1. Aztec Civilization
A.D.

2. Aztec Location
<- LAKE TEXCOCO

3. Aztec Location
Located in the Valley of Mexico around Lake Texcoco
Legend said find a cactus with a bird perched that had a snake in its mouth
Land dry
Aztecs shifted from hunting to farming

4. Aztec Location Located in the middle of a lake
Capital city Tenochtitlán – present day Mexico city
Located in the middle of a lake
Linked to mainland by strips of land

5. Aztec Location - Tenochtitlán

6. Aztec Location Teotihuacán
Dominated the Valley of Mexico from A.D.

7. Aztec Government
Aztecs had one king/emperor who ruled over all – chosen by a council of nobles and priests
Nobles served as judges, officials, and governors
Wore elaborate gold jewelry
Most crimes punishable by death or being sold into slavery

8. Aztec Government- Emperor

9. Aztec Economy Economy based on agriculture Farming
Chinampas – “floating gardens” on reed mats piled with earth
Filled in lakes and made channels for irrigation
Grew corn, squash, and beans

10. Aztec Economy- Chinampa

11. Aztec Economy
Aztecs conquered others and made them pay tribute, or money paid by conquered people

12. Aztec Religion Fought with darkness each night to raise the sun
Polytheistic
Chief god was Huitzilopochtli, the sun God
Fought with darkness each night to raise the sun
No promise the sun would win and rise
Sacrifice ensured sun would rise

13. Aztec Religion- Human Sacrifice
About 20,000 per year
Bodies taken to the top of pyramids ,chests were cut open, heart ripped out, and body thrown off
Mostly prisoners of war, some slaves, some nobles
Constant warfare necessary to have enough prisoners of war around to sacrifice
Some historians say bodies were sometimes eaten by royalty

14. Aztec Religion- Human Sacrifice

15. Aztec Religion- Human Sacrifice

16. Aztec Religion- Cannibalism

17. Aztec Society Emperor Nobles
Priests who appointed King and conducted rituals
Merchants who took goods like weapons and rope for skins and cocoa
Carried goods on their backs by a strap over their foreheads
Traded by feet or by small boat
Also served as spies

18. Aztec Society Commoners who farmed land
Warriors who could rise in status by capturing and killing enemies
Landless peasants wandered in search of work
Slaves were mostly prisoners of war and criminals
Could own land
Could buy freedom

19. Aztec Society
Merchants
Farmer

20. Aztec Intellectual & Artistic Achievements
Priests were the keepers of knowledge and the writers of history
Schools ran for sons of nobles

21. Aztec Intellectual & Artistic Achievements – Calendar
365 day calendar and a 260 day ritual calendar
Calculates the end of the world as December 21, 2012

22. Aztec Intellectual & Artistic Achievements – Medicine
Treated with herbs
Used prisoner of war bodies to study anatomy – could set bones
Steam baths used as treatment

23. End of Aztec Civilization
Spanish came in A.D. search of Gold, God, and Glory
Led by Hernan Cortes
Aztec thought Cortes was the god Quetzalcoatl

24. End of Aztec Civilization
Emperor Montezuma II (Moctezuma II) taken hostage and neighboring tribes joined Spanish
3/4ths of the Aztecs died from war and disease