AZTEC SOCIETY  

 

     

DAILY LIFE  For  most  commoners,  life  revolved  around  farming  or  household  duties.    Men  and  women  divided  the  labor.    Men  fished  and  farmed.    Women  worked  at  home;  grinding  grain  and  weaving  cloth.    Some  commoners  worked  as  artisans,  creating  bowls,  plates,  and  other  items  for  noble  families.    Others  were  long-­‐distance  traders.    Artisans  and  traders  were  well  respected  members  of  Aztec  society.    Finally,  some  Aztec  citizens  (nobles)  were  teachers.    Teachers  were  highly  respected,  as  all  Aztec  children  (no  matter  what  social  class)  attended  school  for  some  time.  

 Commoners  lived  humble  lives.    Extended  families  lived  in  adjoining  homes  around  a  central  courtyard.        They  wore  plain  clothes  made  from  coarse  fiber.    They  ate  mostly  corn,  beans,  and  chili  peppers.    Nobles  lived  more  comfortably  in  large,  two-­‐story  homes.    Their  clothes  were  made  of  the  best  cotton  and  decorated  with  colorful  designs.    They  also  ate  the  best  food,  including  turkey  and  other  meats.      

Aztec  household.  

Aztecs  farming  on  chinampas.  

 

 

SOCIAL STRUCTURE  

 

     

AZTEC RULE  War  was  a  large  part  of  Aztec  life,  and  to  continue  expanding  the  Aztec  needed  a  strong  king.    The  king  came  from  the  noble  class  and  was  chosen  by  a  council  of  nobles.    He  had  five  royal  advisors  to  help  him  run  the  government.    Four  of  these  advisors  were  military  commanders,  and  the  fifth  was  an  official  who  managed  the  day-­‐to-­‐day  running  of  the  government.    Once  a  new  king  was  chosen  he  had  to  immediately  prove  his  military  skills  by  going  to  war.    Beneath  the  royal  advisors  was  a  level  of  lesser  government  officials  made  up  of  judges,  clerks,  tax  collectors,  and  others.    At  the  local  level,  citizens  were  divided  into  small  districts  called  calpulli.    A  local  chief  led  each  calpulli.    Although  the  Aztec  government  was  based  on  a  strong  ruler,  the  Aztec  never  created  a  true  central  government.    Their  efficient  government  hierarchy  did  not  extend  past  the  capital  of  Tenochtitlan.    Instead  the  Aztec  controlled  a  loose  collection  of  city-­‐states  ruled  by  local  chiefs  or  noble  families.    The  Aztecs  maintained  control  through  the  threat  of  military  force.    Tribute  was  essential  to  Aztec  rule.    Tribute  goods  ranged  from  clothing  and  military  supplies  to  jewelry,  food,  and  building  materials.    Captives  were  also  given  as  tribute.    These  captives  were  sacrificed  to  the  Aztec  gods.    The  Aztecs  mastered  the  use  of  fear  to  keep  their  conquered  subjects  in  line.  

King  

Nobles  

Commoners  

Slaves  

• Warrior  king  from  noble  class  • Chosen  by  council  of  nobles  • Lived  in  imperial  city  of  Tenochtitlan  

• Helped  king  run  Tenochtitlan  • Made  up  5-­‐10%  of  population  • Traced  their  ancestry  back  to  the  first  Aztec  king  • Teachers  and  priests  came  from  this  class  

• Merchants  and  artisans  held  special  status  and  received  extra  privileges  

• Most  Aztecs  were  farmers  

• Worked  for  noble  families  • Some  commoners  sold  themselves  

into  slavery  to  avoid  poverty  • Some  were  taken  captive  during  war  • Could  marry,  own  property  • Children  born  free  • Could  purchase  freedom  

 AZTEC ECONOMY  The  economy  of  Tenochtitlan  depended  on  help  from  surrounding  areas,  which  came  in  two  ways.    The  first  was  through  tribute.    Without  tribute  the  Aztec  capital  would  have  collapsed,  unable  to  support  itself  financially.    The  second  was  through  merchants  who  sold  items  in  the  markets  of  Tenochtitlan  and  traveled  long  distances  to  trade  in  neighboring  lands.    Merchants  moved  goods  without  the  use  of  carts  or  metal  tools,  instead  using  either  canoes  or  slaves  to  transport  items.    Merchants  also  were  greatly  respected  by  all  citizens  and  received  special  privileges  over  other  commoners.    

