly noted for his works in which he described the early 16th century

Priests and scholars

The accounts of the first priests and scholars, while reflecting their faith and their culture, are important sources. Fathers Diego Durán, Motolinia, and Mendieta wrote with their own religion in mind, Father Duran wrote trying to prove that the Aztec were one of the lost tribes of Israel. Diego Durán (c 1537&mdash1588 was a Dominican friar best known for his authorship of one of the earliest Western books on the history and culture of the Aztecs Fray Toribio de Benavente ( ? Benavente, Spain - 1568 Mexico City) also known as Motolinia was a Franciscan missionary and among Bartolomé de las Casas wrote instead from an apologetic point of view. Bartolomé de las Casas, OP ( August 24 1484 &ndash July 17 1566) was a 16th century Spanish Dominican There are also authors that tried to make a synthesis of the pre-Hispanic cultures, like "Oviedo y Herrera", Jose de Acosta, and Pedro Mártir de Anghera.

Perhaps the most important source about the Aztec are the manuscripts of Bernardino de Sahagún, who worked with the surviving Aztec wise men. Bernardino de Sahagún (1499 &ndash October 23 1590) was a Franciscan missionary to the Aztec ( Nahua) people of Mexico He taught Aztec tlacuilos to write the original Nahuatl accounts using the Latin alphabet. Because of fear of the Spanish authorities, he maintained the anonymity of his informants, and wrote a heavily censored version in Spanish. Unfortunately the Nahuatl original was not fully translated until the 20th century, thus realising the extent of the censorship of the Spanish version. The original Nahuatl manuscript is known as the Florentine Codex. The Florentine Codex is the name given to 12 books created under the supervision of Bernardino de Sahagún between approximately 1540 and 1585

Native authors

Other important sources are the work of Indian and mestizo authors, descendants of the upper classes. These authors include Don Fernando Alvarado Tezozómoc, Chimalpahin Cuauhtlehuanitzin, Juan Bautista de Pomar, and Fernando de Alva Cortés Ixtlilxochitl. Fernando or Hernando ( de) Alvarado Tezozómoc was a colonial Nahua noble. Domingo Francisco de San Antón Muñón Chimalpahin Quauhtlehuanitzin (1579 Amecameca, Chalco &mdash1660 Mexico City) usually referred to simply as Juan Bautista de Pomar (c 1535 &ndash 1590 was a historian and writer interested in Pre-Columbian Aztec history Fernando de Alva Cortés Ixtlilxóchitl (b between 1568 and 1580 Texcoco &mdash1648 Mexico City) was a Mexican Historian. Ixtlixochitl, for example, wrote a history of Texcoco from a Christian point of view. His account of Netzahualcoyotl, an ancestor of Ixtlilxochitl's, has a strong resemblance to the story of King Solomon and portrays Netzahualcoyotl as a monotheist and a critic of human sacrifice. Nezahualcoyotl (Nezahualcoyōtl nesawaɬˈkojoːtɬ (meaning "Coyote in fast" or "Coyote who Fasts"( April 28 1402 &ndash June 4

Diego Muñoz Camargo (1521 - c. Diego Muñoz Camargo (c 1529 - 1599 was the author of History of Tlaxcala, an illustrated Codex that highlights the religious cultural and military 1612), a Tlaxcalan mestizo, wrote the History of Tlaxcala six decades after the Spanish conquest. Mestizo is a Spanish term that was coined during the Spanish Empire to refer to people of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry in Latin History of Tlaxcala is an illustrated Codex written by and under the supervision of Diego Muñoz Camargo in the years leading up to 1585 Some parts of his work have a strong Tlaxcala bias.

