The Aztec Culture
History Wise
Tatiana Terry
11/19/2012
The Aztec civilization began when the Native Americans first came from the northern
parts of Mexico to the Valley of Mexico in the 1200s. The Aztecs started establishing their
selves on small islands in Lake Texcoco. There are known for creating a city in Mexico City
now known as Tenochtitlan. The Aztec empire began in 1300 CE and ended 1500 CE. The
Aztecs had political and military control over Mexico1. The Aztecs are known for being
courageous warriors and practical builders. They founded an empire in the 15th century that was
second only to the Incas in Peru. The Aztec empire dominated Mesoamerica from Mexico and
Guatemala to the territories of Salvador and Honduras. The Aztec civilization was unique in that
their culture had strong religious beliefs that encompass all aspects of their society by religion,
citizenship, and origin of culture.
The Aztec culture had many different strong religious beliefs. The Aztecs were
polytheistic, which means they believed in many different gods. They also believed that the
gods needed to be fed with human body parts which mean they believed in human sacrifice.
They did not just sacrifice anybody they sacrificed the prisoners by cutting out their body parts.
They held religious ceremonies to worship their many gods. One of their many gods is
Tezcatlipoca can also be known as the “chief man”2. The Aztecs also had many different priests
and priestesses which were very important to the Aztec society. The priest acted as doctor and
taught science, art, writing, music, dance, history, counting, and many others they also knew
astronomy and astrology. The Aztecs had three dominate gods Huitzilopochtli, Tlaloc, and
Quetzalcoatl. Huitzilopochtli was the war and sun god. Taloc was known as the rain god, he was
around if there was ever a drought. The Aztecs would sacrifice babies because they thought that
1
"Aztec Civilization," Welcome to the Aztec Civilization (blog),, 2010, http://aztec.com/page.php?page=art.
2
"Aztec Civilization," Welcome to the Aztec Civilization (blog),, 2010, http://aztec.com/page.php?page=art.
the baby’s tears would bring rain. Quetzalcoatl was the god of learning and wind . His name
meant feathered snake. The Aztecs worshiped about 1000 gods.
The Aztec origin of culture also consists of many different types of art. The Aztecs were
stone-workers, scribes, potters and feather-workers. The stone-workers created sculptures made
out of green jade, black obsidian, and many transparent crystals to create objects of art3. Stoneworkers began building sculptures from a young age. The scribes and potters used to record
work with pictures which is known as hieroglyphics; they used vegetables, insects, shells, and
minerals to make colors and oil to make the bright finished writings. The feather workers used
feathers from various tropical birds, which were used to make headdresses and clothing. If
anyone wore the clothing made with these feathers they were known as noble and royal.
The Aztecs began to learning how to sing, dance, and play many different instruments between
the ages of 12 and 15. Their dances were used for different religious ceremonies they danced
and chanted for their gods. They played many different instruments like the instruments we use
today. Some of the instruments used were modern day trumpets, drums, flutes, whistles, and
rattles. An Aztec symphony was generally made of several types of rattles and different styles of
drums.
Clothing in the Aztec empire was an integral part of their society. All of their clothes
were spun by women and their clothes were made out of cotton and maguey fibers which are
cloth like fibers made from a maguey plant4. The nobility and the peasants’ wore different types
of clothing. The nobility wore cotton cloths while the peasants wore maguey fibers clothing.
The Aztec warriors wore different forms of armor like chest plates and shields to protect them in
3
Susan Milbrath, Decapitated Lunar Goddesses in Aztec Art, Myth, and Ritual, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 185-206
Debroah Nichols, PRODUCTION INTENSIFICATION AND REGIONAL SPECIALIZATION Maguey fibers and textiles in the Aztec citystate of Otumba, (Cambridge University Press, 2000), 267-299.
4
war. The way people in this culture dressed determined which social class they belonged to as
well as their occupations. The Aztec culture had four different social classes, nobles,
commoners, serfs, and slaves. The nobles were the highest class and that status was usually
inherited. The next class was the commoners and serfs they were equal in status. They were not
allowed to wear any nice clothing they also had to wear little to no jewelry. The slave class
could only wear feather skirts. Most slaves are people who committed crimes or very poor
people who sold themselves into slavery.
The Aztec main source of food was corn and it was referred to as maize. Their food also
included tomatoes, avocados, beans, peppers, and many more. The Aztecs also had food that
was reserved for the nobility which were cocoa beans and chocolate. They made Octli which
was an alcoholic drink that was used only by nobility, royalty and warriors. It was made from the
sap of the maguey plant5. The sap was placed in a large jug and allowed to rot for many years.
The Aztec were also fishermen, seafood supplemented their diet such a fish, turtles, and even
ducks.
The Aztecs participated in two major games known as Tlachtli and Patolli6. Tlachtli is
very similar to basketball. The court is in the shape of an “I”, but like basketball there are two
hoops on both sides. Unlike basketball they had to use their knees to make a basket not their
hands. Patolli was a form of gambling but instead of cards they used stones and beans.
There major contributions to the world were their sculptures and their games they played. They
also had a stone called jade which is still used today. Some of the Aztecs contributions can still
be found today like their different forms of jewelry.
5
6
"Aztec Civilization," Welcome to the Aztec Civilization (blog), , 2010, http://aztec.com/page.php?page=food-drinks.
Handbook to Life Aztec world, (New York: Manuel Aguilar-Moreno, 2006), 361.
Reference page
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Aztec Civilization ." Welcome to the Aztec Civilization (blog),
http://aztec.com/page.php?page=art (accessed October 28, 2012)
Bierhorst, John. "Aztecs." Aztecs (blog), August , 1999.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/globaltrek/destinations/popups/mexico_history.ht
m (accessed November 19, 2012).
Debroah Nichols, PRODUCTION INTENSIFICATION AND REGIONAL
SPECIALIZATION Maguey fibers and textiles in the Aztec city-state of Otumba,
(Cambridge University Press, 2000), 267-299.
Handbook to Life Aztec world. New York: Manuel Aguilar-Moreno, 2006.
Milbrath, Susan. Decapitated Lunar Goddesses in Aztec Art, Myth, and Ritual. New
York: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Sugiyama, Saburo . Human Sacrifice, Militarism, and Rulership : Materialization of State
Ideology at the Feathered Serpent Pyramid, Teotihuacan. New York: Cambridge
University Press, 2005.