The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec peoples included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica from the 14th to the 16th centuries. Aztec culture was organized into city-states ("altepetl"), some of which joined to form alliances, political confederations, or empires. The Aztec Empire was a confederation of three city-states established in 1427: Tenochtitlan, city-state of the Mexica or Tenochca; Texcoco; and Tlacopan, previously part of the Tepanec empire, whose dominant power was Azcapotzalco.
Introduction
Aztecs
Aztecs | Introduction
Central Mexico Mesoamerican. The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico. They were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521.
the culture of the aztec empire was based around which geographic form
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The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec peoples included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica from the 14th to the 16th centuries. Aztec culture was organized into city-states ("altepetl"), some of which joined to form alliances, political confederations, or empires. The Aztec Empire was a confederation of three city-states established in 1427: Tenochtitlan, city-state of the Mexica or Tenochca; Texcoco; and Tlacopan, previously part of the Tepanec empire, whose dominant power was Azcapotzalco.
Aztecs | Introduction
For the same reason, the notion of "Aztec civilization" is best understood as a particular horizon of a general Mesoamerican civilization. The culture of central Mexico includes maize cultivation, the social division between nobility ("pipiltin") and commoners ("macehualtin"), a pantheon (featuring Tezcatlipoca, Tlaloc and Quetzalcoatl), and the calendric system of a "xiuhpohualli" of 365 days intercalated with a "tonalpohualli" of 260 days. Particular to the Mexica of Tenochtitlan was the patron God Huitzilopochtli, twin pyramids, and the ceramic ware known as Aztec I to IV. From the 13th century, the Valley of Mexico was the heart of dense population and the rise of city-states.
Aztecs | Introduction
The empire was split in pieces: kings (thought to be gods), nobles, generals, priests, peasants, and finally slaves. Politically, the society was based around the independent city-state, called an "altepetl", composed of smaller divisions ("calpulli"), which were again usually composed of one or more extended kinship groups. Aztec society was highly complex and stratified, composed of several hierarchies. The society depended on a rather strict division between nobles and free commoners, both of which were themselves divided into elaborate hierarchies of social status, responsibilities, and power. A commoner would not have the same rights to land and dress code as a noble would, even down to regulating the materials they were allowed to use in their clothing.
Eagle warrior | Aztec Society
Aztec society traditionally was divided into social classes. The Aztec social classes grew incredibly sophisticated and complex once the Mexica people settled and began to build their empire. It's been said that the class structure was so elaborate that it impressed the Spanish almost as much as the architecture of the empire. The Mexica people, who later became the nucleus of the Aztec empire, were for a time a nomadic tribe looking for a home. As they moved south, they came into contact with advanced peoples. Many cultures of the day looked back to the impressive culture of the Toltecs, and the Aztecs came to admire the Toltec heritage.
Class in Aztec society | Introduction
Another source of knowledge is the cultures and customs of the contemporary Nahuatl speakers who can often provide insights into what prehispanic ways of life may have been like. Scholarly study of Aztec civilization is most often based on scientific and multidisciplinary methodologies, combining archeological knowledge with ethnohistorical and ethnographic information.
Aztecs | Sources of knowledge
Post-conquest indigenous cartographic expressions were an example of the conscientious combination of the foreign and indigenous styles, an active reflection of the cultural changes taking place at that moment in Mesoamerica. The maps and the mapmaking that came from Europe to the New World during the conquest were “framed by a scientific rationale, primarily accentuating economic, social, and political boundaries and often ignoring levels of signs and abstractions deeply rooted in the cultural context and social order where a map is produced” (Botero, 2006). With this in mind Aztec maps were not just layouts of the empire, but actually cartographic histories.
Mapa de Cuauhtinchan No. 2 | <a href="Aztec">Aztec</a> Cartographic Histories
Pre-Columbian Aztec society was a highly complex and stratified society that developed among the Aztecs of central Mexico in the centuries prior to the Spanish conquest of Mexico, and which was built on the cultural foundations of the larger region of Mesoamerica. Politically, the society was organized into independent city-states, called altepetls, composed of smaller divisions (calpulli), which were again usually composed of one or more extended kinship groups. Socially, the society depended on a rather strict division between nobles and free commoners, both of which were themselves divided into elaborate hierarchies of social status, responsibilities, and power. Economically the society was dependent on agriculture, and also to a large extent on warfare.
Aztec society | Introduction
For example, the southern peripheral zones of Xoconochco were not in immediate contact with the central part of the empire. The hegemonic nature of the Aztec empire can be seen in the fact that generally local rulers were restored to their positions once their city-state was conquered and the Aztecs did not interfere in local affairs as long as the tribute payments were made. Although the form of government is often referred to as an empire, in fact most areas within the empire were organized as city-states (individually known as "altepetl" in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs). These were small polities ruled by a king or "tlatoani" (literally "speaker", plural "tlatoque") from an aristocratic dynasty.
Aztec Empire | Government
The Aztec Empire was ruled by indirect means. Like most European empires, it was ethnically very diverse, but unlike most European empires, it was more of a system of tribute than a single system of government. Ethnohistorian Ross Hassig has argued that Aztec empire is best understood as an informal or hegemonic empire because it did not exert supreme authority over the conquered lands; it merely expected tributes to be paid and exerted force only to the degree it was necessary to ensure the payment of tribute. It was also a discontinuous empire because not all dominated territories were connected; for example, the southern peripheral zones of Xoconochco were not in direct contact with the center.
Aztecs | Triple Alliance and Aztec Empire
Aztec society can trace its roots to Mesoamerican Origins. Their language, lifestyle, and technology were all impacted by contact with neighboring cultures. But, while they were impacted by various sources, they developed their own distinct social groupings, political structures, traditions, and leisure activities.
Aztec society | Overview
To the Mexicas, the Toltecs were the originators of all culture; "toltecayotl" was a synonym for culture. Mexica legends identify the Toltecs and the cult of Quetzalcoatl with the mythical city of Tollan, which they also identified with the more ancient Teotihuacan.
Aztec religion | Mythology
The Aztecs left a durable stamp upon modern Mexican culture. Much of what is considered modern Mexican culture derives from the Aztec civilization: place-names, words, food, art, dress, symbols, and even the name "Mexican". ("See also Origin and history of the name "Mexico-Tenochtitlan"").
