• Origins:
Chicomoztoc – a seven-lobed cave in
Aztlán. From this emerged the ancestors of the
Various Aztec ruling lineages.
• Aztec – someone from Aztlán

Included among the Aztec peoples found in the Basin of Mexico:
Mexica, Chalca, Alcohua, Tepaneca
Some scholars place the beginning of the
Aztec migrations in the 11 th century.
Mexica accounts have them settling in Tula,
E.M. Moctezuma speculates that they might have contributed to its destruction.
Refugee Toltecs established several communities in the basin, the most prestigious was the Culhuacán.

• Under Ténoch the Mexica arrive at the
Basin and settle at Chapultepec. Copil, a leader of a rival Mexica group betrays them and they have to leave.
• They move to Cuicuilco and become vassals of the Culhuacan.
• They sacrifice the Culhua chief’s daughter.
• They go to work for the Tepanecs of
Azcapotzalco, and found Tenochtitlan in
1325 AD.

• 1390 AD first version of the Templo Mayor is erected.
• 1395 Tepanecs and Mexica defeat the
Otomí.
• 1428 Tepanec War breaks out between the
Mexica and Tepanecs of Azcapotzalco. The birth of the “Triple Alliance” of
Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan follows the defeat of Azcapotzalco.
• 1440 Motecuzoma I becomes the Tenochca huetlatoani and begins wars of conquest outside of the basin.

The Growth and Structure of the Mexica State
Azcapotzalco
Texcoco
Tlacopan
Texcoco
Tenochtitlan
Xochimilco

Blue = Tlaloc
Red =
Huizilopotchli

Mexica Cosmology:
The founding of
Tenochtitlan
From the Codex
Mendoza
Cactus sprouts from the heart of Copil
Cemanahuac: land surrounded by water

• The Mexica cosmos from the
Codex
Frejérváry-
Meyer
Xiuhtecuhtli, the fire god is in the center,
Tezcatlipoca’s body has been cut up into pieces, each tree is flanked by the 9 lords of the night.
East is at the top.

Aztec World:
Turquoise world above (13 levels),
Obsidian world below
(9 levels)
Ometéotl the creator god dwells in the uppermost level, in
Omeyocan, the space of duality

• Tezcatlipoca was originally a title of Ometéotl; his male half was Tonacatecuhtli, and his female half
Tonacacihuatl. Coatlicue/Toci, Xiuhtecuhtli and
Huehuetéotl are other avatars.
• He gave birth to four sons, personifying earth, air, fire and water. The red Tezcatlipoca with east, the black Tezcatlipoca with the night and north, the region of the dead. Quetzelcóatl with the night and wind, was in the West and his color was white, the blue Tezcatlipoca was Huizilopochtli and South.
• The underworld was Mictlan, ruled over by
Mictlantecuhtli and Mictecacíhuatl.

• Quetzalcoatl and the three Tezcatlipocas were creator gods.
• According to one myth, Quetzalcoatl and
Tezcatlipoca dismember Tlateotl (aka
Tlaltecuhtli), the earth goddess, creating the earth and the moon. The gods are angered by this, and arrange that Tlateotl provides necessary food to humans, but they must sacrifice hearts and blood in return. A huge image of this goddess was found in Mexico City in 2007.
• The ascendancy of Huizilopochtli marks the age of the “fifth sun.”

The Birth of Huizilopochtil
• Coyolxauhqui hears of the pregnancy of
Coatlicue and attacks her with her 400 brothers and sisters. Huizilopochtli emerges from his mother Coatlicue (the mother of the gods) fully armed and slays his sister Coyolxauhqui and his other siblings.
• This is held to symbolize and explain the triumph of the sun (Huizilopochtli) over the moon
(Coyolxauhqui) and the night stars.
• All of this transpired on a mountain
Coatepec
“Serpent Mountain.” This was the name of half of the Templo Mayor, and thus the myth serves as the rationale for Mexica sacrificial practices.

Coatlicue Cihuateotl – A goddess of
Childbirth

A Cihuateotl Chalchihuitlicue
Goddess of Water

Ehecatl Xochipilli – Prince of Flowers
Dances, Games, Love

Provides rationale for sacrificing women by decapitation
Coyolxauhqui – found in 1978

Standard bearers from version IV

Tonacatepetl
Mountain of
Sustenance
Coatepec
Serpent Mountain

Aztec Conceptions of the Soul
• Soul of the head – tonalli, provides warmth, vigor, valor
• Soul of the liver – ihiyotl , provides passion and feeling
• Soul of the heart – teyolia
“he who animates + life” provides vitality, thought, fondness, and rationality. It was a divinely bestowed force that could be magnified by great deeds, or diminshed by transgressions.
• teo(tl
– power/vital force like mana. A common root for religious words.

The heart offered to the sun for nourishment

The victim’s heads increased the tonalli of the city.

Offerings associated with
Huitzilopochtli
A mask of the god of death
Mictlantecuhtli
Excavations revealed over
100 offerings
A skull mask with inset sacrificial knives

tecpatl

Offerings associated with
Tlaloc

•
Ixiptla in teteo
“deity impersonators”

Hue Tlatoani
“Great Speaker”
The emperor was elected by the Pipiltin
The Cihuacoatl
“female snake” managed the internal affairs of the state.
Pochteca functioned as traders and spies.

Mexica Political
Economy
• Tribute list from the Codex
Mendoza.
• The pochteca lived in
Tlatelolco, the location of the marketplace
(taken over in
1473 AD).

• Motecuzóma II misjudged the threat posed by Cortés.
• Mexica were hated by neighbors and subjects.
• Mexica were not particularly good fighters and employed little strategy.
• Mexica fighting norms and weapons were geared towards taking captives alive.
• Cortés was brilliant.