B: Worldviews in Conflict 7. People of the Sun p. 150 Flashcards
Where did the word Aztec come from?
Nineteenth century historians created the term Aztec. They were referring to the civilization created by a nomadic tribe - the Mexica - during the 15th century. Aztec may be derived from Aztlan, the place from which the Mexica believe they set out to find their new home in Tenochtitlan.
Who are the Aztecs?
The Aztecs were a mighty civilization that flourished in Central America between 1325 and 1521, when they were forced to surrender to an invading Spanish army led by Hernán Cortés.
They lived in Northern Mexico desert before 1325 but then found better lands in Tenochtitlan where there was more water.
They wandered from place to place for 150 years before settling in Tenochtitlan.
When did the Aztecs first arrive in the Valley of Mexico, in Tenochtitlan?
How did this landscape differ from where they were previously?
What was Tenochtitlan like when they first arrived?
1325
Here there was a wide plain with fertile land, plentiful water, and a mild climate. Before this, the Aztecs were inhabiting the desert lands of northern Mexico.
However, many thousands of people were already living there in large cities built of stone so the Aztecs could only live on a swampy island at the end of a broad lake and that lake had salty water. They called their new home Tenochtitlan (Teh-noch-TEE-tlahn), and transformed the island over the next 200 years.
The Aztecs recorded information about their society in books. What were these books called?
codex (singular)
codices (plural)
The Spanish destroyed almost all the Aztec codices when they conquered the Aztecs. Later codices were created by Aztec codex-makers under Spanish supervision.
The codices contained images only, the Aztecs did not use an alphabet.
What lake surrounded Tenochtitlan?
Lake Texcoco
The lake provided safety from their enemies. The Aztecs built three causeways linking the lake to the mainland. Bridges that connected the causeways to the city and the mainland could be destroyed to protect the city from invasion as needed.
There were five interconnected lakes, with islands in the middle. Many of the lakes were salty (brackish) or filled with growth making marshes. Around the island of Tenochtitlan, they made chinampa to help grow their crops.
What was the key to the Aztec’s farming success?
chinampa (chee-NAHM-pah) or “floating islands” that they built in waters around Tenochtitlan and other areas to grow their crops.
- drive stakes into lakebeds in a rectangular shape
- lay reed mats within the stakes
- pile soil on top
- keep repeating the process until a thick sandwich of mud and mats rise above the water’s surface
What were challenges due to the Aztec geography?
- Flash floods
- Droughts
- Isolation
- Overcrowding
- Brackish water
How did the Aztecs view mountains?
- as a sacred or holy site that brought them closer to the gods
- the temples the Aztecs built to worship their gods were pyramids in the shape of mountains
- Mountains surrouded Tenochtitlan giving Aztecs a sense of security, protecting the city from attack from invaders
- However, since the mountains around them were so steep, flash floods were common in low-lying areas, in fact in 1500 a great flood swamped Tenochtitlan (Aztec engineers then decided they needed to build an earthen dam across the lake to the east of the city to help control the water levels around their island)
How did the Aztecs alter their geography?
- They made chinampas (Floating Islands) to grow crops
- They built aqueducts to bring in freshwater (since the mountains would stop clouds coming in and giving them fresh water, the structure of an aqueduct can bring in fresh water from underground springs outside the city; these aqueducts can still be seen today in Mexico city)
- They built bridges to get across
- They built causeways land bridges
Why did the Aztecs practice human sacrifice?
They thought the gods needed to be fed human blood so that the gods could be nourished and not get sick and die. If the gods were to die, then the world would come to an end. This was a religious practice.
The Spanish when they made contact with the Aztecs could not understand this practice and thus did not respect the Aztecs.
Facts about Aztec slavery
- Slaves could own land
- Slaves could own slaves
- They had rights
- They could be free
- You can’t be born into slavery
How did the Aztecs see the Earth?
- round, flat disc
- divided into four sections
- Tenochtitlan was in the centre of the four sections
- the gods had assigned them a special place in the universe
How did their geography influence the Aztec’s worldview?
It influenced their religion
It made them feel strong and superior
It made them look at the world at a place to overcome
The Aztecs had to be nomadic for so long and dealt with conflict along the way. Once they had their own place to live, they wanted to protect what they had. They became warriors in mindset, but still had to trade to get what they wanted since they otherwise had no access to some goods.
Aztec merchants often set off with hundreds of slaves to carry the goods they purchased on trading expeditions that lasted months. The merchants also acted as spies for the Aztec army, drawing maps of how other cities are fortified. The Aztecs had a drive to expand the empire.
Every Aztec was prepared to sacrifice their life for the good of the group.
Military service was compulsory among the Aztec men.
They collected tribute (gifts) from places they conquered.
Cocoa beans were used for currency.
What does the Aztec calendar show about the beliefs and knowledge of Aztecs?
- The importance of their gods
- The accuracy of their astronomical observations
In 1760, in Mexico City, they found a stone calendar. The stone is 4 meters across, 1 meter thick, and weighs about 25 tonnes.
Two calendars were used:
1. solar
2. sacred = 260 days long
When did Renaissance Spain exile the last of its Muslim citizens? Is there evidence left that shows Muslims once lived there?
1492
Yes. Islamic influence, especially in art and architecture, remains to this day. For example, the garden at Alhambra in Granada shows Islamic architecture.
When did the Spanish first arrive in modern-day Veracruz?
1519, near the modern-day city of Veracruz.
Hernán Cortés and a small group of Spanish soldiers conquered Mexico in 1521, just two years after they landed near the modern-day city of Veracruz.
Before the Spanish arrival in 1519, the area of present-day Mexico was home to many Indigenous groups.
The Spanish had already been to other nearby lands in America. For example, in 1493, during his second voyage, Columbus founded Isabela, the first permanent Spanish settlement in the New World, on Hispaniola. After finding gold in recoverable quantities nearby, the Spanish quickly overran the island and spread to Puerto Rico in 1508, to Jamaica in 1509, and to Cuba in 1511.
