The Aztec are best known for their location in present-day Mexico in the south central area. However, it is also believe that they originally came from further north in areas of Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and Colorado...migrating south around the 13th century.
Around 1325, they stopped migrating southward on the border of Lake Texcoco, where they built their city and capital of Tenochtitlan. Most of the Aztec culture was sedentary, relying on hunting and gathering. Gardening and fishing were also prominent. Those near the ocean ate crabs, oysters, fish and turtles. Wild game that was consumed included rabbits, snakes, armadillos, deer, pumas, coyotes, and turkey. Some of the crops that were domesticated included cocoa, banilla, bananas, squash, pumpkin, beans, chili, tobacco, onions, red tomatoes, green tomatoes, sweet potatoes, jicama, huautli, and maize. Maize was the most important crop. Slash-and-burn agriculture was utilized repeatedly. The Aztec also constructed irrigation systems to bring in water to the dry farm lands. Shallow lakes were farmed by creating islands called chinampas...mud that had been piled to form small islands.
The Aztec spoke Nahuatl and utilized hieroglyphic writing and paintings as a form of written records.
There was a very strong dedication to their religion, which included human sacrifices to the gods. On various special religious and social occasions, a slave was sacrificed. His flesh would be elaborately dressed and would be the center ornament of a banquet. It was believed that human hearts and blood gave the gods strength. It was believed that humans were responsible for the pleasure or displeasure of the gods and that they had to make sure that the gods were happy. They worshiped hundreds of gods and goddesses, each representing a different aspect of life. Twenty-Fifty thousand people were sacrificed each year...usually war prisoners or children. Large temples were constructed to perform these sacrifices. It is often accounted how the heads of the sacrificial victim would roll down the steps of the large temples.
The dress of an Aztec would display their status as well as place within their civilization. Dress played a significant role in both religious and social settings. Because of the warm climate, most clothing was loose. Women wore sleeveless blouses and skirts, men wore clothing on the hip area and a cloak over the shoulders. Nobles wore cotton clothes with a great deal of decoration. |
