The Aztec Empire

Question 1

The Aztecs were ______ farmers.

Answer 1

nomadic

Question 2

What is a nomadic farmer?

Answer 2

wander from place to place in search of fertile soil

Question 3

In the late twelfth century, where did the Aztecs migrate to?

Answer 3

the Valley of Mexico

Question 4

In 1325 the Aztecs founded the city of ___________.

Answer 4

Tenochtitian (on the an island in Lake Texcoco)

Question 5

What was the leader who governed early Aztecs?

Answer 5

calpulli

Question 6

What is a calpulli

Answer 6

group of families who claimed a common ancestor

Question 7

What did the leader of the calpulli do?

Answer 7

1) kept order
2) decided whom the group needed to fight against
3) maintained records
4) oversaw the land owned and divided it among the heads of the families

Question 8

Overtime, how did the makeup of calpulli change?

Answer 8

it became a group of people that performed the same trade (job)

Question 9

How many calpulli would each city have?

Answer 9

15 to 80 calpulli

Question 10

What city was the center of the empire?

Answer 10

Tenochtitian

Question 11

What was the emperor called?

Answer 11

huey tlatoani (which means “great speaker”)

Question 12

What could the huey tlatoani do?

Answer 12

1) descendant of the gods (divine)
2) leader of the military
3) chief priest
* *power was supreme

Question 13

What are the 4 main classes of people in the Aztec empire?

Answer 13

1) nobles
2) commoners
3) serfs
4) slaves

Question 14

Leaders of the nobles paid _______ to the emperor.

Answer 14

tribute

Question 15

What kinds of tribute would the leaders of the nobles pay to the emperor?

Answer 15

cocoa, cotton, corn, feathers, precious metals, and jaguar skins

Question 16

What kind of people were considered commoners?

Answer 16

merchants, artisans, soldiers, farmers, and laborers

Question 17

Who worked the land owned by the nobles?

Answer 17

serfs

Question 18

Where did slaves come from?

Answer 18

1) capture in war
2) brought from other groups of people
3) criminals
4) people who could not pay their debts
* *slaves were considered property, but their children were born free

Question 19

The Aztecs settled in this valley

Answer 19

Mexico

Question 20

This city was the center of the Aztec Empire

Answer 20

Tenochtitlan

Question 21

Members of this social class owned their own land

Answer 21

nobles

Question 22

Most of the Aztec people belonged to which social class?

Answer 22

Commoners

Question 23

Aztec warriors belonged to which social class?

Answer 23

nobles

Question 24

Aztec farmers belonged to which social class?

Answer 24

commoners