Pre-Columbian Mexico | Legacy of the Aztecs
The methods of Aztec rule were influenced by the story of their Mexica ancestry, who were migrants to the Mexican territory. The lived history was marked by violence and the conquering of native groups, and their mythic history was used to legitimize their conquests and the establishment of the capital Tenochtitlan. As the Aztecs grew in power, the state needed to find ways to maintain order and control over the conquered peoples, and they used religion and violence to accomplish the task. The state religion included a vast canon of deities that were involved in the constant cycles of death and rebirth.
Aztec sun stone | Connections to Aztec Ideology
The Aztec civilization originated in Central America. Likewise, the architecture of the ancient Aztec architecture reflects that of the natives' traditions, culture, religion, and everyday life. The ancient Aztecs relied on cosmology, astronomy, and religion as their main sources of inspiration. The most prominent of features are the Aztec temples which were built for the purpose of appeasing the gods, so many of their features reflect that goal. The temples were terraced pyramids with steep stairs leading up to the main temple.
Aztec architecture | Architectural styles
Although the term Aztecs is often narrowly restricted to the Mexica of Tenochtitlan, it is also broadly used to refer to Nahua polities or peoples of central Mexico in the prehispanic era, as well as the Spanish colonial era (1521–1821). The definitions of Aztec and Aztecs have long been the topic of scholarly discussion ever since German scientist Alexander von Humboldt established its common usage in the early nineteenth century. Most ethnic groups of central Mexico in the post-classic period shared basic cultural traits of Mesoamerica, and so many of the traits that characterize Aztec culture cannot be said to be exclusive to the Aztecs.
Aztecs | Introduction
Room three features the Tierras Prietas site, the cultivation of food plants and use of natural resources such as the bajareque technique of walls made of interwoven branches and clay. Room 4 covers aspects of village life and cultural exchange from 200 to 750 A.C.; the introduction of ball games and new pottery techniques. Room five contains pieces from the Aztec period from 1487 to the 1520s, when the province of Cihuatlan was established, and tribute was paid to the Aztecs by the local population in shells, chocolate, basketry and textiles. Room six covers the colonial period and search for a maritime route to the west during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Zihuatanejo | Museum of Archeology
The empire extended its reach by a combination of trade and military conquest. It was never a true territorial empire controlling a territory by large military garrisons in conquered provinces, but rather dominated its client city-states primarily by installing friendly rulers in conquered territories, by constructing marriage alliances between the ruling dynasties, and by extending an imperial ideology to its client city-states. Client city-states paid tribute to the Aztec emperor, the "Huey Tlatoani", in an economic strategy limiting communication and trade between outlying polities, making them dependent on the imperial center for the acquisition of luxury goods. The political clout of the empire reached far south into Mesoamerica conquering polities as far south as Chiapas and Guatemala and spanning Mesoamerica from the Pacific to the Atlantic oceans.
Aztecs | Introduction
The hegemonic nature of the Aztec empire can be seen in the fact that generally local rulers were restored to their positions once their city-state was conquered, and the Aztecs did not generally interfere in local affairs as long as the tribute payments were made and the local elites participated willingly. Such compliance was secured by establishing and maintaining a network of elites, related through intermarriage and different forms of exchange. Nevertheless, the expansion of the empire was accomplished through military control of frontier zones, in strategic provinces where a much more direct approach to conquest and control was taken.
Aztecs | Triple Alliance and Aztec Empire
In the middle of the first millennium CE, the first waves of tribes speaking the forefather language of the Nahuan languages migrated south into Mesoamerica. They were nomadic hunter-gatherers and arrived in a region that was already populated by complex societies at a highly advanced technological level. Under the influence of classic Mesoamerican civilizations such as the Teotihuacanos, the Maya, the Totonacs and the Huastecs the proto-Aztecs became sedentary agriculturalists and achieved the same levels of technology as their neighbouring peoples. They held on to their language, many of their religious systems, and probably aspects of their previous social customs.
Aztec society | Mesoamerican origins
Some of these manuscripts were entirely pictorial, often with glyphs. In the postconquest era many other texts were written in Latin script by either literate Aztecs or by Spanish friars who interviewed the native people about their customs and stories. An important pictorial and alphabetic text produced in the early sixteenth century was "Codex Mendoza", named after the first viceroy of Mexico and perhaps commissioned by him, to inform the Spanish crown about the political and economic structure of the Aztec empire. It has information naming the polities that the Triple Alliance conquered, the types of tribute rendered to the Aztec Empire, and the class/gender structure of their society.
Aztecs | Sources of knowledge
This depopulation of the Bajío coincided with an incursion of new populations into the Valley of Mexico, which suggests that this marks the influx of Nahuatl speakers into the region. These people populated central Mexico, dislocating speakers of Oto-Manguean languages as they spread their political influence south. As the former nomadic hunter-gatherer peoples mixed with the complex civilizations of Mesoamerica, adopting religious and cultural practices, the foundation for later Aztec culture was laid. After 900 CE, during the postclassic period, a number of sites almost certainly inhabited by Nahuatl speakers became powerful. Among them the site of Tula, Hidalgo, and also city states such as Tenayuca, and Colhuacan in the valley of Mexico and Cuauhnahuac in Morelos.
Aztecs | Central Mexico in the classic and postclassic
Aztec architecture is a late form of Mesoamerican architecture developed by the Aztec civilization. Much of what is known about it comes from the structures that are still standing. These structures have e Aztec empire. In so doing, instead of demolishing an old temple and building a new one at the same site, they simply built over the old structure. Some temples have been found to have at least four or five layers. Houses were uniform throughout most of the empire, only varying in size and ornamentation. Houses were built with logs and were not separated, thus resulting in one large room.
Aztec architecture | Introduction
The word "Aztec" in modern usage would not have been used by the people themselves. It has variously been used to refer to the Triple Alliance empire, the Nahuatl-speaking people of central Mexico prior to the Spanish conquest, or specifically the Mexica ethnicity of the Nahuatl-speaking peoples. The name comes from a Nahuatl word meaning "people from Aztlan," reflecting the mythical place of origin for Nahua peoples. For the purpose of this article, "Aztec" refers only to those cities that constituted or were subject to the Triple Alliance. For the broader use of the term, see the article onAztec civilization.
