Rise of the Aztec Empire

The aztec society in transition

● As the empire grew, the aztec society became more hierarchical, social

classes with different functions developed, the Aztecs confronted

technological barriers that made it hard to maintain the large population.

The Calpulli

● The Aztecs had been divided into several different Calpulli, or groups, during their wanderings. Much of the

Aztec way of life was based on the calpulli, which performed important functions such as distributing the land,

organizing labor gangs & military units, and maintaining temple & school.

● These Calpulli were not only kinship groups, but they were also residential groupings, these included neighbors,

allies, and dependants. Every person, Noble and Commoner, were a part of a calpulli. However, as the Aztec

Power expanded the Calpulli were transformed and a new forms of social stratification emerged.

● The new forms of calpulli contained a Noble class, this was based on families, and who the head of the

household was.

“all the calpulli hang with me” -Jacob Rutgers

Feeding the enormous population.

● Women spent six hours a day grinding corn by hand on stone

boards(these were also called metates) to provide food for the

households in this maze-based economy. Other ancient

civilizations used this technique, such as Egypt and Rome, but

were replaced by animal or water powered mills. Because the

Aztecs had such a giant population, and Maize was such a hard

substance to harvest, the population was extremely limited.

The Empire

● Each City State was ruled by a speaker chosen from the nobility

class. This leader was to be feared and seen as all powerful, he had

private wealth and great public power. There were a strict set of rules

that citizens had to follow when a they went to see him.

● The council appointed officials to govern the four quarters (phratries)

in which the city was organized, and advised the supreme chief, who

led the tribe in wars and alliances. There was a second chief that

supervised internal affairs.

● Although the system was theoretically democratic, actually the chiefs

were selected from powerful families.

● The priesthood had a strong influence in tribal affairs but took no

active part in government.

Tribute

● During the century of social expansion, society and

politics made a radical transformation. The Military virtues

had been elevated to new extremes, and the purpose of

finding tribute and finding victims for Huitzilopochtli drove

further aztec conquest.

● During this century, the empire was never integrated,

the local rulers often stayed in place to collect tribute for

the aztec overlords.

● Tribute provided economic and political function,

concentrating on power and wealth in the aztec capital.

Women In Society

● Membership in society was defined by the participation in the

calpulli or social group, and gender roles and definitions.

~Peasant women helped in the fields, bore children, and cooked

for most of their time.

~Older women were given the responsibility of training young

women weaving, a highly regarded skill.

● Marriage was arranged between lineages, polygamy was

common in the higher classes but not peasants. Women were not

required to be virgins at marriage, but it was highly preferable.

● Women could inherit and pass on property, and their rights were

fully recognized, however, politically and socially, women were

subordinate to men.

Religious Beliefs● In the Aztec religion sacrifices were

practiced around 1 thousand times a

year.

● Sacrifice of blood was either from

animals or even humans.

● The offering of blood was not always

just killing, it was also offering blood by

cutting oneself.

Gods ● The aztecs believed that they owed the

gods a sacrifice to ask for them to give a

good harvest, and weather.

● The god that was the most important to the

Aztecs was the sun god Huitzilopochtli.

● They sacrificed people to keep the “bad

gods” away from the “good gods”.

Gender Roles in Religious Aztec Religion

Females

● The females were labeled inferior and were called the instigation of conflict and

warfare.● They grinded maize to make the food for

the family.● They would do house chores.

Males

● The males were the only priests of Aztec Religion.

● The main role they had was to be a warrior and to take captives in war to increase his

reputation.● Some men weren't the best warrior's so they

were the hunter and gatherers

Ideology of Conquest

● The Aztecs were originally 3 different groups, they were Tenochtitlan, Texcoco,

Tlacopan. But later Tenochtitlan became the main empire of the Aztecs.

● When the aztecs conquered a city state, they would be asked to pay tribute.

● The city would have their own governments when conquered but payed tribute, most of it

went to the Tenochtitlan Empire.●

Why the Aztecs Fell

● The Aztecs used lots of human sacrifices in their religious rituals, causing a loss in their population.

Which if the people who were sacrificed lived they would have had a larger population in their society,

which would have made a difference in the war against the spanish.

● The Aztecs were prone to attract diseases because they weren't

exposed to the diseases the spanish were exposed to.

● Another reason why the Aztec Empire fell was that the spanish had

better military tactics.

Human Sacrifices● The Aztecs believed that they owed a blood-debt to the

gods.● Sacrifices were made to please the gods and avert

disasters.● Many other places used human sacrifices but the Aztec

society was the most known for it, because they would sacrifice around 1,000 humans a year.

● The humans sacrificed were placed on a slab of stone on top of a pyramid, then they would have their hearts removed and held to the sun, after that they would kick the bodies down the stairs.

● The humans sacrificed were people that were captured from conquests, or the empire's own citizens.

Summary

Society● The Aztec society was divided up into small groups called

Calpulli, these groups contained social classes and nobility.● The society's main source of food was maize, a corn like

grain.This was a hard substance to harvest, so it took the women a great amount of time to do so.

● Each city state had its own leader that was chosen from the nobility class.

● Tribute was important to the Aztecs both economically and politically

● Women had legal rights and equalities but were still subordinate to men.

Religion● The Aztec religion involved sacrifice both human and animal.● The most important god in this religion was Huitzilopochtli, the

sun god.● women were not allowed to be priests, only men.● the primary reason behind human sacrifice, was that the

Aztecs believed they owed a blood tribute to their gods. If they did not pay this tribute, the gods would become angry.

● http://www.azteccalendar.com/god/Tonatiuh.html

● https://www.coursehero.com/file/p6h284e/Religion-and-the-Ideology-of-Conquest-In-the-Aztec-religion-little-distinction/

● http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp264-ss13/2013/04/25/aztec-human-sacrifice/

● http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1999/2/99.02.01.x.html#

● http://genderrolesaztec.weebly.com/male-role.html

● http://www.aztec-history.com/aztec-empire.html

● World Civilizations, The Global Experience; Fifth Edition.

● aztecgroup.blogspot.com

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