Aztec Pt 1 and 2

What history entwined with which beliefs?

Polyestheistic beliefs

Which people did the Aztecs come from?

Mexica

The Aztec believed they were from where?

In a continuation of the cave mythos started by the Olmec, the Mexica emerged from seven subterranean caves known as “Chicomoztoc,” and found the city of Teotihuacan

What does it depict?

the early founders of the Mexica making their journey from the seven caves of Chicomoztoc onward to the Aztec capitol city of Tenochtitlan.

What is it’s name?

Migration of the Mexica Codex Borgia

The Aztecs believed that we have been born into different worlds how many “suns” were there?

5 suns (We lived on the fifth one)

Whose guidance were they under?

their primary male patron god, the Hummingbird, named Huitzilopochtli

What was this codex’s name?

Codex Borgia

What is happening on this codex?

The Founding of Tenochtitlan

What did Huitzilopochtli prophecy say?

that they would eventually come to a lake with an island in its center

What would they find on the island?

they would find an eagle with a serpent in its talons, seated

on top of a cactus

What did they name the lake and island?

Lake Texcoco.

Where did the Mexica locate themselves?

The Valley of Anahuac,

What jobs were they supporting themselves as?

as mercenaries (soldiers for hire) for more powerful

groups in the area, most specifically the Tepanecs

What happened to the Tepanecs ruler’s daughter?

the Mexica promptly sacrificed as a new deity—establishing their divine lineage

What happened when the ruler found out the fate of his daughter?

He banished them from the area

Where did they settle after they were banished?

Lake Texcoco

Who made it? When was it made?

Aztec, Post Hispanic

What was it’s name?

The City of Tenochtitlan, as envisioned by Cortez

What is in the red circle?

the Templo Mayor (Primary temple at the city of Tenochtitlan

How did the Aztec solved the issue of the island not supporting all of them?

By creating a system of floating, man-made islands called “chinampas.”

What were used to make these man made islands?

Lakebed clays, mud & aquatic plants were layered onto nets made of dry crop silage (fermented green animal forage);

How were the islands stuck in place?

The nets were then attached to parallel reed fences stuck in the lake bottom to keep the ”islands” in place

How did they stop erosion?

The last step was to plant fast-growing willow trees bank’s edges to control erosion

How would the city be accessed?

The city could be accessed by long, straight causeways

What would the plan be?

the plan of Tenochtitlan was a series of canals alternating with long fingers of dry ground

Who overthrew former Tepanec leader?

a Aztec ruler named Itzcoatl, and his military second-in-

command named Cihuacoatl

Who was apart of the Aztec triple alliance?

Texcoco, Tenochtitlan and Tlacopan, gaining control of the areas east and west of the lake

Motecuhzoma I’s reign was at first disastrous, how so?

Plagued by environmental problems and crop failures

Under subsequent ruler Motecuhzoma I’s reign (1440-1469), the

Aztec empire enlarged considerably where?

The South

Who made it? When was it made?

Aztec, Post Hispanic

What is this called?

Codex Telleriano-Remensis

Who would keep the records of Aztec rule?

The Preists

When was it made? Who made it?

Late Post Classic and Aztec

What is it’s name?

Codex Borbonicus

What is happening in this picture?

A New Fire ceremony

Why were they throwing A New Fire ceremony?

to commemorate the end of the 52 year cycle

What would miracously happened?

The natural disasters almost miraculously ceased to be a

problem

What did Motecuzhoma I do to prevent food shortage?

Motecuzhoma I conquered and took control of the eastern (Huastec) region where the cropland was better

Who made it? When was it made?

Aztec, 20th century

Where was it made?

Mexico City

What was this building’s name?

Templo Mayor Ruins

What was this city called?

The Templo Mayor was the heart of the city

What was this built over?

Seven building campaigns and was a twin-temple pyramid

What was the The final building program of the Templo Mayor that took place?

in 1487

What year did Cortez and his soldiers first encountered this building?

1519

When was it made? Who made it?

Post Hispanic, Aztec

What was this called?

Codex Primeros Memoriales

What is happening on this codex?

the Templo Mayor is at the top of the page in what is the Eastern part of the ceremonial precinct

Who is standing in front of the temple?

A penitent (person who seeks absolution for their wrong-doings) dressed in white

What is on the victims lower left?

A skull rack (Tzompili) for the skulls of sacrificed victims

What is the fluid on staircases of the twin temples?

Blood

What is this temple called?

Templo Mayor

Who made it? Where was it made?

Aztec, Tenochtitlan

Who were the Templo Maoyr’s summit dedicated to?

the Aztec’s patron and God of war, Huitzilopochtli (left) and The storm/rain god Tlaloc (right)

Who made it? Where was it made? When was it made?

Aztec, Post Hispanic, Huitzilopochtli & Tlaloc in their respective temples

What was this codex called?

Tovar Codex

What is happening in this codex?

where Huitzilopochtli defended his mother (Coatlicue) & slew his sister (Coyolxauhqui).

What was Tlaloc’s temple was considered as?

The site of his sacred mountain abode on Mt. Tlaloc

Who made it? When was it made?

Aztec, Post Hispanic

What was this called?

Codex Telleriano-Remensis

Who was Huitzilopochtli (“Hummingbird”) was associated with?

warfare, youth and the sun

Why were Numerous human sacrifices were needed daily to help

“fuel” him do what?

In his journey chasing his brothers the stars (Cenzonhuitznahuatl)

and sister the moon (Coyolxauhqui)

How was Huitzilopochtli (Humming bird) depicted as?

with blue-green feathered hummingbird headdress

What is he holding in his hands?

carrying a lightning serpent rod on one hand and a shield with balls of feathers in the other

Who made it? When was it made?

Aztec and Post Hispanic

What was it called?

Codex Borbonicus

Who was Tlaloc associated with?

With lightning, maize and water

What was he always depicted as?

with goggled eyes and a downturned mouth with jaguar teeth and

snake fangs

Tenochtitlan and the Templo Mayor drew on precedents from other cities in the Valley of Mexico which cities?

The Toltec city of Tula & the ancient city of Teotihuacan in particular

There was a duplicated pyramid what was it called?

Tenayuca

Where was Tenyauca located at?

The doubled pyramid offered an equality between

their two deities that was not possible with a single temple

Canals laid in a grid at Tenochtitlan were likely modeled on the

grid-like city of?

Teotihuacan

The twin temple pyramid of the Templo Mayor was

framed by the?

Mountainous volcanoes Ixtaccihuatl and Popocatepetl

in the East

The ceremonial precinct was laid out to acknowledge the

movements of the?

Sun

During the drier season the sun rose behind the red temple

dedicated to?

Huitzilopochtli (Hummingbird)

On the mornings of the two annual equinoxes the sun rose between the two temples and faced the?

Temple of Quetzalcoatl

Who made it? When was it made? Where was it made?

Aztec, Late Post Classic, Tenochtitlan (Mexico

City)

What was it used for?

They likely held funerary ashes

Who were they depicting?

the Aztec deity Tezcatlipoca (“Smoking Mirror”)

Which temple were these found?

The Huitzilopochtli side of the Templo Mayor

What was Tezcatlipoca (“Smoking Mirror”) a God of?

was the god of the night sky (Moon & stars), hurricanes,

obsidian and conflict

What was he a patron of?

Of warriors and rulers

Who made it? When was it made? Where was it made?

Aztec, Late Post Classic, Templo; Mayor Mexico City,

What are these?

Shells, sand, marine life and recycled antique objects

Where was this found?

Templo Mayor

What was inside Cache 186?

it was a stone chest filled with fifteen anthropomorphic sculptures

(14 male, 1 female), beads, shells and corals

Who found it?

Alejandra Aguirre Molina and Antonio Marin Calvo:

Who were they most likely inspired by?

All of the figures have unique features, as though they were intended as portraits of individuals

Where were these found?

Recovered from the Templo Mayor

Archaeologists speculate that the figures were buried at the temple following the?

Aztec conquest of the Mezcala region

Many of their faces bear traces of paint in the guise of what god?

Many of their faces bear traces of paint in the guise of the

rain god, Tlaloc

What else did Cache 186 include?

two earrings In the shape of rattlesnakes and a total of 137 beads

also made of various green-colored stones

When was it made? Who made it? Where was it found?

Post Classic, Aztec, Templo Mayor

What is happening in this scene?

someone’s sacrificial scene

What were the Aztecs known for?

Their ruthless military aggression and the frequency and scale

upon which they practiced human sacrifice

What were Aztecs “flowery wars”?

Perpetual warfare with a purpose

Which two cities were they enemies with?

Cholula & Huejotzingo

How did combatants signal the start of a war?

by burning a large pyre of paper and incense between the armies

What weapons did the Aztec use?

the Aztecs used darts, stones, and other ranged weapons to

weaken enemy forces from afar.