2. Aztec Gods Acolnahuacatl, or Acolmiztli - a god of the underworld. Amimitl - god of lakes and fishers. Atlacamani - goddess of oceanic storms such as hurricanes. Atlacoya - goddess of drought. Atlatonan (also Atlatonin) - goddess of the coast. Atlaua - water god. Ayauhteotl - goddess of mist, fog, vanity and fame. Camaxtli - god of hunting, war, fate and fire. Chalchiuhtlatonal - god of water. And there still more gods this is just and example of how many gods they had they had gods for almost everything.
3. .The Aztec Culture. the Aztecs implemented yet another method of crop cultivation. They built what are called chinampas. Chinampas are areas of raised land, created from alternating layers of mud from the bottom of the lake, and plant matter/other vegetation. These “raised beds” were separated by narrow canals, which allowed farmers to move between them by canoe. The chinampas were extremely fertile pieces of land, and yielded, on average, seven crops annually. In order to plant on them, farmers first created “seedbeds,” or reed rafts, where they planted seeds and allowed them to germinate. Once they had, they were re-planted in the chinampas. The Aztec empire was a tribute empire based in Tenochtitlan, which extended its power throughout Mesoamericain the late postclassic period. It originated in 1427 as a Triple alliance between the city-states Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan who allied to defeat the Tepanec state of Azcapotzalco, that had previously dominated the Basin of Mexico. Soon Texcoco and Tlacopan became junior partners in the alliance which was de-facto lead by the Mexica of Tenochtitlan. The empire extended its power by a combination of trade and military conquest.
4. Sacrifice In the Aztec "Legend of the Five Suns", all the gods sacrificed themselves so that mankind could live. The sacrifice of animals was common, a practice for which the Aztecs bred dogs, eagles, jaguars and deer. Objects also were sacrificed by being broken and offered to the gods. When the Aztecs sacrificed people to Huitzilopochtli the victim would be placed on a sacrificial stone. Then the priest would cut through the abdomen with an obsidian or flint blade. The heart would be torn out still beating and held towards the sky in honor to the Sun-God; the body would be carried away and either cremated or given to the warrior responsible for the capture of the victim. He would either cut the body in pieces and send them to important people as an offering, or use the pieces for ritual cannibalism. The warrior would thus ascend one step in the hierarchy of the Aztec social classes, a system that rewarded successful warriors.
5. Aztec calendar The calendar consisted of a 365-day calendar cycle called xiuhpohualli(year count) and a 260-day ritual cycle called tonalpohualli (day count). These two cycles together formed a 52-year "century," sometimes called the "calendar round". The tonalpohualli ("day count") consists of a cycle of 260 days, each day signified by a combination of a number from one to thirteen, and one of the twenty day signs. With each new day, both the number and day sign would be incremented: 1 Crocodile is followed by 2 Wind, 3 House, 4 Lizard, and so forth up to 13 Reed, after which the cycle of numbers would restart (though the twenty day signs had not yet been exhausted) giving 1 Jaguar. The cycle of day signs would continue until 7 Flower, after which it would restart and give 8 Crocodile. It would take a full 260 days (13×20) for the two cycles of twenty day signs and thirteen numbers to realign and repeat the combination 1 Crocodile.
6. Aztec Architecture The capital city of the Aztec empire was Tenochtitlan, now the site of modern-day Mexico City. Built on a series of islets in Lake Texcoco, the city plan was based on a symmetrical layout that was divided into four city sections called campans. The city was interlaced with canals which were useful for transportation. Tenochtitlan was built according to a fixed plan and centered on the ritual precinct, where the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan rose 50 m (164.04 ft) above the city. Houses were made of wood and loam, roofs were made of reed, although pyramids, temples and palaces were generally made of stone.