Aztec Empire | Etymology and definitions
Their power was based on unbending faith in the vision of their patron deity Huitzilopochtli, a god of war, and in their own unparalleled military prowess. The grandiosity of the Aztec state was reflected in the comportment of the nobility and warriors who had distinguished themselves in battle. Their finely woven and richly embellished clothing was accentuated by iridescent tropical bird feathers and ornate jewellery made of gold, silver, semi-precious stones and rare shells.
History of art | Aztec
The Aztecs did not have a fully developed writing system like the Maya, however like the Maya and Zapotec, they did use a writing system that combined logographic signs with phonetic syllable signs. Logograms would, for example, be the use of an image of a mountain to signify the word "tepetl," "mountain", whereas a phonetic syllable sign would be the use of an image of a tooth "tlantli" to signify the syllable "tla" in words unrelated to teeth. The combination of these principles allowed the Aztecs to represent the sounds of names of persons and places. Narratives tended to be represented through sequences of images, using various iconographic conventions such as footprints to show paths, temples on fire to show conquest events, etc.
Aztecs | Writing and iconography
Aztec religion was based on the belief in the continual need for regular offering of human blood to keep their deities beneficent; to meet this need, the Aztec sacrificed thousands of people. This belief is thought to have been common throughout the Nahuatl people. To acquire captives in times of peace, the Aztec resorted to a form of ritual warfare called flower war. The Tlaxcalteca, among other Nahuatl nations, were forced into such wars.
History of Mexico | Aztec Empire (1325–1521 AD)
Economically the society was dependent on agriculture, and also to a large extent on warfare. Other economically important factors were commerce, long-distance and local, and a high degree of trade specialization.
Eagle warrior | Aztec Society
The Early Aztec period was a time of growth and competition among altepeme. Even after the empire was formed in 1428 and began its program of expansion through conquest, the altepetl remained the dominant form of organization at the local level. The efficient role of the altepetl as a regional political unit was largely responsible for the success of the empire's hegemonic form of control. It should be remembered that the term "Aztec empire" is a modern one, not one used by the Aztec themselves. The Aztec realm was at its core composed of three Nahuatl-speaking city states in the densely populated Valley of Mexico.
Aztec Empire | Government
Fathers admonished their daughters to be respectful and very clean, but not to use makeup, because they would look like "ahuianis". Mothers admonished their daughters to support their husbands, even if they turned out to be humble peasants. Boys were admonished to be humble, obedient and hard workers. Judging by their language, most of the "huehuetlatolli" seemed to have evolved over several centuries, predating the Aztecs and most likely adopted from other Nahua cultures.
Aztec society | Education
The Aztecs were a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. They called themselves "Mēxihcah" (pronounced [meˈʃikaʔ]). The capital of the Aztec Empire was Tenochtitlan. During the empire, the city was built on a raised island in Lake Texcoco. Modern-day Mexico City was constructed on the ruins of Tenochtitlan. The Spanish colonization of the Americas reached the mainland during the reign of Hueyi Tlatoani Moctezuma II (Montezuma II). In 1521, Hernán Cortés, along with an allied army of other Native Americans, conquered the Aztecs through germ warfare (germ theory not being established until 1560 by earliest records, this was an unintentional result of Europeans coming to the New World), siege warfare, psychological warfare, and from direct combat.
History of the Aztecs | Introduction
Other economically important factors were commerce, long-distance and local, and a high degree of trade specialization.
Aztec society | Introduction
Aztec society combined a relatively simple agrarian rural tradition with the development of a truly urbanized society with a complex system of institutions, specializations and hierarchies. The urban tradition in Mesoamerica was developed during the classic period with major urban centers such as Teotihuacan with a population well above 100,000, and at the time of the rise of the Aztec, the urban tradition was ingrained in Mesoamerican society, with urban centers serving major religious, political and economic functions for the entire population.
Aztecs | Urbanism
As for the households, they were simpler yet uniform to the rest of the civilization. The Aztecs did not want a mismatched civilization. This could displease the gods in the eyes of the Aztecs. Houses could be one to two stories tall and were for all classes. Priests were the only ones with access to the temples.
Aztec architecture | Relationship with Aztec culture
Over time, asymmetries of power elevated one of those city states, Tenochtitlan, above the other two. The "Triple Alliance" came to establish hegemony over much of central Mesoamerica, including areas of great linguistic and cultural diversity. Administration of the empire was performed through largely traditional, indirect means. However, over time something of a nascent bureaucracy may have been beginning to form insofar as the state organization became increasingly centralized.
Aztec Empire | Government
Knowledge of Aztec society rests on several different sources: The many archeological remains of everything from temple pyramids to thatched huts, can be used to understand many of the aspects of what the Aztec world was like. However, archeologists often must rely on knowledge from other sources to interpret the historical context of artifacts. There are many written texts by the indigenous people and Spaniards of the early colonial period that contain invaluable information about precolonial Aztec history. These texts provide insight into the political histories of various Aztec city-states, and their ruling lineages. Such histories were produced as well in pictorial codices.
Aztecs | Sources of knowledge
Arising from the humblest beginnings as a nomadic group of "uncivilizated" wanderers, the Aztecs created the largest empire in Mesoamerican history, lasting from 1427/1428 to 1521. Tribute from conquered states provided the economic and artistic resources to transform their capital Tenochtitlan (0ld Mexico City) into one of the wonders of the world. Artists from throughout mesoamerica created stunning artworks for their new masters, fashioning delicate golden objects of personal adornment and formidable sculptures of fierce gods. The Aztecs entered the Valley of Mexico (the area of modern Mexico City) in 1325 and within a century had taken control of this lush region brimming with powerful city-states.
History of art | Aztec
Such strategic provinces were often exempt from tributary demands. The Aztecs even invested in those areas, by maintaining a permanent military presence, installing puppet-rulers, or even moving entire populations from the center to maintain a loyal base of support. In this way, the Aztec system of government distinguished between different strategies of control in the outer regions of the empire, far from the core in the Valley of Mexico. Some provinces were treated as tributary provinces, which provided the basis for economic stability for the empire, and strategic provinces, which were the basis for further expansion. Although the form of government is often referred to as an empire, in fact most areas within the empire were organized as city-states, known as "altepetl" in Nahuatl.
