Who Were the Aztecs?
The Aztecs were a people who settled in a valley in central Mexico in the 14th century. The word ‘Aztec’ derives from Aztlán, a possibly-mythological place north of their eventual empire, where the Aztecs believed their tribe originated. The Aztecs referred to themselves as Mexica, a term of disputed origin, from which the modern name of Mexico derives. The Aztecs followed a dream-prophecy to the shores of Lake Texcoco. Their sun god, Huitzilopochtli, instructed them that if they found an eagle on a cactus eating a snake, that was where they should found their city. So it was that Tenochtitlan was built out over Lake Texcoco, since subsumed by modern day Mexico City. The Aztecs moved into a populated area, and were not welcomed by those who preceded them. They were considered barbaric by the Toltecs and others in the region, but they quickly assimilated much of their neighbors’ culture. Through conquest and intermarriage, they created an empire based more on the payment of tribute than
After completing this lesson, students will be able to: • Identify the Aztecs as the builders of a great city and rich civilization in what is now Mexico • Locate the Aztec Empire and its capital on a map • Be able to place the Aztecs in the chronology of American history • Describe several aspects of Aztec culture • Tell the legend of the founding of the capital city of Tenochtitlan and describe the way the city looked at its peak • Understand the causes of the Aztec civilization’s downfall
“The enormous market swarmed of people; some buying, some selling…Amongst us were soldiers which had traveled in many parts of the world, from Constantinople to Italy and Rome, yet they said they had never seen a market of such proportions so harmonious and balanced, harboring so much people”, wrote Bernal Diaz del Castillo, a soldier from the army of the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes, about Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, when he visited it in 1519. By those times, the city had 150,000 to 200,000 inhabitants and a surface of 12 to 15 square kilometers, with many bridges, streets, channels, and shiny temples with the shape of truncated pyramids. But our image about their complex civilization is shadowed by the bloody side of their religion. Its sure that their gods required human hearts and blood to maintain their strength and Aztecs are more known for their bloody rituals of ripping the hearts while still alive from the chests of sacrificing victims in the honor of their gods
The Aztecs are well known as the fierce conquerors of Native American tribes who dwelt in what is now Mexico, just previous to the devastating European Spanish Conquest. The Aztec empire built impressive multi-storied stone temples, city complexes, canals and roads, calendars, and carved elaborate stone friezes depicting their histories and complex mythologies. The Eagle figures centrally in Aztec heritage as the long sought sign of where their wandering ancestors were to settle to build their powerful empire. As you will also learn, their central God also chooses to take of the form of an Eagle in order to lead them on their migration to their new homeland. The Eagle Legend of the Aztec we have chosen to share with our Campers has been gathered from Mythology of the Americas, by Burland, Nicholson, Osborne; published by Hamlyn 1970, pg. 259, and is an account originally transcribed by Alfonso Caso, a Mexican anthropologist.
