Aztecs – c. 1350- 1550

A Continuation of the

Olmec and Maya cultures

Location / Geography

• Central Mexico (not the Yucatan)

• Capital at Tenochtitlan (island) 500,000 people

• Total Pop: 10-20 million

Politics• Theocracy led

by divine king/Priest

• Military – nearly constant brutal wars for conquest, collect tribute, captives

for slaves and sacrifice

Economics• Agriculturally based• merchants are limited by

what they can carry since they don’t have large pack animals

• Chinampas – huge floating islands for agriculture

• The great market – daily trade in the merchant section of large cities

Chinampa

Religion• Polytheistic• Many Temples based

on astronomy for worship, agricultural planning and sacrifice

• Each holiday included ceremonies involving human sacrifice/cannibalism

• Fatalistic and cyclical view of the world

Social

• Large gap between upper/lower classes

• Role of Women – decide fate of prisoners, domestic chores (grinding maize), can inherit land

• Common people in constant fear of war/sacrifice/slavery

Intellectual

• calendar, numbers and pictorial writing similar but not identical to Maya

• Capital built on an island required great planning and coordination

Art• Temples

• Gold objects

• Sculpture

• Skull racks

Conquered by Spanish

• Spanish conquistadors led by Cortes crush the Aztecs during the 1530s

• More on that later