Aztecs | Triple Alliance and Aztec Empire
The pre-conquest Aztecs were an empire that prospered agriculturally, and they did so without the wheel or domestic beasts of burden. They primarily practiced four methods of agriculture: rainfall cultivation, terrace agriculture, irrigation, and Chinampa. The earliest, and most basic, form of agriculture implemented by the Aztecs is known as “ rainfall cultivation.” The Aztecs implemented terrace agriculture in hilly areas, typically in the highlands of the Aztec Empire. Terracing allowed for an increased soil depth and impeded soil erosion. Terraces were built by piling a wall of stones parallel to the contour of the hillside. Dirt was then filled in, creating viable, flat farmland.
Aztec society | Agriculture
Resultingly the foundations of "Aztec society" were developed as a synthesis between Mesoamerican societies and Aztec traditions, although today it cannot easily be discerned which parts come from where. Aztec society was not isolated from the larger Mesoamerican context, and in fact, most aspects of it were similar in structure to what existed in the surrounding societies.
Aztec society | Mesoamerican origins
Eduardo Noguera estimates that in later stages only 20% of the population was dedicated to agriculture and food production. The other 80% of society were warriors, artisans and traders. Eventually, most of the "mācehuallis" were dedicated to arts and crafts. Their works were an important source of income for the city. Macehualtin could become enslaved, () for example if they had to sell themselves into the service of a noble due to debt or poverty, but enslavement was not an inherited status among the Aztecs. Some macehualtin were landless and worked directly for a lord (), whereas the majority of commoners were organized into calpollis which gave them access to land and property.
Aztecs | Nobles and commoners
The Aztecs, a people with a rich mythology and cultural heritage, dominated central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. Their capital was Tenochtitlan on the shore of Lake Texcoco – the site of modern-day Mexico City. They were related to the preceding cultures in the basin of Mexico such as the culture of Teotihuacan whose building style they adopted and adapted.
Mesoamerican pyramids | Aztecs
Aztec mythology is the body or collection of myths of Aztec civilization of Central Mexico. The Aztecs were Nahuatl-speaking groups living in central Mexico and much of their mythology is similar to that of other Mesoamerican cultures. According to legend, the various groups who were to become the Aztecs arrived from the north into the Anahuac valley around Lake Texcoco. The location of this valley and lake of destination is clear – it is the heart of modern Mexico City – but little can be known with certainty about the origin of the Aztec. There are different accounts of their origin.
Aztec mythology | Introduction
With the decline of the Toltec civilization came political fragmentation in the Valley of Mexico, and into this new game of political contenders for the Toltec throne stepped outsiders: the Aztec. Newcomers to the Valley of Mexico, they were seen as crude and unrefined in the eyes of the existing Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the fallen Toltec empire. Latecomers to Mexico's central plateau, the Aztecs thought of themselves as heirs to the prestigious civilizations that had preceded them, much as Charlemagne did with respect to the fallen Roman Empire. What the Aztecs lacked in political power, they made up for with ambition and military skill.
Pre-Columbian Mexico | Aztec civilization
These were small polities ruled by a hereditary leader "(tlatoani)" from a legitimate noble dynasty. The Early Aztec period was a time of growth and competition among "altepetl". Even after the confederation of the Triple Alliance was formed in 1427 and began its expansion through conquest, the "altepetl" remained the dominant form of organization at the local level. The efficient role of the altepetl as a regional political unit was largely responsible for the success of the empire's hegemonic form of control.
Aztecs | Triple Alliance and Aztec Empire
Originally, the Aztec empire was a loose alliance between three cities: Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and the most junior partner, Tlacopan. As such, they were known as the 'Triple Alliance.' This political form was very common in Mesoamerica, where alliances of city-states were ever fluctuating. However, over time, it was Tenochtitlan which assumed paramount authority in the alliance, and although each partner city shared spoils of war and rights to regular tribute from the provinces and were governed by their own Huetlatoani, it was Tenochtitlan which became the largest, most powerful, and most influential of the three cities. It was the de facto and acknowledged center of empire.
Aztec Empire | Provincial structure
Aztec I is characterized by floral designs and day- name glyphs; Aztec II is characterized by a stylized grass design above calligraphic designs such as s-curves or loops; Aztec III is characterized by very simple line designs; Aztec four continues some pre-Columbian designs but adds European influenced floral designs. There were local variations on each of these styles, and archeologists continue to refine the ceramic sequence. Typical vessels for everyday use were clay griddles for cooking ("comalli"), bowls and plates for eating ("caxitl"), pots for cooking ("comitl"), molcajetes or mortar-type vessels with slashed bases for grinding chilli ("molcaxitl"), and different kinds of braziers, tripod dishes and biconical goblets.
Aztecs | Ceramics
According to legend, when the Mexica arrived in the Anahuac valley around Lake Texcoco, they were considered by the other groups as the least civilized of all, but the Mexica/Aztec decided to learn, and they took all they could from other people, especially from the ancient Toltec (whom they seem to have partially confused with the more ancient civilization of Teotihuacan). To the Aztec, the Toltec were the originators of all culture; "Toltecayotl" was a synonym for culture. Aztec legends identify the Toltecs and the cult of Quetzalcoatl with the legendary city of Tollan, which they also identified with the more ancient Teotihuacan.
Aztec mythology | Creation myth
The area that this civilization is located in has a warm climate. The soil is soft and is prone to subsidence. The Aztecs realized this and built strong stone bases for the temples, similar to how a building or house has a foundation layer in modern time. These foundations made sure that the large structures on top of them would not crumble back into the earth. The temples were not the only major works of engineering the Aztecs constructed. On top of the importance of the temples and their symbolism, the Aztecs also had a bustling civilization to take care of.
Aztec architecture | Structural and engineering technologies
The Toltec culture is an archaeological Mesoamerican culture that dominated a state centered in Tula, Hidalgo, in the early post-classic period of Mesoamerican chronology (ca 800–1000 CE). The later Aztec culture saw the Toltecs as their intellectual and cultural predecessors and described Toltec culture emanating from Tollan (Nahuatl for Tula) as the epitome of civilization; indeed, in the Nahuatl language the word "Toltec" came to take on the meaning "artisan". The Aztec oral and pictographic tradition also described the history of the Toltec empire giving lists of rulers and their exploits. Among modern scholars it is a matter of debate whether the Aztec narratives of Toltec history should be given credence as descriptions of actual historical events.
