The Aztec Empire Flashcards
The Aztecs were ______ farmers.
nomadic
What is a nomadic farmer?
wander from place to place in search of fertile soil
In the late twelfth century, where did the Aztecs migrate to?
the Valley of Mexico
In 1325 the Aztecs founded the city of ___________.
Tenochtitian (on the an island in Lake Texcoco)
What was the leader who governed early Aztecs?
calpulli
What is a calpulli
group of families who claimed a common ancestor
What did the leader of the calpulli do?
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
Overtime, how did the makeup of calpulli change?
it became a group of people that performed the same trade (job)
How many calpulli would each city have?
15 to 80 calpulli
What city was the center of the empire?
Tenochtitian
What was the emperor called?
huey tlatoani (which means “great speaker”)
What could the huey tlatoani do?
1) descendant of the gods (divine)
2) leader of the military
3) chief priest
* *power was supreme
What are the 4 main classes of people in the Aztec empire?
1) nobles
2) commoners
3) serfs
4) slaves
Leaders of the nobles paid _______ to the emperor.
tribute
What kinds of tribute would the leaders of the nobles pay to the emperor?
cocoa, cotton, corn, feathers, precious metals, and jaguar skins
What kind of people were considered commoners?
merchants, artisans, soldiers, farmers, and laborers
Who worked the land owned by the nobles?
serfs
Where did slaves come from?
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
The Aztecs settled in this valley
Mexico
This city was the center of the Aztec Empire
Tenochtitlan
Members of this social class owned their own land
nobles
Most of the Aztec people belonged to which social class?
Commoners
Aztec warriors belonged to which social class?
nobles
Aztec farmers belonged to which social class?
commoners
