When thinking of ancient, urban centers many think of ancient capitals such as Rome, Athens, or Cairo. However, across the Atlantic Ocean in Central and South America, there were a number of growing urban centers being built by the Aztec, Mayan, and Incan civilizations. An example of a Central American urban center is Tenochtitlan. Tenochtitlan was the capital of the ancient Aztec capital which is located in present-day Mexico-City, Mexico. The development of this ancient city was dependent on three important factors: favorable ecology, advancing technology, and social organization. With these three preconditions, the growth of Tenochtitlan as a major urban center and as the capital of the Aztec’s civilization was able to flourish.
Similarly to modern-day real estate, location played a detrimental role in determining whether or not an urban center could truly develop and flourish. A location with favorable ecology allows for resources such as agriculture to be produced near or within the city. However, agriculture is not the only element of ecology that allows for a city to develop. Other ecological elements such as rivers, lakes, elevation, mineral resource, and building materials are important in determining whether or not a location has favorable ecology (28). Tenochtitlan is often compared to Europe’s Venice due to its structure and location within the Valley of Mexico. The landscape of the Valley of Mexico consisted of multiple lakes and “resembled a water-filled
The Aztec's back then had a very stunning capital. Hernàn Cortès, the Spanish conquer, was very awed by the Aztec's capital. He said "there is one square....where their are more than 60,000 souls, buying, and selling". Tenochtitlàn was pretty advanced for its time
The Aztecs were a remarkable civilization. Th is civilization were distrusted and disliked because they tended to push others out of their way. They ruled an empire in Tenochtitlan in the time of 1350 to 1519. They also were known for their agriculture and human sacrifices. Agriculture was a very important part of their h istory because without their farming method the Aztec couldn't have created such great civilization. According to Document A of the Aztec DBQ, states that the Aztec empire grew more than 200 miles west to east, and north to south. Th is means that with the growth of the empire the population also grew and more effective agriculture techniques were needed to feed the people. They created the method of ch inampas because they
The Aztecs had one of the most successful and advanced empires of all time. They had a dwelling culture The Aztec civilization was located directly in the middle of two mountain ranges in the central valley of Mexico ( Platt 10). Although the Aztec empire eventually came to an end they were able to do well as an empire. Contributing factors that led to the rise of the empire was their political structure, social components, and religious traditions which they preformed earnestly.
The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th century. They were a civilization with a rich mythology and cultural heritage. Their capital was Tenochtitlan on the shore of Lake Texcoco. From their magnificent capital city, Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs emerged as the dominant force in central Mexico, developing an intricate religious.
Mesoamerica was once a place filled with expanding, ruthless empires and civilizations, although none was like the Aztecs and their empire. Although they started off with a humble beginning, they quickly grew into a great civilization that dominated present day Central Mexico. They conquered and expanded into an empire stronger than the other neighboring empires. The heart of the Aztec empire, Tenochtitlan, was a grand capital filled with many people and astounding temples. The Aztecs were also ahead of their time with fully-functional government and irrigation systems. They continue to astound many historians with their diverse way of life. They impacted the way of life for many people today with their customs and ways of life. Throughout the years, the Aztecs were able to grow and prosper with their sufficient supply of agriculture and blessed fertile lands of the Mexican Valley, and demonstrated to be an important part of Mexican heritage. The Aztec civilization was truly one of Mesoamerica’s most influential empires because of their history, vibrant culture, and unique architecture.
After landing on the coast of Mexico in the early 1500’s in what is now Veracruz, Cortés caught word of the possibility of much wealthier land if he were only willing to travel more inland. The Aztec empire centered around it’s powerful capital city of Tenochtitlán, and Cortés wanted it for himself and Spain. After arriving in the great city he said to have gasped at the sight of the large buildings, beautiful design, and overall substance. While the accounts written by him and his men are the only known surviving writings of the late empire, we are able to get a pretty clear glimpse into its beauty by the way he spoke. Built on a sizeable lake, the Tenochtitlán was only assessable by four very large bridges. Cortés was quite impressed by the way in which 10 of his men could ride side by side while crossing. The actual size of the city was not what impressed him most, seeing as it was comparable to the city of Seville that he had seen at home, but instead he found it intriguing how the people had developed roads that worked around the grand body of water.