History of Mexico | Toltec
The Toltec culture () is a pre-Colombian Mesoamerican culture that ruled a state centered in Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico in the early post-classic period of Mesoamerican chronology (ca. 900–1168 CE). The later Aztec culture saw the Toltecs as their intellectual and cultural predecessors and described Toltec culture emanating from "Tōllān" (Nahuatl for Tula) as the epitome of civilization; in the Nahuatl language the word "Tōltēcatl" (singular) or "Tōltēcah" (plural) came to take on the meaning "artisan". The Aztec oral and pictographic tradition also described the history of the Toltec Empire, giving lists of rulers and their exploits. Modern scholars debate whether the Aztec narratives of Toltec history should be given credence as descriptions of actual historical events.
Toltec | Introduction
Umberger, Emily. “MATLATZINCO BEFORE THE AZTECS: JOSÉ GARCÃA PAYÓN AND THE SCULPTURAL CORPUS OF CALIXTLAHUACA.” Ancient Mesoamerica; Cambridge, vol. 28, no. 1, 2017, pp. 1–19 Restall, Matthew. “The Aztec Empire: a Surprise Ending?” The Historical Association, no. 134, 2017, pp. 12–17. Olson, Jan M. “MATERIAL EXPRESSIONS OF WEALTH AND SOCIAL CLASS AT AZTEC-PERIOD SITES IN MORELOS, MEXICO.” Cambridge University Press, vol. 27, no. 1, 2016, pp. 133–147.
Aztec architecture | References
They were a forerunner of later cultures such as Teotihuacan, north of Mexico City, the Zapotecs in Oaxaca and the Mayas in southern Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. While empires rose and fell, the basic cultural underpinnings of the Mesoamerica stayed the same until the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. These included cities centered on plazas, temples usually built on pyramid bases, Mesoamerican ball courts and a mostly common cosmology.
Mexican art | Pre-Columbian art
At the time of the Spanish conquest of Yucatán during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Maya were still powerful, but many communities were paying tribute to Aztec society. The latter culture was thriving, and it included arts such as sculpture, painting, and feather mosaics. Perhaps the most well-known work of Aztec art is the calendar stone, which became a national symbol of the state of Mexico. During the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, many of these artistic objects were sent to Europe, where they were placed in cabinets of curiosities, and later redistributed to Western art museums. The Aztec empire was based in the city of Tenochtitlan which was largely destroyed during the colonial era.
History of art | Postclassic
This section of the mural displays the richness of the ancient Aztec culture including the people and their traditional costumes. It shows an image of the sun, which was the center of the world in the Aztec religion. Below the sun are a pyramid and an Aztec leader. They built the pyramids and temples to the sun. Rivera depicts these main motifs and the everyday life of the Aztecs, including the volcanoes around the Valley of Mexico, corn and other main crops, artisans weaving and making pottery, mothers carrying babies, art and artisan activities including painting on scrolls, and calligraphy.
The History of Mexico (mural) | North wall
Prior to the conquest, the area that the occupies was open space, in the center of the Aztec capital . It was bordered to the east by 's "New Houses" or Palace (which would become the National Palace) and to the west by the "Old Houses", the palace of (1469–1481) where the Emperor , 's uncle and immediate predecessor also lived. A European-style plaza was not part of the conquered Aztec ; the old city had a sacred precinct or which was the absolute center of the city (and the universe, according to Aztec belief), but it was located to the immediate north and northeast of the modern-day .
Zócalo | Pre-conquest
The Spanish conquest of Yucatán took almost 170 years. After the fall of Tenochtitlan, most of the other Mesoamerican cultures remained intact. In fact, the conquest of the Aztec empire did not have an immediate impact on other Mesoamerican cultures.
History of the Aztecs | Fall of the Aztec Empire
The Aztec Empire was an example of an empire that ruled by indirect means. Like most European empires, it was ethnically very diverse, but unlike most European empires, it was more a system of tributes than a single unitary form of government. In the theoretical framework of imperial systems posited by American historian Alexander J. Motyl the Aztec empire was an informal type of empire in that the Alliance did not claim supreme authority over its tributary provinces; it merely expected tributes to be paid. The empire was also territorially discontinuous, i.e. not all of its dominated territories were connected by land.
Aztec Empire | Government
As all Mesoamerican peoples, Aztec society was organized around maize agriculture. The humid environment in the Valley of Mexico with its many lakes and swamps permitted intensive agriculture. The main crops in addition to maize were beans, squashes, chilies and amaranth. Particularly important for agricultural production in the valley was the construction of chinampas on the lake, artificial islands that allowed the conversion of the shallow waters into highly fertile gardens that could be cultivated year round. Chinampas are human-made extensions of agricultural land, created from alternating layers of mud from the bottom of the lake, and plant matter and other vegetation.
Aztecs | Agriculture and subsistence
Expansion of the empire was guided by a militaristic interpretation of Nahua religion, specifically a devout veneration of the sun god, Huitzilopochtli. Militaristic state rituals were performed throughout the year according to a ceremonial calendar of events, rites, and mock battles. The time period they lived in was understood as the "Ollintonatiuh", or Sun of Movement, which was believed to be the final age after which humanity would be destroyed. It was under Tlacaelel that Huitzilopochtli assumed his elevated role in the state pantheon and who argued that it was through blood sacrifice that the Sun would be maintained and thereby stave off the end of the world.
Aztec Empire | Ideology and state
The Aztecs, who predominantly inhabited modern-day central Mexico, had a complex system of beliefs based on deities who directly affected the lives of humans, including those who controlled rain, the rising Sun and fertility. Voluntary human sacrifice, was a central piece to the order of the universe and human survival. The Aztecs viewed people as servants and warriors of the gods, whom were not merciful or generous, but all powerful beings that needed to be fed and appeased in order to avoid disaster and punishment.Thus, the concept of human sacrifice emerged. This practice was not new, and had been used in other cultures such as the Mayans, but the Aztecs made this their main event, so to speak, in their ceremonies.
Mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas | Aztecs
This was an imitation of how a warrior received his "atlatl" darts and shield. The flowers passed out bore different names depending on how they were handed out; "sword flowers" went from left hand to hand to left. When eating, guests would hold their individual bowls filled with dipping sauce in the center of the right hand and then dip corn tortillas or tamales (which were served from baskets) with the left. The meal was concluded by serving chocolate, often served in a calabash cup along with a stirring stick. Men and women were separated at banquets and, though it is not entirely clear from the sources, it seems as if only men drank chocolate.
Aztec cuisine | Feasts
Prior to death and dismemberment the victim's skin would be removed and worn by individuals who traveled throughout the city fighting battles and collecting gifts from the citizens.
Human sacrifice in Aztec culture | Xipe Totec
The latter portion of the Postclassic is generally associated with the rise of the Mexica and the Aztec Empire. One of the more commonly known cultural groups in Mesoamerica, the Aztec politically dominated nearly all of central Mexico, the Gulf Coast, Mexico's southern Pacific Coast (Chiapas and into Guatemala), Oaxaca, and Guerrero.
Mesoamerica | Postclassic
Anthropologists characterized the western societies as chiefdoms, at a time when states rose in Central Mexico. Unlike other areas of western Mexico, the Guerrero tradition in ceramics and site planning shows influence from Central Mexico. For instance, settlements along the Balsas River had pyramids, central plazas and ball courts.
Mezcala culture | History
Family and lineage were the basic units of Aztec society. One's lineage determined social standing, and noble traced their lineage back to the mythical past, as they were said to be descended from the god Quetzalcoatl. Prestigious lineages also traced their kin back through ruling dynasties, preferably ones with a Toltec heritage. The extended family group was also the basic social unit and living patterns were largely determined by family ties, because networks of family groups settled together to form calpollis. Lineage was traced through both the maternal and paternal lines, although with a preference for paternal lineage.
Aztec society | Family and lineage
When Cortés returned to Tenochtitlan in late May, he found that Alvarado and his men had attacked and killed many of the Aztec nobility in the Massacre in the Great Temple, that happened during a religious festival organized by the Aztec. The Great Temple was central to the Aztec's cosmological views; the temple served as a burial ground for the offerings made to different gods, such as the gods of fertility, mountains, rain, and earth. Considering the centrality and the importance of the Great Temple as a religious and cultural monument could potentially have influenced the decision to attack a location such as this.
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire | The Aztec response
The alliance waged wars of conquest and expanded rapidly after its formation. At its height, the alliance controlled most of central Mexico as well as some more distant territories within Mesoamerica, such as the Xoconochco province, an Aztec exclave near the present-day Guatemalan border. Aztec rule has been described by scholars as "hegemonic" or "indirect". The Aztecs left rulers of conquered cities in power so long as they agreed to pay semi-annual tribute to the Alliance, as well as supply military forces when needed for the Aztec war efforts. In return, the imperial authority offered protection and political stability, and facilitated an integrated economic network of diverse lands and peoples who had significant local autonomy.
Aztec Empire | Introduction
Moctezuma II was, although many sources depict him otherwise, a notable warrior who extended the tributary system, and consolidated the conquests made by his predecessors as well as conquering new territories. His campaigns reached as far south as Tapachula in the Soconusco region and the Chontal Maya states of Xicallanco in Tabasco. Only the Aztec archenemies of Tlaxcala, Huexotzinco and the Purépecha remained undefeated, as well as the Mixtec kingdoms of Tututepec and Yopitzinco which didn't interest the Aztecs. Thus the Aztec Empire had its largest geographical extent when the Spaniards arrived in 1519. In some sources, it claims that Moctezuma II, and the Aztecs, believed the arriving Spanish to linked to the supposed return of an exiled god, Quetzlcoatl, who was supposed to return pale and bearded.
History of the Aztecs | The reign of Moctezuma II Xocoyotzin
Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who achieved political and military dominance over large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the Late post-Classic period in Mesoamerican chronology. Until the age of fourteen, the education of children was in the hands of their parents, but supervised by the authorities of their "calpōlli". Part of this education involved learning a collection of sayings, called "huēhuetlàtolli" ("sayings of the old"), that embodied the Aztecs' ideals. Judged by their language, most of the "huēhuetlàtolli" seemed to have evolved over several centuries, predating the Aztecs and most likely adopted from other Nahua cultures.
History of education | Aztec
(search return) specifically: "Kathleen Kuiper - Pre-Columbian America: Empires of the New World The Rosen Publishing Group, 2010"
Aztec society | Bibliography
Over time the original, predominantly kin-ship-based style of textile production gave way to more workshop and class-based production. Producing the fibers to make clothing was a highly gendered operation. The way that weaving of cloth was embedded into the lives of women in the Aztec empire can be seen in the toys that female children received, and in that they had their weaving equipment buried with them when they died. Cotton was significant in the Aztec culture. It was not only used in making clothing, but also in religious offerings, marriage payments, and mummification. There was a tremendous process of bringing the cotton from the fields then through marketplaces to end up in the homes of the individuals who would spin and weave the fibers into actual clothing.
Aztec clothing | Making of Aztec clothing
Bronze was also used. The great victories over the Aztecs by the Tarascans cannot be understated. Nearly every war they fought in resulted in a Tarascan victory. Because the Tarascan Empire had little links to the former Toltec Empire, they were also quite independent in culture from their neighbors. The Aztecs, Tlaxcaltec, Olmec, Mixtec, Maya, and others were very similar to each other, however. This is because they were all directly preceded by the Toltecs, and they therefore shared almost identical cultures. The Tarascans, however, possessed a unique religion, as well as other things.
Pre-Columbian era | Tarascan/Purepecha civilization
Nahua peoples descended from Chichimec peoples who migrated to central Mexico from the north in the early 13th century. The migration story of the Mexica is similar to those of other polities in central Mexico, with supernatural sites, individuals, and events, joining earthly and divine history as they sought political legitimacy. According to the pictographic codices in which the Aztecs recorded their history, the place of origin was called Aztlán. Early migrants settled the Basin of Mexico and surrounding lands by establishing a series of independent city-states. These early Nahua city-states or "altepetl", were ruled by dynastic heads called "tlahtohqueh" (singular, "tlatoāni").
Aztec Empire | Before the Aztec Empire
The rich and the poor lived among each other, as religion brought the civilization together, but each class had different roles.
