The Aztec Diego Rivera mural, La Gran Tenochtitlàn.

The Aztec

Diego Rivera mural, La Gran Tenochtitlàn

Major Global Development

The last Mesoamerican civilization before the arrival of Spanish conquistadors, the Aztec built a hierarchical society based upon war, religion, tribute, and sacrifice.

Chichimeca Migration

• Came from Aztlàn• Chichimecas first left in 900 CE

Aztec Empire

• Mexica migrated to Lake Texcoco in 1325 CE• Worshipped Huitzilopchtli• 200,000 – 700,000 people in Tenochtitlàn

Tenochtitlàn

• Aztec capital, founded in 1325 CE

Chinampas “Floating Gardens”

Pulque

Aztec Society

• Highly stratified• Elites were 5 –

10% of population• Macehualtin =

Peasants + Artisans

• Slaves = 5% of Tenochtitlàn

Gender Differences

• Umbilical cord of girls = under the house

• Umbilical cord of boys = given to warriors

• Sweeping as a spiritual task

Tribute• Once or twice per year• Clothing, maize, animals, stones, jewelry

Religion

• Ometeotl = “Two God” mother/father to all gods

• Texcatlipoca = “Smoking Mirror,” supreme power• Xochiquetzal = (Goddess) Pregnancy, weaving• Tlazolteotl = (Goddess) Carnal love, sin, filth• Mixcoatl = Patron of Chichimecas• Huitzilopochtli = War & sun• Quetzalcoatl = Wind• Tlaloc = Rain

Xipe Totec• God of Spring• Flayed skins• Priests wore the

skins

Tlaloc

• God of rain• Preferred

children• Death by

drowning

Why did sacrifice matter?

• Pleasing gods• A way to

avoid destruction

• Projecting power of rulers

Death

• Mictlan• Dog as “soul companion”• 4 years of wandering• Cremation vs. burial • Mummies

Cihuateteo

• “The Divine Women”• Goddesses who died during childbirth• Accompany the sun from zenith to sunset

Moctezuma

• Became Aztec emperor in 1500

• Waited for return of Quetzalcoatl

Quetzalcoatl

• “The Feathered Serpent”• Tall, bearded, white god who was

going to return

Who were the Conquistadors?

• Most had experience in the Caribbean

• Most were lower middle class, a small # were “hidalgos”

• All expected wealth, land, slaves, & political positions

• Most died in Mesoamerica & South America

Cortès & the Maya

• First encountered in the Yucatan in 1519

• 1,500 Yucatan Maya & 37 Spaniards died

• Geronimo de Aguilar, shipwrecked for 8 years

Who was Malinche?

• Malintzìn, Doña Marina, Malinche• Given to Cortès as a slave• Spoke Nahuatl, Maya, & Spanish

18th Century Spanish Depiction of Cortès & Moctezuma’s First Meeting

Reasons for the Fall of the Aztecs

• Disease: Smallpox, typhoid, cholera, malaria, influenza

• Technology & Weaponry

• Native Allies angry with the Aztecs

Skulls in the Templo Mayor ruins

Tenochtitlàn today

Religion & Colonization

• Aztec temples destroyed

• Franciscan, Dominican, Augustinian friars in charge of conversion to Catholicism

Key Chronological Events

• The Chichimeca wandered out of Aztlàn by the command of Huitzilopochtli.

• Human sacrifice served multiple purposes for this religious civilization that emphasized the power of conquest.

• The Aztec’s strict tribute system allowed the Spanish conquistadors to find allies in their war against the Aztec.