Aztec Webquest Assignment

Here are the pieces of information that I found, and I hope it helps.

Group Members

Anthropologist – Someone who studies the origins, physical and cultural development, behavior, biological characteristics, and social customs and beliefs of humankind.

Archeologist – Someone who studies historic or prehistoric people and their cultures. They do this by analyzing their artifacts, inscriptions, monuments, and other remains.

Economist – Someone who specializes in economics and studies economies. They also study the management of resources in a community.

Historian – Someone who studies the history of the world.

Linguist – Someone who studies languages and who can speak a few languages fluently.

Theologian – A person who studies God and God’s characteristics and relations to the universe. They also study the divine things or religious truth. This person mostly studies religious aspects and studies religious questions.

Research Notes

Step 1:
Where did the Aztecs originally live? What prompted them to relocate? Where did they end up and why? Chose an artifact, which you feel best, represents this event. Support your choice

The Aztecs originally lived in Atzlan, which is located somewhere in North West Mexico. The reason why they relocated is because the people around them thought that the Aztecs were too savage and nasty. The Aztecs finally ended up on an island in the middle of a swampy and shallow lake called Lake Texcoco. The Aztecs created chinampas, small islands used for farming, on the lake. According to legend, they ended up on this island because their leader, Tenoch, envisioned that Huitzilopochtli wanted him to take him people to a specific place. The place had to have an eagle resting on a cactus and eating a snake. The cactus had to also be growing from a rock or cave surrounded by water. In real life, it is unknown how the Aztecs got to where they were except, when they reached the Lake Texcoco area, their neighboring tribes were very strong and forced them to live on the island.

Step 2:
The Aztecs ended up in the middle of a lake and built their new capital Tenochtitlan. What were the pros and cons of settling in the middle of a lake? Describe the lay of the land and chose an image for your exhibit.

The Aztec’s land would probably have been a lake with one main island, with many chinampas (small manmade islands) around it. The chinampas would probably be fields used for farming. If you were there you’d probably also see much irrigation on all islands. On their main island, you’d find many beautiful and extravagant palaces and temples. Also, their city would be very structured, and would have canals to use as defense.

Pros:
1. The Aztecs could grow crops at all times of the year because they used irrigation.
2. They also built ‘floating gardens’ by loading soil into shallow parts of the lake and using trees to anchor the soil into place. By doing this they could use their actual land for other purposes and do farming on these manmade islands.
3. The Aztecs could move easily between the chinampas (floating gardents), since they could use canoes to travel.
4. Their canals could be used as defense systems.

Cons:
1. The Aztecs would always have to pile plants and mud from the lake to acquire more land to farm on. This would require manpower and waste time.
2. Their island was infested with snakes, probably making life harder since they could have been poisonous.

Step 3:
Which gods were worshiped? The pyramids were built for what purpose?

The Aztecs had numerous gods that they worshiped and their religion was extremely complex. The three main gods were Huitzilopochtli, Tezcatlipoca, and Quetzalcoatl. Huitzilopochtli was the “Hummingbird Wizard”. He was the chief god of the Tenochca, and he was the war and sun god. Tezcatlipoca was the “Smoking Mirror”, and was the chief god of the Aztecs in general. Finally, Quetzalcoatl was the “Sovereign Plumed Serpent”, and was worshiped everywhere in Mesoamerica. Quetzalcoatl was the god of civilization, priesthood, and learning. Below these superior gods, were four others who are known as the four creating gods. They are secluded and far from the human world. Below these four, there were infinitely more gods. Of these the most important were Tlaloc (rain god), Chalchihuitlicue (god of growth), and Xipe (god associated with spring).

In addition to having so many gods in their religion, the Aztecs also built many pyramids as temples. The pyramids were used for human sacrifices and more than 20,000 people would be lost each year to this fatal ritual. Aztec emperors thought that a unique temple should be built for sacrifices, and so began the construction of sacrificial temples. Different Aztec cities would compete for the grandest sacrificial temple. When trying to create a better temple, they would build over their old one instead of destroying it. Their temples would grow in size, extravagance, and beauty with each new layer. Furthermore, a larger sacrificial area would be created at the top. These temples were similar to Egyptian pyramids, but had a flat top instead of pointed.

The Aztecs also built shrines throughout their kingdom, and each had a specific purpose and location. These would be used to worship knights and the sun god. Also, some were built to perform offerings, and some were meant to honor specific gods.

Step 4:
Who are the different members of Aztec society? What are their roles? Choose an artifact that represents the social order of Aztec society.

The three main members of Aztec society were slaves, commoners, and nobility.

The first members were the slaves. Offspring of poor and broke families could be sold; however, freedom could be bought back by slaves. Another way for slaves to gain freedom was to flee from their master, and make it to the royal palace without being detected. Those who could accomplish this were granted freedom immediately.

Then there were the commoners. This was the largest social group and was known as macehualtin to the Aztecs. This group of people are usually involved in agriculture and trades. Those who were farmers worked in families, and were allowed to keep their harvest. However, the actual land was actually owned by all the people of the neighborhood, also known as calpulli. These commoners owned their area of land for their life; however, the lowest group of commoners weren’t allowed by law to own land. These people were allowed to use land, but not own it. The few least privileged people in this group are the peasants. They are similar to the serfs of Europe. The peasants are attached to the land and owned by the nobles.

Long distance traders would often be used to serve the government as ambassadors or spies. Additionally, the best artisans, physicians, and teachers were also shown much respect.