About  half  the  population  of  Tenochtitlan  were  farmers.    Farmers  were  a  vital  part  of  Aztec  society,  and  needed  to  keep  pace  with  a  growing  population.    Farmers  worked  all  day  to  provide  enough  food  for  the  people  of  Tenochtitlan.    Farmers  in  the  local  city-­‐states  were  governed  by  the  local  chief  and  had  to  grow  extra  food  to  bring  to  Tenochtitlan  as  tribute.    

While  the  Aztec  did  barter,  they  also  used  cacao  beans  as  currency.    Cacao  beans  were  mostly  used  as  currency  in  the  local  markets  of  Tenochtitlan.    Merchants  who  traveled  traded  rare  items  they  had  (like  jewelry)  for  other  rare  items  found  in  other  civilizations  (like  rubber,  cotton,  and  jaguar  skins)  that  could  be  sold  in  Tenochtitlan  for  a  profit  due  to  its  rarity.        

Trade  between  Aztec  merchants  and  a  neighbor.  

CASE STUDY: TENOCHTITLAN At  the  time  of  the  Spanish  conquest  in  1521,  the  Aztec  capital  city  on  Tenochtitlan  was  among  the  largest  cities  

in  the  world,  with  perhaps  as  many  as  200,000  inhabitants.    In  less  than  200  years,  it  evolved  from  a  small  settlement  on  an  island  in  the  western  swamps  of  Lake  Texcoco  into  the  most  powerful  political,  economic,  and  religious  center  of  the  greatest  empire  of  Precolumbian  Mexico.    Tenochtitlan  was  a  city  of  great  wealth,  obtained  through  the  spoils  of  tribute  from  conquered  regions.    Of  astounding  beauty  and  impressive  scale,  its  towering  pyramids  were  painted  in  bright  red  and  blue,  and  its  palaces   in  dazzling  white.    Colorful,  busy  markets  with  a  bewildering  array  of   foods  and  luxuries  impressed  native  visitors  and  conquering  Spaniards  alike.    Most  of  the  construction  in  Tenochtitlan  took  place  during  the  reigns  of  four  Aztec  kings  in  the  1470s.    Built  largely  upon  land  reclaimed  from  Lake  Texcoco,  the  city  was  laid  out  on  a  grid,  inspired  by  the  still  visible  ruins  of  the  ancient  city  of  Teotihuacan  of  a  thousand  years  earlier.    Its  network  of  streets  and  canals  teemed  with  canoes  that  transported  people  and  goods  within  the  city  and  across  the  lake  to  towns  on  the  shore,  to  which  it  was  linked  by  three  raised  causeways.    Two  aqueducts  supplied  fresh  water.    At  the  heart  of  Tenochtitlan  was  the  Sacred  Precinct,  the  religious  and  ceremonial  center  not  just  for  the  city,  but  of  the  empire   as   well.     The   temples   of   the   most   important   Aztec   gods   were   here.     There   was   also   a   ballcourt,   priests’  quarters,  and  schools  for  training  young  noblemen  for  the  priesthood.    Adjacent  to  the  Sacred  Precinct,  [large]  palaces  of   the  king  and  nobles   included  beautiful   gardens,  aviaries,   and   zoos.    Administration  buildings  were   there  as  well.    Commoners   lived  at  a  distance  and  were  organized   into  neighborhoods  called  calpulli,  with  their  own   local   temples  and  markets.    On  a  fateful  day  in  August  1521,  life  in  the  magnificent  urban  center  changed  forever.    Shortly  after  the  fall  of  Tenochtitlan,   the  Spaniards  [destroyed]  the  already  devastated  city  and  built   the  capital  of   the  Viceroyalty  of  New  Spain  on  its  ruins.    They  named  the  new  metropolis  Mexico  City,  which  today,  again,  is  one  of  the  most  populous  cities  in  the  world.                       From  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art