The Aztecs were a group of nomads who settled in central Mexico and built the capital city of Tenochtitlan. They developed a sophisticated society with strict laws, organized government, and religious practices that included human sacrifice. However, the powerful Aztec empire was no match for the Spanish invaders in the 16th century, who conquered the Aztecs and destroyed much of their civilization.

1. ALL ABOUT AZTECS Fourth Grade University School of Nashville Ms. Noel’s Wonderful Students

3. Aztec Law By Jamie Every city had its own laws. Courts and Judges had to be completely fair and never take bribes. Lying to the court was like lying to the gods. The penalty was death. Anyone could go to court but nobles got much harsher punishments because they should know better. It was death if a tax collector took too much money or if someone disobeyed in battle. The laws covered every aspect of Aztec life including the work people were allowed to do, the clothes they wore, and even what they ate. There was a pattern; the 1st time they did something bad their house was knocked down, the 2nd time they did something bad, it was death. Sometimes, instead of death, if they were lucky, they might get sent into slavery. You could also get sent into slavery if you could not pay your debts.

4. Government by Jenny LaChance The Aztec government was strong and well- organized. Europeans in the sixteenth-century commented about the Aztecs, “It’s astonishing to see order and government that is maintained everywhere!” In every Aztec government, there was always a Great Speaker. In the 1500’s, Montezuma was the most influential Great Speaker. All the other people paid tribute to him.

5. Health and Medicine By Metta Devine- Qin Aztecs used all kind of healing plants like Tobacco, Psilocybin mushrooms, Peyote, and Morning glories for medical reasons. Aztecs used the mind drugs and thought they could see if their patient made contact with the spirit world and learned what their illness was. Aztecs had very few medicines. They used faith healing. When you were an Aztec you would believe that the gods could cure you. Holy water was always stored in a temple ready to sprinkle on sick people and children. They also believed that their gods sometimes gave them diseases. They believed Amimitl caused cough and Tlaloc gave you ulcers. You might get them to cure you by giving them gifts and food. The gods might hear your prayers. They might speak to and your doctor in your dreams, or they might think it's time for you to die.

6. AZTEC HOUSING By: Maria Allen Some Aztecs were wealthier then others. They had better homes. Those homes were bigger, sturdier, and better. In every home a statue of Xuihtectuhtle was placed on the hearth. The Aztecs had little furniture, they slept on little mats in the corners. It was very hard for the Aztecs !!

8. What Is Hot and What Is Not By Madeline Soldiers, this is for you! You need to wear cotton as your uniform! These uniforms are tunics made of quilted cotton. When you`ve captured an enemy, you’re promoted to be a Jaguar knight, and you wear a Jaguar skin uniform. It looks cool even if it feels hot! If you’re an officer you wear a festive umbreila-like cover made of a thick material.

9. AZTEC JEWLRY By Caroline Zhao Ever wonder what jewelry you would wear if you were an Aztec noble? Well this might help. Noble women wore jade, shell, turquoise, and gold necklaces. Now Aztec necklaces made of gold, spirally or plain designed, are rare because the Spaniards either took them or burned them. Green stones were valued more than any other material in Mesoamerica. Some noble women wore coral necklaces. Both farmers and nobles wore shell necklaces. Warriors wore gold ornaments in their noses like nose rings.

10. SCHOOL By Elena Escalas Have you ever wondered what Aztec children did everyday? Well, nowadays, a child would go to school. So why couldn’t Aztec children do the same? Well, they could. So what exactly did the Aztec children learn? The Aztecs thought that writing was very important to learn. But instead of using letters and words, they used symbols. It was also very important that they learned how to behave. To make the children behave, the teachers punished them using harsh manners. One of the punishments was holding the child over a fire with burning chili peppers. The teachers were priests, who were also warriors. It is very interesting that the Aztec children did some of the same activities that we do today.

11. By Kennedy Turner Even gods play some cool games… The game that they play is called Tlachtli. Now all the games that we are going to talk about were played by the AZTECS!!! You have probably never hard of that. But if you think that is a crazy name, you my think of this as a crazy game. Imagine if you had to do what the Aztecs did. That would be a very crazy thing. Aztec games

12. The Gods By Robert Raulston. The Aztecs worshiped many different kinds of Gods. These are some of the most well known; Quetzalcoatl, the god of wisdom and of wind, and Xochipilli, the God of love, dance & dawn. Another God was Huehueteotl, the God of fire. And there was Tloque Nahuaque, lord of everywhere. Many times a day people were sacrificed to keep the Gods filled and satisfied. First, the priest of the God would cut out the victims heart and then they ate the victims arms and legs. After that, they put the victims skull on a skull rack and sometimes they used the victims skin as capes.

13. A z t e c T e m p l e s b y s a m s h a w Aztec temples were like pyramids in shape. Unlike pyramids, they were built one on top of the other. Each generation had their own. They were also decorated with carvings of snakes and other fierce animals. Temples also hosted sermons or sacrifice. Only the children of nobles could become the priests who worked in the temples.

14. AZTEC PRIESTS By Francesca Eluhu These were the people who did not wash their hair or take baths. These were the people who sacrificed others. These, oh so-special people were… The Priests!!! It was hard to be a priest. You had to kill the right type of people. What was the “right type of people?” The right type was the tough, healthy, good-looking ones. The worse part was that you had to sacrifice people you knew and loved. What if, at this very moment, you had to sacrifice one of your siblings? You would think more people would have been sorry for them. Priests had been the most powerful people for a while and probably would have stayed that way.

15. SACRIFICE By George Plummer Sacrifice was very gruesome, there was blood and gore everywhere! To be an Aztec sacrifice you had to have good hair, teeth, skin, and health; you had to be perfect. Sacrifices fasted for four days; now that’s harsh! Luckily we don’t make sacrifices nowadays!

16. AZTEC ARMY By Nicholas Grizzell The Aztecs aimed to conquer other cities and capture prisoners. The army assembled in units of 800 men. Adult men were expected to leave their homes. It was more honorable to be killed fighting, or to be sacrificed, than to survive. They felt it was shameful and wrong to try to escape their fate.

17. AZTEC WARRIORS By Joshua Huang Jaguar and eagle knights fought more fears than any warrior. The main items that they used were; a camana, which is a paddle spiked with obsidian, a spear spiked with obsidian, an ax, a bow and a shield. Obsidian was mainly used for putting on weapons to make them sharp! Eagle knights and jaguar knights were called this because they wore armor made of jaguar skin and eagle feathers. Their armor was made of animal skin because the Aztecs thought it would give the warrior the power of the animal. Each Aztec warrior fought very bravely in battle, but the jaguar knights and eagle knights were braver.