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The Aztec Empire

Aspire<br>Middle school social studies

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The Aztec Empire

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  1. The Aztec I can describe elements of Aztec culture and how they adapted the environment to their needs.

  2. Artful Thinking JamBoard Directions: Click on this link to the JamBoard to learn more about life in the busy capital city of the Aztecs ... Tenochtitlan!

  3. Aztec Brain-Pop Step 1: Watch the Aztec Civilization Brain-Pop Step 2: Fill-in any aspects of ASPIRE you hear or see in the video clip

  4. Calendar • 365 day calendar for the seasons • 260 day calendar to determine “lucky” days Poetry • Wrote to praise the gods & tell stories • Poems were sung or spoken in performances Music & Dance • Music during ceremonies included drums & rattling bells • Dances had religious meaning & could include over 1000 people Painting & Sculpture • Painters used bright colors to create scenes of the gods • Sculptors created statues using rock & stones, such as jade Architecture • Created huge stone temples with two staircases Language & Writing • Used both symbols and pictures to write Achievements

  5. Achievements 3-2-1

  6. Social Structure **An Aztec’s status was not fixed. Commoners could become military leaders or priests, while nobles could fall in class if they failed at their responsibilities.

  7. The Emperor Directions: Describe each of the classes in the Aztec Social Structure by typing in the text boxes. Social Structure Advisors, religious leaders, lead soldiers Ruled the empire, declared war Government Officials, Priests, & Military Leaders 30% of Aztecs, could not own land Commoners Not free - prisoners of war, lawbreakers Peasants Traders, artists, farmers, fishermen Slaves

  8. What are two jobs the emperor had and two jobs the government officials had? Politics The Aztec ruler, or emperor, was believed to be able to speak to the gods. The emperor controlled the empire and decided when to go to war. When an emperor died, his son did not automatically become ruler. Instead, a group of advisers chose the new ruler. They picked someone from the emperor’s family. The emperor was supported by government officials. Officials counseled or advised the emperor, worked as judges, and governed the city’s four districts. Other nobles throughout the large empire ruled cities. They collected tribute and managed the construction of buildings and roads.

  9. Interactions with the Environment Chinampas (floating gardens) The achievement which really showed off the technology of the Aztects was the create of their island city, Tenochtitlán. Through the construction of chinampas (man-made islands), the city got bigger. It was connected to the mainland by several causeways, or man-made land bridges. Horrible floods sometimes threatened the city, so its rulers built many levees (walls) for flood control. They also built aqueducts to supply fresh water and canals to allow canoes to travel throughout the city. Causeway Causeway Causeway Causeway

  10. Chinampas (floating gardens) Canals (allowed canoes to travel) Directions: Place the different ways the Aztecs interacted with their environment in order from least to most important! Be ready to defend which interaction you choose as the most important! Interactions with the Environment Levees (protected from floods) Causeways (man-made land bridges) Aqueducts (system of bringing fresh water) Least important achievement Most important achievement Which way that the Aztecs interacted with the environment is the most important? Why?

  11. Religion Religion was very important to Aztec life. The Aztecs believed the gods brought a good harvest if they were happy or sent earthquakes if they were unhappy. So it was important to please them through rituals and ceremonies. The Aztecs’ chief god was Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and of war. To keep the sun strong and happy, the Aztec’s offered him food in the form of blood. For this reason, most Aztec rituals included some form of blood sacrifice. Every morning, Aztec priests sacrificed hundreds of birds to Huitzilopochtli. Priests also pierced their skin with cactus spikes to offer their own blood. The highest form of sacrifice, however, was human sacrifice. The Aztecs often sacrificed warriors captured in battle because they believed warriors has the strongest blood. In Tenochtitlán, up to several thousand people may have gone to sacrificial deaths each year.

  12. 1. What does “paying tribute” mean? Economics The Aztec Empire was a group of hundreds of city-states. The city-states had to pay tribute or tax to the Aztecs. Collecting tribute was very important. The Aztecs relied on tribute to support Tenochtitlán’s huge population. Tribute was paid in … • food, gems, cotton, cloth, animals, shells, building materials, or even soldiers. Each year, huge amounts of goods went into Tenochtitlán. An average year brought 7,000 tons of maize; 4,000 tons each of beans, seed, and grain; and at least 2 million cotton cloaks. Warriors, priests, officials, servants, and other workers and craftspeople all received payment in tribute goods. 2. What did they pay “tribute” with? Highlight all the answers below: 3. Why did the government collect tribute?

  13. HAT: The Aztecs Directions: Complete the assignment HAT: The Aztecs

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