Notes

References

Modern works, available in English

• Berdan, Frances F. (2004) The Aztecs of Central Mexico: An Imperial Society. 2nd ed. Thomson-Wadsworth, Belmont, CA. ISBN 0534627285.
• Berdan, Frances F. , Richard E. Blanton, Elizabeth H. Boone, Mary G. Hodge, Michael E. Smith and Emily Umberger (1996). Aztec Imperial Strategies. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC. ISBN 0884022110.
• Boone, Elizabeth H. (1989). "Incarnations of the Aztec Supernatural: The Image of Huitzilopochtli in Mexico and Europe. " Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, New Ser. , Vol. 79, No. 2. , pp. i-iv+1-107. ISBN 0871697920.
• Boone, Elizabeth H. (2000) Stories in Red and Black: Pictorial Histories of the Aztecs and Mixtecs. University of Texas Press, Austin. ISBN 0292708769.
• Carrasco, Davíd (1999) City of Sacrifice: The Aztec Empire and the Role of Violence in Civilization. Beacon Press, Boston. ISBN 0807046426.
• Carrasco, Pedro (1999) The Tenochca Empire of Ancient Mexico: The Triple Alliance of Tenochtitlan, Tetzcoco, and Tlacopan. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0806131446.
• Clendinnen, Inga (1991) Aztecs: An Interpretation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. ASIN B000PRYFBS. ISBN 0521485851 (1995 paperback).
• Davies, Nigel (1973) The Aztecs: A History. Macmillan. ISBN 0333124049.
• Duran, Fray Diego (1994). The History of the Indies of New Spain. Translated by Doris Heyden. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0806126493.
• Gillespie, Susan D. (1989) The Aztec Kings: The Construction of Rulership in Mexica History'. University of Arizona Press, Tucson. ISBN 0816510954.
• Graulich, Michel (1997) Myths of Ancient Mexico. Translated by Bernard R. Ortiz de Montellano and Thelma Ortiz de Montellano. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. ISBN 0806129107.
• Gruzinski, Serge (1992). The Aztecs: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. New York: Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 0810928213.
• Guggenheim Museum (editor) (2004) The Aztec Empire (Curated by Felipe Solís). Guggenheim Museum, New York.
• Hassig, Ross (1988) Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. ASIN B000M4NNJE. ISBN 0806127732 (1995 paperback).
• Lanyon, Anna (1999). Malinche's Conquest. Melbourne, Australia: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1864487801.
• León-Portilla, Miguel (Ed.) [1959] (1992). Miguel León-Portilla (born in Mexico City, February 22, 1926) is a Mexican anthropologist and historian and a prime authority on Nahuatl The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico, Ángel María Garibay K. (Nahuatl-Spanish trans. Fray Ángel María Garibay Kintana ( June 18, 1892 – October 19, 1967) was a Mexican Roman Catholic priest ), Lysander Kemp (Spanish-English trans. ), Alberto Beltran (illus. ), Expanded and updated edition, Boston: Beacon Press. ISBN 0-8070-5501-8.  
• León-Portilla, Miguel (1963) Aztec Thought and Culture: A Study of the Ancient Náhuatl Mind. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. ASIN B000GPAF1I. ISBN-10: 0806122951 (1990 paperback).
• López Luján, Leonardo (2005) The Offerings of the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan. Revised ed. Translated by Bernard R. Ortiz de Montellano and Thelma Ortiz de Montellano. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. ISBN 0826329586.
• Matos Moctezuma, Eduardo (1988) The Great Temple of the Aztecs. Thames and Hudson, New York. ISBN 050039024X.
• Matos Moctezuma, Eduardo and Felipe R. Solís Olguín (editors) (2003) Aztecs. Royal Academy of Arts, London. ISBN 1903973139.
• Ortiz de Montellano, Bernard R. (1990) Aztec Medicine, Health, and Nutrition. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick. ISBN 0813515629.
• Restall, Matthew (2003). Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195160770.
• Smith, Michael E. (1984); "The Aztlan Migrations of Nahuatl Chronicles: Myth or History?", in Ethnohistory 31(3): 153 - 186.PDF (3. 15 MiB)
• Smith, Michael E. A mebibyte (a contraction of me ga bi nary byte) is a unit of Information or Computer storage, abbreviated MiB. (2003) The Aztecs. 2nd ed. Blackwell Publishers, Oxford.
• Smith, Michael E, "Life in the Provinces of the Aztec Empire", Scientific American.PDF (538 KiB)
• Soustelle, Jacques (1961) The Daily life of the Aztecs, London, WI. A kibibyte (a contraction of ki lo bi nary byte) is a unit of Information or Computer storage, established by the International ASIN B000M1NS06. ISBN 0486424855 (2002 paperback).
• Thomas, Hugh (1994). Conquest: Montezuma, Cortes, and the Fall of Old Mexico. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0671705180.
• Townsend, Richard F. (2000) The Aztecs. revised ed. Thames and Hudson, New York. ISBN 0500281327.

