Tenochtitlan Flashcards
What is Tenochtitlan?
The Aztec Capital City. It was built on a group of marshy, low-lying islands in the middle of a salt lake
How could foot-travellers reach Tenochtitlan?
Foot travellers to Tenochtitlan could only reach the city on causeways (tracks) which stretched from the land across the lake
How was the city divided?
The causeways divided the city into 4 quadrants and each quadrant was home to communities (calpulli)
Where was the palace of the Aztec Emperor located?
The palace of the Aztec emperor lay immediately to the southeast of the sacred precinct.
Where did the nobles live?
The nobles lived close to the centre of the city
Where were the chinampas and commoners homes at?
At the edges were the chinampas and homes of the commoners
What were the measurements of the sacred precinct?
The sacred precinct (religious centre) of Tenochtitlan was surrounded by a wall 500 metres on each side and 3 metres high.
What was the most impressive building the Tenochtitlan built?
The Great Temple was the most impressive building; 30 metres high and with two staircases leading up to the top.
How do we know so much about Aztec Society?
- archaeological sites
- artefacts
- written sources from the Europeans
- pictorial codices.
What were codices?
A codex (plural – codices) is a medieval term for a manuscript or book. Long before the Spanish arrived, the Aztecs used a complex system of symbols, pictures and writing to record all sorts of information.
What were codices made from?
They painted the information on long sheets of deerskin or paper made from bark, which were usually folded up like an accordion to make a sort of book.
