The Aztec were apart of the Mesoamerican region and were close to the Mayans and the Incas. The Aztec were a wandering tribe before they settled in the valley of Mexico, were they founded Tenochtitlan. Tenochtitlan grew in size and importance before officially becoming the capital of the Aztec empire. The Aztec people were short and stocky with broad faces and caramel skin.
By the time the Aztec settled their social structure became more complex as they built their empire. No one was aloud to disobey the word of the Aztec emperor also known as Huey Tlatoani. An emperor could be dismissed at anytime and replaced by a respected noble. Technically there were only two social classes which were the commoners and the nobles. Besides those two main classes there were many different positions known as sub-classes. Positions in the these sub-classes included artist, merchants, and sometimes scribes were put in this class too. Nobles were more of the upper-class and those included the wise men, government officials and priest's. Commoners were the low class and these were usually farmers and slaves that worked in fields. The Aztec social structure was complex even though there was only three classes, because so many different people could fit in one class.
Aztec government was unlike any other government in its time. Aztec government was more of a system of tribute because when Aztec conquered a city, that city paid respect to the empire. When cities paid respect to the empire the city seemed to have a better economic welfare. In addition to paying respect to the Aztec king people had to pay the government with money. Because of this, the Aztec empire became very rich and powerful. Usually only the upper-class suffered from paying the government, but soon even the commoners were forced to pay large amounts of money to the Aztec empire. Aztec government was a unique and powerful government, it was well respected and wealthy.
The Aztec civilization also needed to keep records. Aztec culture had a picture writing system and kept details of their history. These detailed pictures were called glyphs and they were usually colored. The colors in a glyph could represent an emotion or a person's rank in Aztec. Usually most writing was done by the scribes in Aztec. Scribes were usually in the upper-class but could be commoners who worked for a noble. Aztec scribes kept records of history, religion, daily events, and ceremonies. Aztec writing that archaeologist find today is very important because without it we would have trouble learning about the Aztec civilization today.
Religion touched almost every part of life in Aztec. One of the most important points in their religion were sacred buildings and temples that were dedicated to gods. The Aztecs most worshipped god was the sun. They believed they lived in the era of the fifth sun and that the world would end violently one day. So in order to postpone the destruction the Aztec people made human sacrifices. The people who were sacrificed were to feed gods such as the sun to keep them alive. Aztec religion was very important to them and affected their everyday life.
Technology was also important in Aztec. Aztec technology was very advance and is still looked upon today. Some of the Aztecs accomplishments have been, the development of math, the Aztec calender, and their dugout canoes in which they used to travel through Mexico with. Aztec did not have much to make their tools or weapons with. They did not have any iron or bronze so they were forced to find an alternative metal. Aztec experimented for a while and finally found that they could use stone and copper to make their weapons. Aztec people also had advances in medicine, some medicine we use today can be traced back to what the Aztec people used back then. Aztec had some of the most advance technology during their time ranging from their weapons, to their medicine. Even their calender was more complex than the cultures in that time.
Artist in Aztec society were ranked below the merchants. Artists that were sculptors in Aztec made many different carvings from stone. Many sculptors worked for senior nobles and made giant carvings whenever told to do so. Artists made created sculptures and paintings on religious subjects. This type of artwork was hung up in palaces, shrines , temples etc. Craftsmen in Aztec made things such as pots, jars, tools, rope and clothes that were used in everyday life. Most artist were sculptors and painters but there were others such as carpenters and potters. Most art was just for show but there was some that was important for everyday life.
People in Aztec ate simply. Maize was there most central food and sometimes had squash,beans or vegetables on the side. Maize is corn and is served with almost every meal, it could be stuffed with vegetables and meat. Aztec people also caught and ate wild birds and insects. Aztec nobles had a much better diet than common Aztec people. There once was a very important noble whose cooks made over 300 meals a day which he got to choose from. Food in Aztec was very simple for most but if you were a noble you could have the best food in the country.
Aztec was a strong and respected civilization. It was one step ahead of the other civilizations during its time and is still looked upon today as a great empire. Every characteristic that made up Aztec was well built and that is why it was such a strong civilization.
