2. Aztecs
• Lake Texcoco in Central
Mexico
• Tenochtitlan (capital) on
a swampy island
• canals linking parts of
the city
• surrounded by
mountains (cool climate)
3. Aztec Architecture
• used grass and mud to
build houses
• built roads called
causeways
• built stone & brick
sculptures, palaces,
temples & government
storehouses
4. Aztec Language
• glyphs / pictograms
(pictures)
• codices (book with pages
made from tree bark)
7. Aztec Religious
Beliefs
• priests offered human
sacrifices to make their
crops grow and to save the
universe
• most gods represented
forces of nature (sun, corn,
water, fire, mother, etc)
corn
water
rainsun
8. Aztec Government
• emperor ruled (nobles and priests helped)
• Fierce warriors defended the empire and
conquered and forced others to work as their
slaves
• had to pay tribute (a kind of tax) to the
government in goods or services
• war and tribute gained territory & economic
power
9. Aztec Economic
Activities
• tribute to the government in goods
or services (jewelry, clothes, crops
or working on projects)
• manufacturing and trade
• mostly based on agriculture
Harvesting wheat
Aztec market
10. A strong system of laws governed the economic operations of
the Aztec Empire. The main sources of income for the empire were
tribute and taxation. The conquered regions paid tribute to the
emperor and the Aztec citizenry paid taxes (with the exception of
priests, nobles, minors, orphans, invalids, and beggars). Merchants
paid taxes on the goods that they sold, artisans paid taxes based on
the value of their services, and barrios paid taxes through the crops
that they produced. Failure to pay taxes was punishable through
slavery or the confiscation of property.
Tribute System
11. The city of Tenochtitlan at the height
of its glory and power
12. Aztec Downfall
In 1519, a Spanish conquistador or explorer named
Hernándo Cortés heard of the gold and great wealth of
the Aztecs. He sailed with about 500 soldiers, some
horses, and a few cannons to the area where they lived.
Along with 10,000 Indian allies, Cortés attacked the
Aztec capital. They took the last emperor, Montezuma,
prisoner and later killed him. In the summer of 1521, the
Aztecs were defeated.