Tenochtitlan: Capital of the Aztecs and the center of a rigidly stratified society composed of hereditary classes of warriors, merchants, priests, common folk, and slaves.
that were very intricate and important to the culture as a whole. The Aztecs, at the height of their greatness, ruled 5-6 million people and over 500 city-states. However every great civilization in history, including the Aztecs, have a rise and have a fall. The Aztec Empire fell to the Spaniard’s conquest because of the Aztec’s religion, disease, Spanish weaponry, and native alliances.
Inside any atrocious act committed by a group of people onto another for the sake of greed there’s a message they must spread to justify their actions, for the Spanish onto the Aztec it was ridding the world of heretics worshiping Gods of blood. The Aztec and Inca Empires fell with relative ease to the Spaniards due to a variety of contributing factors. Hesitate action from leadership may have played a role at least for the Aztecs as according to Hernan Cortez; Moctezuma believed that he possibly was a God. Superior weaponry such as steel based weapons/armor played a significant role, as both the Inca and Aztec empires still relied on weapons made from stone and wood. European diseases like small pox also played a heavy hand in the decimation of the native population, as the natives had no immunities to such ailments. The Spanish who arrived with very few men to fight also utilized subject people to fight on their side due primarily to the irritation of the Native Empires long dominance of them. This was mainly utilized in the Aztec Empire’s conquest as they had long sacrificed large portions of their subjects to their Gods in order to appease them. Along with sacrifices, the Aztec required large payments of goods & labor from their subjects further creating tensions.
For centuries we have been taught about different ancient civilizations. Civilizations that individually give us genuine reasons and facts which we remember them by. Whether it'd be for their customs or agriculture each civilization has contributed to our technology in the way we grow our food and the way we build. Today I would like to remember the Aztecs. They have been famous for their agriculture, their cultivation of land and creating artificial islands in the lakes.
Geography for the Aztecs was quite different from the other city-states in Mexico. The Aztecs had to take the land in Mexico that was left, and there wasn't much land left. The Aztecs saw an eagle sitting on top of a cactus, this was a religious sign and it said that they should live there. The cactus where they saw the eagle, was located on a little island in the middle of Lake Texcoco, so they had little land to thrive off of. The island was a swampy place, surrounded my mountains.
As I read Daily Life of The Aztecs on the Eve of the Spanish Conquest, I discovered the Aztecs were a truly amazing society of people. In the book, Jacques Soustelle looks into Aztec culture, religion, education, and technology, just to name a few. He looks across the Valley of Mexico during the early 1500s. These Aztec people can be compared and contrasted with that of people in today’s society.
Tenochtitlan was built on a lake island called Aztlan and over the lake, the Aztecs built fertile, floating farms called “Chinampas”.The people who inhabited the Aztlan Island were originally called the Mexica people. The name Aztec is derived from the name of the Island. However primitive this empire may seem, the Emperors were quite affluent. They had lavish possessions
The Aztec civilization during its peak was the strongest civilization in the western hemisphere. When the Spaniards first set foot in the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, they could not believe that a civilization so primitive in their minds could have been so culturally developed and powerful. However, before making it to Tenochtitlan, they had discovered that all was not well in the Aztec empire. From many native Indians that had tension with the Aztecs, they learned of internal and pre-existing problems that existed. This investigation examines to what extent where those internal and pre-existing factors to blame for the downfall of the Aztec Empire. The investigation was undertaken using some of the only primary
The location of this great metropolis is a subvalley of the Valley of Mexico. In its northwestern region, the area it occupies is considered to be a highly strategic because it controls access to the valley. This proved to be quite beneficial for aiding and accelerating the development of the Teotihuacan culture. The valley of Mexico is home to obsidian sources, permanent springs, lake systems, irrigable agricultural lands, deposits of salt and limestone, the later was extremely important for construction of the majority of the structures found at this site.