Primary sources, available in English

• Berdan, Frances F. and Patricia Reiff Anawalt (1997) The Essential Codex Mendoza. The Codex Mendoza is an Aztec codex, created about twenty years after the Spanish conquest of Mexico with the intent that it be seen by Charles University of California Press, Berkeley. ISBN 0520204549.
• Cortés, Hernan (1987) Letters from Mexico. Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro 1st Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca ( 1485&ndash December 2, New Ed. edition. Translated by Anthony Pagden. Yale University Press, New Haven. ISBN 0300037244.
• Díaz del Castillo, Bernal (1963) The Conquest of New Spain. Bernal Díaz del Castillo (1496 &ndash 1584 was a Conquistador, who wrote an eyewitness account of the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards under Hernán Translated by J. M. Cohen. Penguin, New York. ISBN 0140441239.
• Díaz, Gisele and Alan Rogers (1993) The Codex Borgia: A Full-Color Restoration of the Ancient Mexican Manuscript. The Codex Borgia (or Codex Yoalli Ehecatl) is a Mesoamerican ritual and divinatory Manuscript. Dover Publications, New York. ISBN 0486275698.
• Durán, Fray Diego (1971) Book of the Gods and Rites and The Ancient Calendar. Diego Durán (c 1537&mdash1588 was a Dominican friar best known for his authorship of one of the earliest Western books on the history and culture of the Aztecs Translated by Fernando Horcasitas and Doris Heyden. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. ASIN B000M4OVSG. ISBN 0806112018 (1977 Ed. edition).
• Durán, Fray Diego (1994) The History of the Indies of New Spain. Diego Durán (c 1537&mdash1588 was a Dominican friar best known for his authorship of one of the earliest Western books on the history and culture of the Aztecs Translated by Doris Heyden. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. ISBN 0806126493.
• Garganigo et al. , (2008) Huellas de las Literaturas Hispanoamerica. 3 edition. Prentice Hall, New Jersey. (Note, this source in Spanish). ISBN 0131958461.
• Zorita, Alonso de (1963) Life and Labor in Ancient Mexico: The Brief and Summary Relation of the Lords of New Spain. Translated by Benjamin Keen. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick. ASIN B000INWUNE. ISBN 0806126795 (1994 paperback).

See also

• List of Mexico-Tenochtitlan rulers
• History of Mexico
• Aztec warfare
• Inca Empire
• Maya civilization
• Indigenous peoples of the Americas
• Conquistador
• Spanish Empire

External links

• Aztecs at Mexicolore: constantly updated educational site specifically on the Aztecs, for serious students of all ages. This is a list of the tlatoque of Mexico Tenochtitlan, often referred to as " Aztec emperors" Mexico is a country in North America and the largest Spanish -speaking country in the world Aztec warfare concerns the aspects associated with the militaristic conventions forces Weaponry and strategic expansions conducted by the Late Postclassic The Inca Empire (or Inka Empire) was the largest empire in Pre-Columbian America. The Maya civilization is a Mesoamerican Civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the Pre-Columbian Americas For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States. This article is about the Spanish explorer soldiers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuriesfor other uses see Conquistador (disambiguation A Conquistador The Spanish Empire (Imperio Español was one of the largest Empires in history and one of the first Global empires In the 15th and 16th centuries
• Aztec Architecture
• "Aztec" Information: Information about the words Aztec and Aztlan, and the word that many have never heard
• Aztecs / Nahuatl / Tenochtitlan: Ancient Mesoamerica resources at University of Minnesota Duluth
• Aztec history, culture and religion B. The University of Minnesota Duluth ( UMD) is a regional branch of the University of Minnesota System located in Duluth Minnesota, USA. Diaz del Castillo, The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico (tr. by A. P. Maudsley, 1928, repr. 1965)
• Aztec Names: Lots of different Aztec names in the Nahuatl language/
• Aztec page at the Universidad de Guadalajara site
• Aztec Indians
• About Archaeology: Aztec Civilization
• Demographic Disaster in Mexico 1519-1595 at the Department of History at the University of Minnesota
• Michael E. University of Guadalajara is a public University settled in Guadalajara Jalisco, Mexico. The University of Minnesota Twin Cities ( U of M or The U) is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system. Smith, The Mesoamerican Urban Landscape From Teotihuacan to the Aztecs, paper presented at the Conference, "Archaeology of Complex Societies: Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces," October 21, 1995, California State University, San Bernardino' archived on the Internet Archive from Smith's faculty site at State University of New York at Albany. The Internet Archive ( IA) is a Nonprofit organization dedicated to maintaining an on-line Library and archive of Web and Albany is the Capital of the State of New York and the County seat of Albany County.
• Ancient Civilizations - Aztec Research site for kids
• Michael E. Smith's student bibliography on the Aztecs.
• Article: "Life in the Provinces of the Aztec EmpirePDF (538 KiB)
• Tlahuica Culture Home Page (an Aztec group from Morelos, Mexico)
• MesoAmericas
• Recreations of Aztec music based on the Cantares Mexicanos
• Mexican archeologists find largest Aztec figure
• Richard Hooker, The Mexican Aztecs, World Civilizations: An Internet Classroom and Anthology, Washington State University
• "The Aztecs-looking behind the myths" on BBC Radio 4’s In Our Time featuring Alan Knight, Adrian Locke and Elizabeth Graham