10.5: The Aztec

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While the Itza were one of the last unconquered native civilizations in the New World, another post-classic kingdom drew the most attention from Mexico’s Spanish conquerors: the Aztec.

Originally founded by the Nahuatl-speaking nomadic group called the Mexica, Tenochtitlán would become the magnificent capital of the Aztec. The city was composed of a network of dozens of smaller city-states who used the lake environment to plant wetland gardens and used raised causeways to move around the city. Some fields were raised, which drained them and helped support a population that totaled around 300,000 people (including the population of the neighboring city of Texcoco). Eventually, a larger network of canals was created that drained fields, fed crops, and provided for navigation with canoes. Not only were these raised fields a source of multiple crops, but also the lake provided wildfowl, salamanders, and algae.

Screenshot (932).png — Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Map of Tenochtitlán and Gulf of Mexico | Drawn by member of Hernán Cortés expedition, 1524. Author: User “Lupo” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: Public Domain

However, as the population grew to over a million, other means of support were needed, so the people looked to outside tribute. Beginning in 1428, the Mexica sought independence from their Tepanec patrons and allied with other outlying towns to form the Triple Alliance. The unified Aztec people were led by the Mexica ruler Itzcoatl and his advisors. In making an alliance with Texcoco, the Aztec were able to build a causeway between the cities and help improve the infrastructure of Tenochtitlán. Then, they began construction on the Great Temple, a central market, and a larger network of gardens or chinampas. The Great Temple would become the orienting point for the entire city and the site of thousands of human sacrifices.

Screenshot (933).png — Map \(\PageIndex{1}\): **Mesoamerican** **Historical Sites** Author: User “P Miles” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0

The Aztec are perhaps best known for practicing human sacrifice. It's important to note that these sacrifices were not conducted in a wanton or random manner. First of all, for the new Aztecs, there was little tradition for community building to draw upon. Their rise to power had been quick and dramatic. Furthermore, they possessed a view that even though they had achieved greatness, decline was inevitable. Based on this belief system, ritual victims would be freed from the burdens of the uncertain human condition and become carefree hummingbirds or butterflies.

For the Aztec, ritual provided a kind of protection against excess. There was order in it, even if it was violent. Men had no independent power, and gods were very abstract in giving out gifts. Finally, in the Mexica worldview, the earth receives rather than gives, much as it does in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Through fertility and death, humans satisfy that hunger. The process of birth and death is the transition from one form of flesh to another. All man can do is order his portion of this natural cycle.