The Life of the Aztecs

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.

Pre-Columbian Aztec Tribe was a very complex and hierarchical society that settled among the Aztecs of central Mexico in the times prior to the Spanish seize of Mexico. It was erected on the cultural bases of the bigger area of Mesoamerica. The culture was structured into self-governing city-states, called altepetls, which had smaller divisions. These city-states were further composed of one or more large kinship cluster (History.com). Nobles and commoners were the most fundamental social division in the Aztec empire. Noblemen were given more privileges that were not shared by the commoners most significantly the right to get protection from commoners on their land. The common individuals were exempted to own and cultivate land and to handle their possessions, while yet accomplishing the requirements of the lords and their calpulli, such as protection payment and military help. Nevertheless, at the same time were given some privileges equal to those of the lesser nobleness. During the rise of an Aztec empire, there were so many problems that the community experienced to conquer other lands and survive. This article illustrates some of the main problems that the Aztec tribe experienced. Among them are diseases, feeding a large population, ritual sacrifices, political problems through rivalry and prejudice and technological problems.

In the book Daily Life of The Aztecs On the Eve of the Spanish Conquest by Jacques Soustelle you are walked through what life was like for the Aztecs. You are in 16th Century Mexico, or to them Mexico-Tenochtilan. Soustelle does an excellent job immediately putting you in character with the introduction of the book. The book is broken down into seven different main chapters detailing major aspects of the Aztecs lives in the late 1500’s. You learn about where they lived, to the wars they fought, and what life was like for them from birth to death. In this paper I will further discuss four topics that were very crucial in the daily lives of the Aztecs. I will help you find a better understanding in their daily life as well as the many changes they migrated through over time. The four topics I will be discussing are: 1. Culture and Customs of the Aztecs 2. Civilization vs Barbarism 3. Art and Architecture 4. Education and Home Life.

The aztecs daily life was very busy.During the day the wife cooked or weaved.The husband worked outside either on agricultural farms or hunting.The husband grew corn,beans,squashes,potatoes,tomatoes,and avocadoes.The husband hunted rabbit,armadillos,snakes,coyotes,and wild turkey.

The everyday life of the Aztecs depended on what part of society you were born into because in the Aztecs you were born into and it was either a commoner or a lord, there was also another social class but it wasn't exactly considered a class and this were the slaves; slavery came upon people through debt or punishment and many people sold themselves into slavery when they found themselves unable to support themselves, this mostly happened during famines such as the one in the 1450's. Within the commoners there were two classes, the peasants and the calpolli and the urban commoners. The calpolli were small groups of family composed of peasants who worked for the same lord. In this case the commoners were dependent upon their lord and their land

Religion plays an important part in the lives on Aztecs, also very complicated because they inhabited aspects

In 1519, the Aztecs were the most powerful kingdom in Mesoamerica. At the peak of

The Aztec built a government. Their government was called calpulli. The leader was in charge of basic needs. City councils also had a lot of power. In their government. Also, one family didn’t own land; a group of families owned

In the Aztec government, most of the land was owned by a few families. The city council had more power than the families. They had four members that did a lot of the ruling, and then the leader in the Tenochtitlan was called the Huey Tlatcani.

“Proud of itself / is the city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan. / Here no one fears to die in war. This is our glory…” (Joseph and Henderson, 61). The Aztec mythology claims their god Huitzilopochtli ordered them to leave the seven caves to find new land they would call home. They traveled many years until they found the eagle with a serpent on his mouth standing on top of a cactus. There the Aztecs were to build a temple for the god of war and of the sun, Huitzilopochtli. The Aztecs were tried by many but they learned to become skillful warriors, which allowed them to survive for many years. They were not afraid to die and their warriors were skillful, tactical, and one of the best in its time. They were landscapers, amazing architects, mathematicians, poets, but most importantly skillful warriors. The Aztecs were religious people, which also made them very superstitious. They believed they lived in a cyclical world and the world would come to end if their sun god was not satisfied, which meant performing many human sacrifices. They believed their god Quetzalcoatl would return one day to take back what belonged to him. The Aztecs were rich in culture, they had a great civilization, and were survivors. They built an empire in a swampy island others refused to claim. The Aztecs are viewed by many people as violent and to sometimes an inhumane culture; however, they were simply trying to survive. Amongst many other aspects of their culture the battlefield was very important and a great

The Aztec Warriors and their Jobs/Roles. The roles of the Aztec men, this could be located with the Roles of the Aztecs. The Aztec men took a part of their culture by either, to trade, become a warrior, they were mostly into farming, the other Aztec men would train to become a Priest, Warrior, Craftsmen, or Merchants. The roles of the Aztec woman, this could be located with the Roles of the Aztecs. The Aztec woman took a part in their culture by taking care of the Aztec household, weaving clothes for their family and for selling. The young Aztec woman would be brought up to look after children and taking part in Cooking, and Jewelry making. The Jobs of the Aztec Nobles. This could be located with jobs of the

The way of life of the Aztecs within the city Tenochtitlan is very complex civilization. The Aztecs people are very advanced in astronomy and created the most advanced calendars from that time period. The law system is very complex and advance within the time period. The Aztecs law system was really something, its empire structure has to be based heavily on rigorously of the behavior of the citizens to keep the balance in check within society. The way of life of the Aztecs seem fair because if the people can’t pay their debt they can pay if off of being the main laborer. The Aztecs are very artistic with

Codices were the Aztecian way of documenting their way of life. In the pages of these historical books, you will notice they didn't write with letters but pictures (called glyphs) to explain and document information. Codice pages were usually made with cactus fibre or deerskin, this one represented here is the latter. The codices dealt with divination, ceremonies, the ritual calendar, and speculations about the gods and the universe. After the europeans made their “visit” many featured the influences they had on them. Another common topic was a visual representation of their religious sacrifices.

At the bottom of this social structure were slaves. Most slaves were prisoners of war or kidnapped from other tribes. Unlike slavery in other areas of the world, Aztec slaves could own goods and save money, also being able to buy their

Overall Smith gives us the impression that the Aztec provincial commoners were relatively prosperous, productive, and enterprising people that held a high work ethic achieving what was necessary to sustain or maintain their standard of living. In spite of an economic decline after conquest and incorporation into the Aztec Empire, commoners in both urban and rural