The Aztecs 1200 AD (CE) The Aztecs were a nomadic people. They were the underdogs made to leave any land they tried to settle on AD (CE) The Aztecs were a nomadic people. They were the underdogs made to leave any land they tried to settle on. Nomads Those that move from place to place to find the resources they need to stay alive. The Aztec would eventually rule central Mexico. (Where Mexico City is today.) 1345 They found a home in the middle of lake Texcoco and they built a magnificent capital city called Ten-o-chtit-lan They found a home in the middle of lake Texcoco and they built a magnificent capital city called Ten-o-chtit-lan. It was a great defensive position. The water around it became a natural boundary that helped to stop invasion. A natural boundary can be: Deserts Mountains Water Anything that can slow down an attacker. Of course, natural boundaries often keep people isolated and that means they dont learn from their neighbors and have lower tech societies. How did they build a city larger than Paris in the middle of a lake? They had raised bed gardens called Chinampas. They had a whole highway system of canals. How did they Build these Chinampas? They dredged (scraped ) the bottom of the lake and pulled up the muck. They piled it into mounds and reinforced the edges (made a strong border) with trees that had deep roots. They made wide roads in the lake that connected to the mainland called causeways. The causeways had drawbridges to let the traffic float by. What did they use as a foundation? (A foundation: construction below the ground that holds the load of a building.) They built it on rows of wood pilings reinforced (made stable) with stone. At the center of the complex was the plaza. It had temples and palaces (the places where rulers lived). (They were polytheistic.) They were very clean. They hauled all of the excrement (pee and poo) to the main land to dispose of it men swept the streets everyday. They wanted to bring in fresh water from the mainland by building aqueducts. 1425 The people in the valley around them did not want them to divert (change the direction of) the fresh water toward Tenochitlan The people in the valley around them did not want them to divert (change the direction of) the fresh water toward Tenochitlan. The Aztecs revolted and won. They turned from underdogs to over- lords and they began to Demand things from the city- states that lined the Valley of Mexico. The valley had a great climate (weather) so the people produced an abundance of crops. The forest that bordered the valley was filled with game (animals that you can hunt.) The Aztecs eventually had enough power to force the subject tribes to pay tribute. Tribute: A payment made by those who are under anothers authority. They pay tribute in exchange for security or protection. (They often give some of the stuff they produce instead of money.) The Valley had 60 tribal city-states that paid tribute. They didnt want to rule over the valley, they just wanted the people to give them stuff. AN OFFER YOU CAN'T REFUSE: A tribal city-state could pay tribute in the form of goods or services. OR It could pay with the hearts of its warriors first, and then pay tribute. The Aztecs believed that the gods were best nourished by the living hearts of captured warriors. The braver the captive, the more pleasing the sacrifice. Vocabulary: