Aztec Civilizitions

Lanuage of Aztecs

Spoke Nahuatl, dominant language in central Mexico during the post classic

What was the the geological regions the Aztecs lived in?

• Tierra fria

  • central mexican plateau, human settlemnt concetrated in river valleys

  • over 2,000 masl

  • seasonal rainfall and frost season, agriculture is risky

  • AZTEC HEARTLAND

• Tierra templada

  • steep mountains, human settlements concentrated in river valleys

  • 1,000-2,000 masl

  • seasonal rainfall, enough to support agriculture

  • BREAD BASKET of empire

  • southern portion of Aztec heart land

• Tierra caliente (hot, humid, closer to coasts)

  • tropical forests/savannah grasslands

  • below 1,000 masl

  • heavy rainfall

  • NOT main empire

What were the ecological zones of the Aztec Heartland?

Volcanic moutnains, piedmont foothills of the moutnains (rich soils but prone to erision), alluvial plain floor (most desirable, lots of springs/rivers, most of the settlements are here), Highland lakes (very shallow and swampy)

What does the close proximity of environmental zones encourage?

communication and exchange among groups.

allows communities to obtain a wide variety of goods

What are physical resources in the general area?

Obsidian

Basalt Stone - grinding corn, mortar & pestle,

Rich Glaze for ceramic technologies

Salt

Precious Metals (gold)

What are plant resources in the general area"?

maize

beans

squash

tomatoes

avocados 

chile peppers

chia seeps

amaranth 

cactus pads

cactus fruit

agave

algae (high in protein, grows quickly)

reeds (used to make sandals, maps

What are the animal resources in the general area?

turkey, wild dogs, water fowl

fish, deer, rabbit, turtles, etc.

BUT animal resources didn’t make up a significant portion of the populations diet bc animals don’t really live where the humans live

INSECTS ON THE OTHER HAND

• people loved em

• magay worms

• grasshoppers

Aztec Cannibalism; an Ecological Necessity?

NO! Cannibalism occured, but only for ritual purposes.

What is the Aztec origin story?

• migration of Nahua peoples of Aztlan “place of the herons” in the north

• Codex Boturini tells of 3 waves of migration, Aztecs (Mexica) are apart of the 3rd wave of migration.

• Mexica following the patron god “Huitzilopochtli “Hummingbird of the Left”, forces to settle on undesirable lands, since the 2 previous groups got the good land. 

• worked as mercenaries for nearby Nahua city-states

• driven into swamplands after displeasing nearby city-states king after killing his gift-daughter.

When and who founded Tenochtitlan?

• Mexica founded Tenochtitlan “Place of the Cactus Fruits” in 1325 CE

  • Tenochtitlan ally with Tlacopan and Texcoco, creating a Triple Alliance that dominates their neighbors

  • This alliance became the Aztec Empire.

Who dominated central mexico from 300 to 600/900 CE?

Teotihuacán regional state

• northeastern basin of Mexico

• over 150,000 inhabitants at height (largest city in the WORLD at the time)

• regional expansive state, multi-ethnic city due to constant influx of migration

• in between a city state and an empire

• strict grid pattern

• contained a pyramid of the sun, pyramid of the moon, and a temple of the feathered serpent.

• contained social stratification, but no evidence of kings or a cult of personality

What did the Aztecs believe Teotihuacan was the birthplace of?

the gods, assoitated iconography of Quetzalcoatl and Tlaloc

What are empires?

expansive multi-ethnic macro states formed through conquest and/or coercion

goals: 

• wealth extraction

  • subsistence

  • resources

  • labor

• military security: who they protect their territory and not losing sources of wealth

• effecting cultural transformation

  • religious conversion

  • building a collective identity amongst the people

What is direct rule? 

A core state society that uses military power to incorporate conquered states through conquest.

• conquered states → imperial provinces

  • local rulers replaced, little local autonomy 

  • provinces no longer independent

  • rely on core state for local decision-making

• very costly, heavy investment

• administrative investment (provincial administration and governances systems)

  • well developed bureaucracy

• physical investment

  • major construction projects, roads, warehouses, cities

• provides security against external threats

  • standing army, frontier defense, fortications and garrisons

• incorporate subject peoples into core state society

  • citizenship, have rights and privileges associated with membership

• resettlement programs to speed assimilation and integration

  • may eliminate elites in conquered provinces

  • may forcibly resettle entire populations of conquered towns and cities

• LOTS of cogs workings at the same time to ensure things are running smoothly

  • spend money to make money

What is indirect rule?

hegemonic empire, low investment, inexpensive

• a core state society that comes to dominate those aroud them through a mixture of diplomacy (persuasion)  and conquest (force)

• (outsourcing) 

• No politcal control of client state, local leaders left in place, no politcal prescence of core state in client state. 

• strong use of economic and ideological incentives, backup with the threat of force. becomes a game of chicken.

• devote very little effort to managing affairs of subject peoples

  • no overarching sense of “citizenship” or assimilation

  • still subject to local laws and regulations

  • little changes to the everyday life of a normal subject, there higher power has just changed

  • LOW RESOURCE EXTRACTION AND LIMITED CONTROL OF SUBJECTS PEOPLE

What are the social and biological consequences and costs of the empire?

Pros

• Muti-ethnic admixture

• ideological syncretism

• emergent social identity

• Safety

Cons

• Violence and oppression

• labor stress

• forced migration

• pathology and disease

What is Altepetl?

the primary political and social entity, similar to a city-state

composed of a central town/capital city: royal place, administrative centers, temple honoring patron god, ideological center, and a market economic center

When the Spanish arrived in 1519, there are about 50 Aztec core altepetl and 450 client altepetl in the Basin of Mexico

small and not self-sufficient, creates a need for markets

alliance form between altepetls through marriage, gift-giving, and festivals

What is a Tlatoani?

the king/ruler of an altepetl, selected by council of nobels (those nobels also limit tlatoani’s actions)

believed to speaking in the voice of Tezcatlipoca

• genealogical connection to Toltec Kings of Tula

• owns all land within altepetl

• receives tax payments from commoner subjects

• military leader

If a tlatoani wanted to increase his tax revenue, he would…

• Send ambassadors to target altepetl with terms

  • If accepted: tlatoani of target altepetl keeps position and pays more taxes, no political meddling

  • If refused: raise an army and attack target altepetl, loser acknowledges winner's superiority, loser did NOT lose his position of altepetl and has to pay taxes to winner.

Who is the triple alliance composed of?

Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan

(they end the endemic warfare that had characterized the region

What political reforms did the triple alliance impose on the basin of mexico?

• replace unfriendly tlatoani with nobles sympathetic to the empire. DIRECT RULE

• establish provinces of taxation purposes. DIRECT & INDIRECT RULE

• as empire expands, imperial rulers share wealth with other Basin altepetl to build loyalty

CASE STUDY: Tenochtitlan, Mexico City (1325-1521)

founded by Mexica in 1325, becomes imperial capitial largest city in Americas ever built, at height composed of 200,000+ people on an 8.5 sq mile island

• causeways connected island to mainlands

• strict grid planning (Teotihuacan influence)

• Central religious precinct walled off from rest of city (Elevates Mexica religion to mystical state cult)

What strategies did the Triple Alliance (Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, Tlacopan) use for frontier expansion?

1) Economic

• conquer rish altepetl and force them to pay taxes, organize conquered altepetl into tax provinces. Creates a taxation system and encourages trade/markets.

• under strict imperial control, within the inner empire, far from major Aztec enemies.

2) Frontier

• expansion brings empire into contact with enemies (Tarascan and Tlaxcala)

• clients who boarder these enemies become the defense, tasked with protecting the empire and thus don’t pay taxs

• allows economic stragies to continue

• tend to be in the outer provinces of empire, near major Aztec enemies, treated more as allies than as subjects.

  
  

CASE STUDY: Calixtlahuaca, Mexico State (1100 - 1521 CE)

“House of the Plain” composed of Nahua altepetl

after Aztec conquest, incorporated into a tax province. paid tax through cottom/maguey, warrior costumes, beans

evidence of imperial economic incentives for local elites (lavish burials, schools) cause they elites b4 Aztec conquest were left in power

• Luxury and black market goods even in common households

  • Some of the highest concentrations of copper artifacts outside the Tarascan Empire. Seen through cooper needles

Aztec Agriculture?

practiced intensive agriculture, more human labor; weeding/fertilizers/irrigation, necessary for high population density

not novel, dated back to eailer mesoamerican societies, but degree of agricultral intensity was unique. 

What was Miplas replaced with?

Terrace farming 

• converts hillside into productive farming fields

• follow the contours of hills, so they are a bit haphazard. meh, eh attitude.

• not centrally planned, built by local families, very organic

household gardens

• next to family homes; grew maize, fruits, herbs, medicinal plants

  fertilized with household scrapes

chinampas

• artificial islands the allowed them to reclaimed swamp land

• Mistakenly called “floating gardens”

What was the Dike of Nezahualcoyotl?

a massive 12- to 16-kilometer-long earthen levee constructed by the Aztecs around 1453 to separate the fresh water near the capital city of Tenochtitlan from the brackish waters of Lake Texcoco.

It was a crucial part of the city's complex hydraulic system, designed to protect the city from flooding, supply it with fresh water, and maintain a higher water level around the island capital.

What was the Chapultepec Aqueduct?

built by Nezahualocyotl

primary source of freshwater to Tenochtitlan

rested on multiple human-made islands for stability

twin-pipe water distribution system ensured continuous access to freshwater

goal: structure allows continuous cleaning and maintenance, allowing it to stay on 24-7.

CASE STUDY: Xochimilco, Mexico City (900 - 1521 CE) 

main provider of produce for Tenochtitlan

• turns swamps surroundings freshwater Lakes Chalco and Xochimilco into highly productive chinampas

• most intensive and productive of all Aztec and Mesoamerican societies

• primary used chinampas

Who controls subsistence in the Aztec world?

• household 

  • terracing, household gardens 

  • (low labor investment, can be organized by the family or a group of families

• neighborhood

  • CHINAMPAS

  • medium labor investment

  • grid-like planning centralized planning 

  • once built, farmed and maintained by households 

• city state

  • irrigation systems

  • significant labor must be carefully planned and managed by a central authority

How do people get stuff in the Aztec world?

Elites —> taxs

Commoners —> markets, usually occuring weekly, trade largely independent of the state.

CASE STUDY: Tlatelolco, Mexico City (1337-1521 CE)

Tenochtitlan twin city, located on a neighboring island.

annexed by Tenochtitlan to become one massive urban center

BIGGEST MARKET PLACE, daily open air market

goods and services could be bought

What were the Pochteca?

professional, long-distance international merchants

an emerging middle class in Aztec socitie

serve as market judges, inspecting goods, destroying counterfeit money.

the Aztec economy was highly commercialized

market system as an institution

links sectors of the Aztec economy and the regions of the Aztec empire

NOT a capitalist economy: 

• no wage labor, land was not a commodity, no investment opportunities

Atex warfare goals?

1. captivate sacrifices; enemy soldiers

2. wealth acquisition; taxes

Was Not…

• to expand the size/territory of a state

  to destroy an enemy city (makes it harder to extract wealth)

  to kill enemy warriors (aztec armies wanted them alive, so they’d only injury them)

What were the expeptions to the no social mobility rule?

by being a warrior or priest through valor and bringing pride

Aztecs had NO standing army

apart of the investment strategy

military service was required of all males and all boys taughte military skills at school

armies raised as needed

What were the few military orders?

• eagle warriors (commanders, highest military order, dinner at royal palace, could keep concubines)

  • limited to nobility

• jaguar warriors (lesser class)

How did the Aztec’s win a campign?

victory on battlefield when one army captures or kills enough enemy soldiers

to subdue and demoralize opponent

winning army returns to home city

losing army paid taxes

What were the battle tactices of the Aztecs?

only besiege altepetl capital cities

• bypass smaller towns and settlements passed

• once capital submitted, smaller towns also submitted

focused on easier targets

• low stakes

• lessens toll on Aztec warriors

• bolsters reputation - intimidation factors

almost certain victory → win → more taxes → happy nobles → stable empire

less focus on stronger enemies, despite being excellent warriors

costs (warriors + resources) required for victory would leave empire too weak to maintain control elsewhere

CASE STUDY: Tlaxcallan, Tlaxcala (1250 -1521 CE)

• successfully resisted conquest by Triple Alliance

  • completely surrounded by Aztec Empire, perpetually under siegee

• Still independent when Spanish arrived in 1519

• abandoned the Tlatoani system, ruled as a republic instead.

What were the flower wars?

periodic ritual battles with enemies, warrior training, warrior demonstration of skill, captives for sacrifice

• form of Aztec propaganda “we didn’t actually wanna conquer them anyways”

• Concerning Tlaxcallan perceptive → Long-standing Aztec siege of Tlaxcallan city-state

  • cut off from foreign trade, literal fight for survival

  • skill successfully resist conquest

What was the Tarascan Empire?

powerful Aztec enemy

Purepecha ethnic group, different ethnic group from the Aztecs

Speak Purepecha, has own origin story, unrelated to Nahua

formed a large multi ethnic tribute based empire

CASE STUDY: Oztoman, Guerrero (1469 - 1521 CE)

major Aztec fortress on border with Tarascan Empire

location of low inensity warfare (reconquered by the Mexica many times over)

aztecs did not often build fortresses, Oztoman rare exceptions

• built after reconquering several times

• repopulation with families from imperial core (DIRECT RULE STRATEGY)

Goal: defend empire against persistent Tarascan attacks

• large scale system of massive Tarascan fortresses along border frustrates the Aztecs

• unable to penetrate into Tarascans imperial borders

Example of Aztec Frontier Strategy

What temples existed in the walled-off Tenochtitlan Sacred Precinct?

• Templo Mayor Twin pyramid (sister temples on top)

• Tlaloc (central Mexican rain and fertility god

• Huitzilopochtli (Mexican patron god of war)

Who was Tlaloc?

god of rain and fertility, connection to Teotihuacan

location of child sacrifice

Who was Huitzilpochtli?

“Hummingbird of the left” - hummingbirds are very territorial 

Mexica patron god of war

guides Mexica to Tenochtitlan during migration from Aztlan

The Templo Mayor commemorates Huitzilopochtli’s heroic birth and celebrated during the month of Panquetzaliztli.

What did Quetzalcoatl do? “feathered serpent”

creates humanity under the Firth Sun

lets his own blood on ancient bones (autosacrifice)

gods sacrificing themselves to benefit humanity

• thus human sacrifice is repaying a “blood debt

cultural heritage and legitimacy: connection to Teotihuacan

• creator god, god of wind, associated with round temples

• patron god of priesthood and calmecac school

Who is Tezcatlipoca? (smoking mirror)

most powerful Aztec god

god of the night sky, patron god of kings

associated with obsidian

all-seeing, punishes wrongdoers

celebrated during the month of Toxcatl

human sacrifice, god impersonator selected a year in advance (young, noble, with no imperfections), brought to the temple, and lived like a god on earth in the temple for a year.

Who was La Malinche?

• She was of Nahua origin, and can speak both Yucatec Maya AND Nahuatl. Essential for translation. 

• gifted to Cortes' expedition in Veracruz, had the potential to create blood ties and security. 

• becomes Cortes' mistress, bears his first son Martin, often considered the first mestizo. (native women and spaniard father creation) 

Hernan Cortes and the Conquistadors were responsible for the downfall of the Aztec Empire.

Cortes lands in the Yucatan, meets Gerónimo de Aguilar,sails along gulf coast towards Tenochtitlanafter being directed by communities cause they heard Tenochtitlan had gold. 

Procedues to Veracruz and engages in skirmishes with coastal Aztec provinces who quickly submit

Hernan Cortes then sets out to Tlaxcallan, who joins cruz because..

• with the expansion of the triple alliance, the Tlaxcalans were increasingly put on the defensive

• They lost tributary territories and were cut off from the trade routes

• The Mexica were concerned with the control of the traffic routes to the Gulf of Mexico, which led through Tlaxcala.

• They also regarded Tlaxcala as a repository for their human sacrifices and as terrain for their military maneuvers

Cortes moves into Cholula, bloodbath.

In 1519, Cortes arrives in Tenochtitlan sees the city, evenutally gets driven out on the Noche Trist (Sad night)

Cortes returns months later with reinforcements, and after months of siege tenochtitlan falls in August 14, 1521

• cut off food supply, blocked the aqueduct of Chapultepec, and most importantly introduced smallpox.