preview

How Was Society Organised In The Aztecs

Decent Essays

Intro - How was society organised? / Government
Aztecs were the native American people who controlled northern Mexico from 1325 to 1521. According to Aztec legend, they came from a place named “Aztlan”, a city from northern Mexico.

Aztec Families didn’t really own land; land was owned by the calpulli. The calpulli was the lowest form of Aztec government, which was comprised of a group of families. The local government system was around long before the Aztec empire.A group of several calpulli was called a altepetl, and the leader of these altepetl held a lot of power within the Aztec government.

What phenomena did the civilisation know about and predict?
The Aztecs predicted many phenomena which changed their way of life. Some of these include …show more content…

As the great city of Tenochtitlan was built on rich, swampy, soil, the main method of Aztec farming was using chinampas. Chinampas were roughly 30 by 2.5 meter long plots constructed in a lake bed. These plots were then filled in with mud and vegetation, leaving a small canal for canoes to pass, as well as offering irrigation.

Using the Xiuhpohualli calendar, the Aztecs had certain farming seasons to know what was the best times of year to farm certain crops. These seasons were named xopan (“green time of year"), tonallan (“time of heat”), tonalco (“during the heat”) & cecuizpan (“time of cold”). The main crops planted were maize, squash and beans, and were planted in the wet seasons.

What were the civilisation’s religious beliefs?
Religion was very important in Aztec life, and the aztecs worshipped their many gods daily. Each god ruled a human activity, or an object. As the Aztec culture was based on farming, lots of their god were god of agriculture, or certain crops.

The Aztecs believed that the god’s powers needed to be recognised in the form of gifts, and it was believed that gifting the gods would prevent catastrophes from happening. This is why many monuments were constructed where sacrificial ceremonies took place.

What were some of the customs that the civilisation

Get Access