All About The Aztecs Must of the stuff you need to know about the Aztecs in about 5 minutes. By: Chayanne Hyde

The Daily Life of an Aztec Family The daily life of an Aztec family was very much like today’s modern family. The men worked in farms or if they were gifted in the arts, the craftworks. Women stayed home and weaved clothes for their family and cooked. Every member of the household, including the children, helped in the household.

The Geography of the Aztecs The Aztec capital city was Tenochtitlan, now called Mexico City. The Aztecs were surrounded by mountains and they literally lived in the middle of a lake. To the south of the land, they had a grassland were they fought many battles against enemies. In the land, there were palaces, parks, ball courts, a zoo, a very busy market, and a gigantic temple to worship their Gods.

The Aztec Government The Aztec government was a series of branches. The Huey Tatiana (Great Speaker) was in charge of the land, almost like the president in modern days. The city council was after the Tatiana and it supported anything the Tatiana put into order. The Calculi was after the city council and they were a group of families responsible for one part of the land. The Calculi took care of local problems such as school and land issues.

The Aztec Language The language the Aztec spoke is called Nahuatl. Nahuatl is a group of related languages of the Nahuan (Previously called Aztecan) branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Other languages were spoken in the Aztec civilization also. For example, Pima, Comanche, and Shoshone were spoken within the Aztec civilization.

The Aztec Religion According to the mythology of the Aztecs, the three top Gods were Huitzilopochtli (God of War), Tezcatlipoca (God of Magic and Darkness), and Quetzalcoatl (God of Intelligence and Self-Reflection). The Aztecs also sacrificed humans believing that the Gods needed to be nourished. Human hearts were also given as a gift to the Gods.

The Aztec Social Pyramid The supreme ruler was at the top of the social pyramid. Next were the priests and nobles of the land. After them were the officials and merchants. Next on the social pyramid were craftsmen or artisans. After them were the commoners and peasants. Finally, all the way at the bottom of the social pyramid were the slaves.

The Architecture of the Aztecs Sacrificial pyramids were important so each major city had at least one. The royal palace was very big including a two story house with a big courtyard. One of the most famous pyramids is the pyramid of the sun in Teotihuacan. Aztec homes were usually made out of adobe with thatched roofs. They were two buildings, one was the main home and the other was the steam bath.

The Agriculture of the Aztecs The Aztecs used chinampas to grow their crops. Chinampa is an agricultural field created by swamp drainage or landfill operations along the edges of lakes. A common crop grown by the Aztecs was maize and squash. When looking at all the agriculture of the Aztecs, it is easy to say it was very complicated.

The Aztec’s Contribution to Modern Society They were the first people to have mandatory education. They were the first people to successfully remove fluid from the knee, which helped the doctors of modern society. They also developed an accurate system of measurement. The Aztecs also gave the first idea of a calendar, their form of music and dance, and poetry.

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