The Aztecs

1. The Aztecs By: Stephanie Ortiz Teacher: Ms. Massop Class:7-26

2. The Aztecs The Aztecs used terraces and they did some of the great accomplishments. The say that Aztecs formed allies making an empire from Central Mexico to the border of Guatemala. In 100 years, the Aztecs had complete control over their empire. The Aztecs had a lot excellent strategies for conquering their enemies. When Aztec merchants traveled hundreds of miles the warriors would follow them. After the merchants visited the new area, they would report to the warriors about the military and its resources. If the report was great , they would conquer the enemy.

3. Who are They? • The Aztecs made terraces; they were steps descending down a hall to control the flow of the water. As Similar as the Olmec civilization, the Aztecs also used a slash and burn method of farming. They seemed to float, to the ground by plant roots. All this helped the Aztecs grow and abundance of corn, chili peppers, squash, tomatoes, beans, and other types of food that they ate. • The Aztecs were surrounded by very strong neighbors, so they were forced to live on the swampy, western side of the lake.

4. Where do they live? Aztecs lived in Mexico in the sixteenth century. The Aztec people, led by their Lord , ruled over a huge, rich empire. Their capital, was one of the worlds largest cities. In 1519 the Spanish attacked and destroyed the Aztec Empire.

5. Religion • In the Aztec religion, several gods ruled over their daily life. They had many types of gods like the sun god, the moon goddess, the rain god and the inventer of Aztec writing and their calenders. An Aztec myth says that the moon goddess was murdered by her brother the sun god. The Human and animal sacrifices were a big part of the Aztec religion. For worriors, the ultimate honor was to die or to volunteer a major ceremony. Prisoners would be used for less important ceremonies. The Aztecs tried to please their gods by sacrifice. Then, a drought wiped out many of the Aztecs, so the priests started to think that the gods were angry.

6. Food Maize, a type of corn, was the Aztec's main food source. The Aztecs also ate tomatoes, avocados, atole (a type of porridge), tortillas made from maize, and tamales, a kind of envelope made from steamed maize stuffed with vegetables or meat.  • Aztecs also ate chocolate. In their culture, chocolate was reserved for warriors and nobility. They drank cacao mixed with ground maize. Chocolate was a drink for the elite.  • The Aztecs ate twice a day.The main meal was eaten during the hottest part of the day. Some of the edible things available in an Aztec market were fruit, vegetables, spices, flowers, edible dogs,and birds.

7. The Clothing • Aztec women wore a skirt wrapped around their hips and waist. Men wore loincloths often wearing a sleeveless poncho or a cloak over it. All men carried a small pouch under their cloak or poncho that was slung over the shoulder. They used it to carry coca leaves to chew which were like tobacco leaves. They also carried amulets for good luck.

8. Fishing and farming: The Aztecs had to make there own fishing nets. They made the fishing nets out of cactuses. To kill the the fishes the Aztecs used spears and sometimes arrows. Tools • Hunting: They say Aztecs were very good hunters. When they went hunting they always used masks. The masks where made of clay. The Aztecs favorite meat was deer, they always used bow and arrows to kill the deer. Sometimes the Aztecs used stones to open the deer's stomach. The Aztecs were very strong and powerful warriors. They defeated a lot of tribes. When they were in wars they normally used spears and bow and arrows. The chief of the Aztecs always used a sword because he was the boss. The Chief was a very good warrior.

9. Their Homes In side the house was a dining room, a recepition room, sleeping rooms, a kitchen , a servents room, and sometimes a punishment. The floors were made of cement or stone. The doors were made of wood. The inside doors were made of curtains. Poor people had simple houses made out of adobe. There roofs were made out of straw or grass. Their houses had no windows and no doors . The houses only had only two rooms. The Aztecs used diffrent kinds of plants to make soap. They also made the steam baths out of adobe. They also boild water to creat steam.

10. Culture – What did they do? • The Culture About The Arts • Aztecs had many types of art and artists like stone-workers, who carved statues; scribes, who painted pictograms; potters, who would make pots for various things; and feather-workers, who would create beautiful head dresses among other things. • The Culture About Their Language • The Aztec language was called N'ahuatl. The Aztecs developed a system of pictures which they used as sort of an alphabet. They had hundreds of different symbols to use in their vocabulary. Nouns were easy to draw - they drew a cat as a cat and drew a fish as a fish and they say that they drew a lot more. They joined them together to form sentences, and used them to write down stories and keep records. • .

11. Their Types Pyramids There were also round pyramids constructed by the Aztecs.  These were dedicated to the god Quetzalcoatl.  He was the god of wind and these pyramids were given a rounded shape so they would not act as a barrier and hinder the wind god's entrance.  These types can be found in the Toluca Valley and in Caliztlahuaca(Smith 232).

12. 1100 Aztecs left homeland in search of new home. 1195 Aztecs arrived in Valley of Mexico. 1250 Aztecs settled near Lake Texcoco. 1325 Tenochtitlan was founded. First temple built by Aztecs. 1350 Causeways built with canals. Civilization - Timeline Around the year 1300, the Aztecs were the last tribe to arrive in Mesoamerica from the arid northern region. They were a poor and backward people and were not well received by the inhabitants ofToltecorigin who had settled in the Valley of Mexico. Legend has it that the Aztecs wandered for many years in search of a sign, an eagle and a serpent fighting on a cactus, to show them where to found their city. They began their travels in Aztlan (in Nahuatl, The place of the Herons, or The Place of Whiteness), without managing to settle even on the poorest lands of the valley. Finally, in 1325, they founded their city, Mexico-Tenochtitlan.