The final major group was the nobles who were nobles by birth, priests, and people who earned a high rank. The pipiltin were the small number of families who were the few highest in the Aztec social life. They were the in the highest position of the government, army, and the priesthood. These nobles would choose one person to be their ultimate leader and was called the tlatoani. This leader would be highly respected and would rule until he died.

In the Aztec society, the most respect was given to warriors, priests, and the nobles. Since the Aztecs were so engaged in warfare, the warrior class was highly appreciated. Also, warriors would volunteer themselves for the most crucial sacrifices.

Step 5:
The Aztecs have a spoken language. What was it called? Did they use any other forms of communication? Include an example of either written or visual language of the Aztecs.

The language of the Aztecs is called Nahuatl, and comes from a large group of Indian languages. Nahuatl is a variation of a larger language group called Uto-Aztecan. In some remote areas of Mexico that still have native cultures, variations of Nahuatl are still spoken.

In addition to the Aztec language Nahuatl, the Aztecs would also communicate by writing. They had two types of writing. One used visual pictures, and the other used letters called glyphs. Aztecs would use visual pictures sometimes and make it very complicated so that it told a whole story. Sometimes they would also use pictographs to symbolize ideas or represent the sound of a syllable. In the Aztec writing that used glyphs, glyphs were used to indicate phonetic sounds. Color was very important since some of their glyphs were very similar. Without color, it would be hard to tell what a glyph meant, and a mistake could be made.

Since Aztec writing and reading was a complicated skill, the majority of the population was unable to read or write. In schools, neither writing nor reading was taught since the common people had no reason to read or write.

Step 6:
How did the Aztecs grow food and what was their main crop? Did they trade and with whom? Did they have a currency (money)? Find an image for your exhibit about making a living Aztec style.

The Aztecs grew food by creating terraces. By doing this, their crops were kept unharmed by floods. The Aztecs also used a technique called the slash and burn method. They would first cut down an area of forest and then burn it to clear the land and enrich the soil. Finally, they made chinampas, manmade islands, to use for farming on the lake. They would weave huge reed mats, and cover them with mud and plants. The chinampas would be anchored to the lake bottom by plant roots. By doing these things, they grew many crops such as corn, chili peppers, tomatoes, squash, beans, and other foods. The Aztec’s main crop was corn.

The Aztecs did trade their items. They built canals so that people and goods could be moved with ease. Their goods were traded with fellow cities in the Aztec Empire.

The Aztecs did have a form of money. They used cacao beans as their money.

Step 7:
Discuss the Impact of Spanish Contact 1519 from both the Aztec point of view and the Spanish point of view. Find an image depicting this event.

When the Spaniards first found the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, they were amazed and stunned by the beauty and elegance of the city. When they reached the city and first met the Aztecs, they were greeted warmly with many gifts. The reason for this is Cortes had arrived on the exact day that the Aztecs had predicted their god, Quetzalcoatl, would return and take back his control over the Aztecs. The Aztecs even let Cortes set up his headquarters in one of their unused buildings. After a while though, Moctezuma, the Aztec emperor, began to question the fact that Cortes was a god because of his ungodly behavior. Moctezuma then tried to get rid of Cortes and his men by giving them much gold and jewels. However, instead of leaving, Cortes became greedy and took Moctezuma hostage, and asked for a ransom of more gold and jewels. After this, Cortes had to go to the shore again to defeat an army sent by Diego Velásquez, the Spanish Governor, since Cortes had disobeyed orders. While he was out of the city, his men had killed a group of unarmed Aztec men during a religious ceremony. This caused an Aztec uprise. To try to stop of the uprise, Cortes showed the Aztecs their emperor, but he got hit with a stone on the head and died three days later. Cortes was then forced to retreat, but he lost many men. After Cortes had gotten his men back together, he rounded up the enemies of the Aztecs to help him conquer the Aztecs. When they went back to defeat the Aztecs, they blocked off the city to stop them from getting food and water. The Aztecs had also gotten the outside disease of smallpox. Because of this, the Aztecs were greatly weakened, and Cortes and his army broke into the city. He destroyed all of their buildings, and added churches to spread the Christian influence. Today, Mexico City is built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan.

Step 8:
Discuss La Malinche or Dona Marina. Debate her positive/negative impact on Mexico past and present. What does the term Mestizo refer to? What influences remain today from Aztec culture of the past?

La Malinche, as she’s known to the Aztecs, or Dona Marina, as she’s called by the Europeans, was a translater. She would convert Nahuatl into Mayan, and then Jeronimo de Aguilar would convert Mayan into Spanish for Cortes. This also worked vice versa. Many Mexicans consider this woman as a traitor, even though she has helped Mexico in some ways.

Some of her positive influences on Mexica is that she saved thousands of lives by making it possible for Cortes to negotiate instead of kill. She also helped the Spaniards introduce Christianity to Mexico, and try to stop human sacrifices and cannibalism. Furthermore, she played an important role in avoiding bloodshed and creating one of the societies in Latin America.

The negative impact was that Dona Marina helped Cortes negotiate with the Tlascalans, creating a union of the two. This gave the Spaniards thousands of Indian warriors to help them fight, helping overcome the Aztecs. Also, Dona Marina’s translations helped the Spaniards create their campaign.

The term Mestizo refers to a person of mixed Latin American and European ancestry. Europeans were usually Spanish or Portuguese.

Social Studies H |