Aztec architecture | Separation of classes
This was an alliance established with the Spaniards, to march together to the conquest of Tenochtitlan. The Totonac voluntarily contributed 13,000 warriors to the task, to accompany some 500 Spaniards. The Totonaca reasoning was that the Spaniards would free them from the Aztec yoke, but once the Aztec empire was successfully defeat, the Totonacs, including those of Cempoala, were subjected to the Spanish empire, and then evangelized and partly cultured, first by the new Spanish "virreinal" authorities and then by Mexicans.
El Zapotal | The Totonac Culture
From the artworks, temples, cultural contributions, and even the common household, the architectural style of the Aztecs always represented a higher power. This had aspects of human sacrifice. With that, the Aztecs designed their buildings to be functional for everyday life, as well as their religious practices. The temples were designed as an ascending experience. There were multiple torn levels, all different in classes. At the top was the main temple. The idea of ascension was to prepare oneself so that the gods would be pleased when arriving at the top. At the top was where the sacrifices took place, so the Aztecs could be as close to the gods as possible to please them.
Aztec architecture | Relationship with Aztec culture
The capital city of the Aztec empire was Tenochtitlan, now the site of modern-day Mexico City. Built on a series of islets in Lake Texcoco, the city plan was based on a symmetrical layout that was divided into four city sections called "campan" (directions). Tenochtitlan was built according to a fixed plan and centered on the ritual precinct, where the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan rose above the city. Houses were made of wood and loam, roofs were made of reed, although pyramids, temples and palaces were generally made of stone. The city was interlaced with canals, which were useful for transportation.
Aztecs | Mexico-Tenochtitlan
The economic practices of the Aztec relied upon both trade and military conquest. Furthermore, each Altepetl usually produced some form of unique trade good, meaning there were significant merchant and artisan classes. While the Aztec traded with each other and others for goods and services, agricultural trade was less common, leading to a large class of agricultural laborers.
Aztec society | Economics
The Aztec economy was based on agriculture and trade. Agriculture provided a great variety of fruits and vegetables, such as tomatoes, chili peppers, pumpkins, and beans, necessary to feed the high number of inhabitants in the empire. The Aztec agrarian economy is considered one of the most evolved of Indigenous America, only surpassed by the system implemented in the Andean area. The products that could not be obtained in the Valley of Mexico were acquired through trading with other regions by merchants, who traveled long distances. In the market of Tenochtitlan, all kinds of merchandise were traded, included product from the Pacific and Atlantic ocean, both of them 500 km away from the Aztec capital.
Economy of Prehispanic Mexico | Aztecs
The section also illustrates the Aztecs’ religion, including the worship of snakes and jaguars. Aztecs rituals are also shown in which men consume alcoholic beverages made from cacti and dance in honor of the Sun God.
The History of Mexico (mural) | North wall
Aztec religion was organized around the practice of calendar rituals dedicated to a pantheon of different deities. Similar to other Mesoamerican religious systems, it has generally been understood as a polytheist agriculturalist religion with elements of animism. Central in the religious practice was the offering of sacrifices to the deities, as a way of thanking or paying for the continuation of the cycle of life.
Aztecs | Religion
In a pre-emptive response, Cortés directed his troops attack and kill a large number of unarmed Cholulans gathered in the main square of the city.
Aztec Empire | Spanish conquest
One of the staples of all civilization is the separation of classes. As most civilizations do today, the Aztecs held this concept throughout their culture. As previously stated, the highest rank one could get in the Aztec social class was that of the priesthood. This gave access to the temples and richer quarters of the civilizations. These individuals lived around the temples while lower classes lived increasingly further away according to their status. The first circle was first class. The Second, middle class. The Third, lower class. Jan Marie Olson, a writer of Cambridge University Press, states that "this line of Aztec class analysis posits major differences in wealth, power and status leading to significant lifestyle differences between nobles and commoners" (133).
Aztec architecture | Separation of classes
When Mexico became independent from Spain, a romanticized version of the Aztecs became a source of images that could be used to ground the new nation as a unique blend of European and American.
Aztecs | Legacy
It was under this new, militaristic interpretation of Huitzilopochtli that Aztec soldiers were encouraged to fight wars and capture enemy soldiers for sacrifice. Though blood sacrifice was common in Mesoamerica, the scale of human sacrifice under the Aztecs was likely unprecedented in the region.
Aztec Empire | Ideology and state
Aztec polygamous arrangements, with secondary wives and children, were not legally recognized by the Spanish, who considered such women and children illegitimate and disinherited from claims to ranks or property. This also tore apart the political and economic fabric of Aztec culture, since noble marriages were made with political and territorial claims in mind. Working demands became harsh for women after the Spanish arrived and the encomiendas were created. Aztec communities had already lost many men to war and epidemics, and the encomiendas meant that more men worked outside of their villages for the encomenderos. Traditional gender-based divisions of labour became irrelevant.
Women in Aztec civilization | Spanish rule
After the end of the Toltec empire in the 13th century and the decline of the city of Tula, the population shifted once again, this time to the lakes region of the valley. With this migration came the concept of a city-state based on the Toltec model. By the end of the 13th century, some fifty small urban units, semi-autonomous and with their own religious centers, had sprung up around the lakeshores of the valley. These remained intact with a population of about 10,000 each under Aztec rule and survived into the colonial period. All of these city-states, including the largest and most powerful, Tenochtitlan, with more than 150,000 inhabitants, claimed descent from the Toltecs.
Valley of Mexico | Aztec Empire
Aztec armed forces were typically composed of large numbers of commoners with basic military training, who were stiffened by smaller numbers of professional warriors belonging to the nobility. The professional warriors were organized into warrior societies and often ranked according to their achievements. As the Aztec state was centered on expansion, dominance, and extraction of tribute from other city-states, warfare became the basic dynamic force in Aztec politics, economy, and religion.
Aztec society | Warfare
Cloth and clothing ranging from fancy to plain was the most widely distributed item for a tribute during the time of the Spanish conquest, however, almost none of these textiles from before the conquest still survive to this day. Much of the art produced in the Aztec Empire before the Spanish invasion had ceased to be produced, except for the clothing. Scholars were able to identify key elements of clothing due to their elaborate depiction in manuscripts that were made with a pictographic system. Cloth and clothing were crucial to people of all social statuses within the empire, people of varying social standings, ranging from the commoners to the nobles would have both used this abundance of clothing for negotiating their status and social standing within the empire.
