the aztecs Essay

An area of the Aztecs ' civilization that was very complex and advanced was their government. The Aztec government was similar to a monarchy where an Emperor or King was the primary ruler showing that their government was very advanced as it was similar to a form of government that is still used today ("Aztec Empire for Kids: Government and Empire"). The empire was made up of city-states known as altepetl with a large city in the center of each one that ruled the area where the majority of Aztec nobles and other government leaders lived as city leaders led the empires which is similar to some civilizations that were not as old as the Aztecs, showing agian how advance their government was("Aztec Empire for Kids: Government and Empire"). Now each altepetl was ruled by a supreme leader known as a tlatoani, a supreme judge, and administrator which is similar to the United States justice system("Aztec and Maya Laws- political

The Aztec empire flourished and peaked between the years 1480 and 1500 AD under the rule of Ahuitzotl, the eighth Aztec ruler. It is estimated that by the year 1519 AD the Aztecs ruled over 25 million people. The capital of the empire, Tenochtitlan (current Mexico City) had a population of 200,000 by conservative estimates. During the same timeframe, London had a population of 40,000 and Paris, 65,000. When the Spaniards arrived to the city of Tenochtitlan, built in the middle of Lake Texcoco, they were just amazed. They equaled their experience to walking into a dream.

The Aztecs were one of the last tribes to arrive in Mexico, in 1195 CE, when they arrived in the Valley of Mexico other tribes had taken the best land so the Aztecs were left with the swampy shores. They soon adapted and began to conquer their neighboring tribes. They continued to expand until they had their very own empire. The empire continued to thrive, until the Spanish arrived and had a fixed mind set on wanting the empires region of land.

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 has a class system. First in the class system was the Emperor, the emperor was the almighty ruler of everyone. Second, Nobles came after the emperor, they ran the government and army usually. Third in the class system were the artisans, the artisans were usually artisans or market people. Fourth in the system were the commoners, the commoners were usually farmers. Finally in the class system were slaves, slaves were usually war captives, and if war captives didn´t become slaves, were usually used a sacrifices.

Aztec community was experience and knew how to maximise the production by following crop rotations on highlands where less irrigation treatments are available, also exchanging in inter-cities to have different availability of vegetation (Peters-Golden 2002a: 21).In the form of occupation the status of women was limited on some extents, as the entire section of croft practiced by women of all classes only. Women of the lower rank used to produce simple goods for household where Nobel women were engaged in producing ceremonial capes, by using finest cotton, rabbit fur and feathers(Peters-Golden 2002a: 22). This division of labor amongst women represent status-run going the empire with less equalities. "A boy was declared a soldier"(Peters-Golden 2002a: 29) and the only way a women n get honor in warfare is only if a women dies while giving birth a boy. The high involvement of men in warfare resulted in handling of agriculture and small level horticulture by women, as they used to cultivate cotton and decorative herbs which were used in making clothes.

There were those who ruled, nobles, and those who were ruled, commoners. The nobles made up approximately five percent of the Aztecs and the commoners were the bulk of the population. Despite the wide population gap between the two groups, the commoners were still obligated to serve the nobles. In the highest position of power was the tlatoani, ruler of a city-state. The high lords, tetecutin, who were in control over certain areas were next in line.

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

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

The Aztec had a very structured social order, with everyone knowing their place/rank. Their social pyramid had five sections. The Emperor was at the top, the nobility and priests came next, the soldiers, merchants,

The Aztecs had an interesting daily life. Farmers, warriors, and craftsmen are all jobs for the men. Cooking and weaving cloth are jobs for the women. First of all, the men wore loincloths and long capes. Also, the women wore long skirts and long capes. Of course, the king lived

The building of the great Olmec cities ceased in the 900's BC. In the Eighth century AD another great civilization, the Toltecs, built the great city of Tula. The history of the Toltecs' way of life has been remembered through the myths of the Aztecs. The Aztecs remember the Toltecs as a wise people with access to knowledge that enabled them to grow ears of corn so large that a man could not wrap his arms around it. Tula was said to be a virtual heaven on Earth with great riches and never any famine. But the Toltecs passed away just as the Olmecs had hundreds of years before. Their demise was told in Aztec myth as coming when a wandering tribe from Aztlan called the Chichimecs, a word meaning barbarian, later to be called Aztecs, toppled the city of Tula. This history is questionable but difficult to dispute because of a great burning of all the Aztec history books, strips of amate fiber, when they had reached their height. The emperor wanted the Aztecs to be remembered by their glory and for there to be no record of the less glorious past. The Aztecs were a nomadic people led by their god of war, Huitzlilopochtli, and searching for a sign to settle. They were to settle on an island on which they saw an eagle perched on a cactus with a serpent hanging from its mouth. These people settled in the valley of Mexico and began conquering their neighbors and building a city that would eventually reach

Dear Mr. Cortez, you know how you asked me to research all about the Aztecs, to share with you? Well here’s what I have found out. When you come here, somethings may not make sense. Some houses are bleached white, or have sun-dried brick or stone, while others were tiny little huts with a garden out back. This is the ranking for rich and poor, with the rich having stone, and the poor having hut houses. You may see some people walking along the streets, and you must note who is who. Most will presumably be carrying fruits and veggies, and wearing plain clothes that they had to create themselves. Then there are the Nobles skipping down the street, and you will note that they are Nobles as they will have feathers on their apparel. If you appear

At their peak, they controlled the lives of some ten to 20 million people. Not always well loved by other groups in the area, the aztecs created a society that surprised and impressed the spanish conquistadors who arrived in 1519. The purpose of this mini-Q is to examine parts of aztec society and decide what we should emphasize when telling the aztecs story.

The Aztec was a great empire and was a place to go to. The city of Tenochtitlan is a man made island in the middle of Texcoco, where the Aztec empire is. It is also located in Mexico (central mexico). It was around the 1440’s when the Aztec was at its highest and conquering other nations. It is also the time when the Spanish was exploring the Americas and looking for new land. When the spanish arrived with the spanish captain Hernán Cortés. The mission they were provided was to go to the Americas and trade with the Natives there. Cortes just wanted the gold from The Aztec people. So they manipulated the current king Montezuma II which is one of the reasons the Aztec fell, so then they could get free passage into the empire. Soon the Aztec started