The Aztecs
By 1325 CE, the Aztec (who called themselves the Mexica) had moved south
to Lake Texcoco [TESH-co-co] in the Valley of Mexico. They were originally a
small nomadic group, but their warrior culture enabled them to grow and even-
tually dominate their neighbors. They established an empire that in time encom-
passed south and central Mexico. The Aztec ultimately came to dominate
400–500 city-states and over 5,000,000 people. They did not directly govern
these other city-states; instead, they established a tribute system. In order to
maintain some level of independence, the subjugated peoples paid taxes and labor
to the Aztec. The Aztec Empire was similar to a union of city-states, a concept
that should be familiar to students from their study of the Greek city-states in
Grade 2. This lack of centralized organization, along with the tribute system and
the fear that the Aztec engendered among their subjects, created a great hatred of
the Aztec. The Spanish were able to capitalize on this hatred when they set out to
control the Aztec Empire in the early 1500s.
Part of the fear that these other Indian peoples felt was based on the Aztec
religious practice of human sacrifice. Human sacrifice did not originate with the
Aztec; it had long been a part of religious practices among the natives of Middle
America. However, the Aztec sacrificed on a very large scale. One goal of the wars
fought by the Aztec was to capture rivals to use for human sacrifice. Prisoners of
war were often killed as ritual offerings to the Aztec deities.
Ritual sacrifices took place atop the great Aztec temple-pyramids. The victim
was placed on a stone altar and a priest used a stone knife to cut the still-beating
heart from a sacrificial victim. The heart was then presented as an offering to one
of the Aztec gods, and the body was pushed down the stairs of the pyramid and
dragged away.
Human sacrifice appears to have played a role in each of the Aztec 18 major
monthly religious festivals. The Aztec believed that the gods had to be appeased
with sacrifices. In particular, they believed constant sacrifices were needed to
keep the sun moving.
The Aztec worshipped many gods, including some known earlier to the
Maya. Key gods and religious figures included Tlaloc, the rain god,
Huitzilopochtli, the war god; and Quetzalcóatl, the “feathered serpent.” Religious
festivals were based on the Aztec calendar, which had 260 days. The Aztec also
had a 365-day solar calendar. This last was derived from the Maya calendar and
consisted of 18 months of 20 days and an extra five days.
The Aztec were governed by a king known as a “tlatoani” or “speaker.” When
the Spanish came, the ruler was Moctezuma II (also spelled Montezuma).
Moctezuma lived in a 10-acre palace of 300 rooms that provided private living
quarters for the king, offices, workshops, and council halls. Moctezuma also had
a zoo and many country retreats.
The ruler was assisted by a council of advisors. Below the advisors was a class
of nobles and war chiefs. Most Aztec were farmers, but there were also traders and
craftworkers. At the bottom of the social structure were slaves. Slaves were often
people captured in battle.
Teaching Idea
Compare and contrast the tribute sys-
tem with the taxation system we cur-
rently have in the United States today.
What are the similarities and differ-
ences in these systems? Students
should recall “no taxation without
representation” from Grade 4.
Teaching Idea
Have students follow directions on
the Instructional Master 17,
Create a
Codex
.
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