Aztec clothing | Importance of cloth
Aztec mythology is known from a number of sources written down in the colonial period. One set of myths, called Legend of the Suns, describe the creation of four successive suns, or periods, each ruled by a different deity and inhabited by a different group of beings. Each period ends in a cataclysmic destruction that sets the stage for the next period to begin. In this process, the deities Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl appear as adversaries, each destroying the creations of the other. The current Sun, the fifth, was created when a minor deity sacrificed himself on a bonfire and turned into the sun, but the sun only begins to move once the other deities sacrifice themselves and offers it their life force.
Aztecs | Mythology and worldview
To this day, the title of Duke of Moctezuma is held by a Spanish noble family. A few of the indigenous nobility learned Spanish. Spanish friars taught indigenous tribes to write their own languages in Latin letters, which soon became a self-perpetuating tradition at the local level. Their surviving writings are crucial in our knowledge of colonial era Nahuas.
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire | The Aztecs under Spanish rule
In the colonial era, "altepetl" were renamed "cabeceras" or "head towns" (although they often retained the term "altepetl" in local-level, Nahuatl-language documentation), with outlying settlements governed by the "cabeceras" named "sujetos", subject communities. In "cabeceras", the Spanish created Iberian-style town councils, or "cabildos", which usually continued to function as the elite ruling group had in the pre-conquest era. Population decline due to epidemic disease resulted in many population shifts in settlement patterns, and the formation of new population centers. These were often forced resettlements under the Spanish policy of "congregación". Indigenous populations living in sparsely populated areas were resettled to form new communities, making it easier for them to brought within range of evangelization efforts, and easier for the colonial state to exploit their labor.
Aztecs | Social and political continuity and change
The Mexica, the founders and dominant group of the Aztec Empire, were one of the first people in the world to have mandatory education for nearly all children, regardless of gender, rank, or station. Until the age of fourteen, the education of children was in the hands of their parents, but supervised by the authorities of their "calpulli". Periodically they attended their local temples, to test their progress. Part of this education involved learning a collection of sayings, called "huehuetlatolli" ("The sayings of the old"), that embodied the Aztecs' ideals. It included speeches and sayings for every occasion, the words to salute the birth of children, and to say farewell at death.
Aztec society | Education
Figures from Aztec mythology have appeared many times in works of modern culture.
Aztec mythology in popular culture | Introduction
Before the reign of Nezahualcoyotl (1429–1472), the Aztec empire operated as a confederation along traditional Mesoamerican lines. Independent altepetl were led by tlatoani (lit., "speakers"), who supervised village headmen, who in turn supervised groups of households. A typical Mesoamerican confederation placed a "Huey Tlatoani" (lit., "great speaker") at the head of several tlatoani. Following Nezahualcoyotl, the Aztec empire followed a somewhat divergent path, with some tlatoani of recently conquered or otherwise subordinated altepetl becoming replaced with "calpixque" stewards charged with collecting tribute on behalf of the Huetlatoani rather than simply replacing an old tlatoque with new ones from the same set of local nobility.
Aztec Empire | Central administration
Also it is interesting that the word "ahwahnee", as a Californian toponym, is derived from the Southern Sierra Miwok word "awwo" which, in English, means "mouth." This is not a mere coincidence, since the Miwok is an Utian language, and associates this word with the concept of breathing (and then to smelling). Furthermore, the Aztec ahwahnees were educated to frequently opening their mouths for singing, elegantly speaking, and smiling (smile was a magic feature performed by them, in order to make Mictlantecuhtli be away from people, avoiding, so, facing death; see Johansson, 2006). Three young ahwahnees can be seen in the opera Xochicuicatl cuecuechtli (2012).
Ahwahnee (Aztec Culture) | Presence in Modern Culture
Today the legacy of the Aztecs lives on in Mexico in many forms. Archeological sites are excavated and opened to the public and their artifacts are prominently displayed in museums. Place names and loanwords from the Aztec language Nahuatl permeate the Mexican landscape and vocabulary, and Aztec symbols and mythology have been promoted by the Mexican government and integrated into contemporary Mexican nationalism as emblems of the country. During the 19th century, the image of the Aztecs as uncivilized barbarians was replaced with romanticized visions of the Aztecs as original sons of the soil, with a highly developed culture rivaling the ancient European civilizations.
Aztecs | Legacy
The Spanish conquest of Aztec territories decreased much of the indigenous population, through warfare and by bringing new diseases, such as smallpox, for which the Aztecs had no immunities. The population that did survive these threats was confronted by profound attacks upon their culture in the form of Spanish institutions such as the Roman Catholic religion. As early as 1529, the Spanish began coercively converting Aztecs to Catholicism. They focused on the Aztec nobility initially, to create an example for the other Aztecs to follow. Nobles such as Quetzalmacatzin, King of Amaquemecan (Chalco), were forced to choose one wife and abandon the others, to comply with the current Christian institution of marriage, which meant monogamy.
Women in Aztec civilization | Spanish rule
Rulers, be they local teteuctin or tlatoani, or central Huetlatoani, were seen as representatives of the gods and therefore ruled by divine right. "Tlatocayotl", or the principle of rulership, established that this divine right was inherited by descent. Political order was therefore also a cosmic order, and to kill a tlatoani was to transgress that order. For that reason, whenever a tlatoani was killed or otherwise removed from their station, a relative and member of the same bloodline was typically placed in their stead. The establishment of the office of Huetlatoani understood through the creation of another level of rulership, "hueitlatocayotl", standing in superior contrast to the lesser "tlatocayotl" principle.
Aztec Empire | Ideology and state
As seen in prior sections, the Aztecs had advanced knowledge of building techniques. J. A. Joyce, a journalist for "The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs", states that "The physical geography of Central America was favorable to the rise of the art of building in stone" (159). Aztecs, with only primitive technologies, were very skilled with stone and masonry to construct these massive temples. With that, the Aztecs also had knowledge of brick and mortar. With this very strong combination, they built the massive structures that have withstood the test of time. At the same time, with the high level of stone masonry, the Aztecs also knew how to properly build on the local geology and terrain.
Aztec architecture | Structural and engineering technologies