The Aztecs Flashcards
How did they find their land, and why did they move?
Their god, Huitzilopochtli told them to look for an eagle perching on a cactus, and when they found it they would build a great city there.
What did they name their land?
Tenochtitlan.
What were chinampas and what were they used for?
“Floating Islands” used to grow crops.
What’s an aqueduct and what were they used for?
Channels that transported fresh water to highly populated areas.
What were significant about mountains?
They believed they were sacred and that they brought them closer to the gods. Aztecs often built their temples in the shape of a mountain. Some mountains were even built on top of mountains.
What is a positive effect of living near mountains?
Provide security and protection from other civilizations.
What is a negative effect of living near mountains?
Flash floods and they keep out clouds that bring fresh water.
The Aztecs were Polytheistic. What does Polytheistic mean?
They believed in multiple gods.
What religious event happened every 52 years and what was it?
It was called the “new fire”. The Aztecs would let their fires go out and then re-light their fires from a ceremonial fire in the center of the city.
The Aztecs practiced human sacrifice. Why did they do this?
They did it to feed their gods blood because they believed that if they weren’t fed they would die, and that would mean the end of the world.
What kind of people were sacrificed?
Children, adult slaves, people of noble birth, and people captured in war.
How was position in the hierarchy often decided?
Generally determined by which class they were born into, but people could work their way to a higher position through their own effort.
Who was their emperor at the time the empire fell?
Moctezuma (variant spellings include Motecuhzomatzin, Montezuma, Moteuczoma, Motecuhzoma, Motēuczōmah, Muteczuma, and referred to retroactively in European sources as Moctezuma II)
How did they treat their emperor?
They treated him like a god and gave him many privileges.
How was the emperor chosen?
Elected by a high council of nobles.
The Aztec society was organized into units called Calpolli. What are calpolli?
Collections of people in small rural villages or political wards in cities who often worked in and shared ownership, more or less, of the property and fields.
