Farhad’s School Education Blog

1. Where did the Aztecs originally live? What prompted them to relocate? Where did they end up and why? Chose an artifact, which you feel best, represents this event. Support your choice

The Aztecs originally lived in Atzlan which someplace in North West Mexico in fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. They ended up in a swampy island in the middle of Lake Texcoco because Tenoch had a vision and Huitzilopochtli told him to lead his people there and the city was then called Tenochtitlan. Tenoch envisioned that he was told to look for an eagle being rested on a cactus that was growing from a rock or cave encircled by water. The artifact that I chose is a fearsome knife with a razor-sharp blade and its handle is turquoise mosaic. I feel best that this represents the Aztecs because they used this specific knife to conduct human sacrifices next to the god house of Huitzilopochtil. The interesting fact I found about this the gods name is that it means hummingbird wizard and the sacrifices so that he could be able to triumph over the god of darkness. I also think this is the best chose for an artifact I found because this represents what the Aztecs worthily and courageously did these religious sacrifices for their Aztec god.

Step 2:
The Aztecs ended up in the middle of a lake and built their new capital Tenochtitlan. What were the pros and cons of settling in the middle of a lake? Describe the lay of the land and choose an image for your exhibit.

The pros of the Aztecs ending up in the middle of a lake and built their capital are:
∑ They were able to make irrigation to make crops all year.
∑ They had the capability to make floating gardens easily
∑ People moved about between their chinampas was made easy for people.
The cons are:
∑ The island was a marshy, snake infested land
∑ The island for normal people was made by piling up plants and sticky black mud from the lake.

Step 3:
Which gods were worshiped? The pyramids were built for what purpose?
Aztec only had knowledge of the forces of nature and worshiped them as gods. The most important god was Huitzilopochtli, the god of sun and he was also used as their god of war. The other gods include Tezcatlipoca who is the god of the Great Bear constellation and of the night sky, Quetzalcoatl was the god of morning and the evening star, Tlaloc was the Aztec rain god and his his name means He Who Makes Things Sprout, Chalchuitlicu, had been a water goddess and was known as the fourth Sun. The pyramid at Aztec Empire were built for purposes such as sacrifice rituals for their gods that they worshiped and were normally done at the top of the pyramid.
Step 4:
Who are the different members of Aztec society? What are their roles? Choose an artifact that represents the social order of Aztec society.

Slaves, commoners, and nobility are the different members of the Aztec society.

SLAVES
∑ Children of poor families could be sold.
∑ Freedom could be bought by slaves.
∑ They gained freedom by running away from their master, and make it to the royal palace without being caught.

COMMONERS
∑ This was the largest social group, “macehualtin” in Aztes.
∑ They were involved in agriculture and trades.
∑ They were farmers working in families, and keeping their harvest.
∑ Their actual land was owned by all the people of the neighborhood, also known as calpulli. These commoners owned their area of land for their life but lowest group of commoners weren’t allowed to own land.
∑ These people were allowed to use land, but not own it.
∑ Far distance traders would frequently be used to serve the government as ambassadors.
∑ Famous artisans, physicians, and teachers were also shown a lot of respect.

NOBLES
∑ Nobles had birth, priests, and people who earned a high rank.
∑ The pipiltin was a small number of families who were the few uppermost in the Aztec social life. They had the highest position of the government, army, and the priesthood.
∑ The nobles chose one person to be their crucial leader and was called the tlatoani. This leader would be highly respected and would rule until he died.
∑ Most of the respect was given to warriors, priests, and the nobles.
∑ Warrior class was highly appreciated.
∑ Warriors would normally volunteer themselves for the most important sacrifices.
The artifact that I chose that would represents the social order of Aztec society

Step 5:
The Aztecs have a spoken language. What was it called? Did they use any other forms of communication? Include an example of either written or visual language of the Aztecs.

The spoken language that the Aztecs used was called Nahuatl and this unique language comes from a large group of Indian languages. They used variation of a larger language group called Uto-Aztecan to communicate in other forms and also in some areas of Mexico they still have native cultures which are variations of Nahuatl that are are spoken.

One Aztecan used visual pictures, and the other used letters called glyphs. They used visual pictures sometimes and make it very complex so that it would tell a whole story and they would also use pictographs to symbolize ideas or symbolize the sound of a syllable. Glyphs were used to indicate phonetic sound and color was the key of glyphs since some of their glyphs were very similar and with lacking color, it would be tough to tell what a glyph meant and a mistakes could be made due to colors.
Step 6:
How did the Aztecs grow food and what was their main crop? Did they trade and with whom? Did they have a currency (money)? Find an image for your exhibit about making a living Aztec style.

They Aztecs grew corn, chili peppers, squash, tomatoes, beans, and other kinds of food and their main crop was corn, which was known as maize in their culture. The Aztecs traded with city neighbors all the time because a lot of cities had their own unique crops which others didn’t have. The Aztecs didn’t have currency so they traded goods instead of paying money to buy other products.

Step 7:
Discuss the Impact of Spanish Contact 1519 from both the Aztec point of view and the Spanish point of view. Find an image depicting this event.

Step 8:
Discuss La Malinche or Dona Marina. Debate her positive/negative impact on Mexico past and present. What does the term Mestizo refer to? What influences remain today from Aztec culture of the past?