Aztecs

The Aztec Empire was a great military power that dominated large parts of Mexico and Central America from the 14th to the 16th centuries.

Aztec civilization was hierarchical, with an emperor at the top, nobles and priests below him, and peasants and slaves at the bottom.

Local chiefs and peasants paid tributes to Aztec rulers.

Tenochtitlán, the capital of the empire, was larger than any contemporary city in Europe. It had elaborate towers and temples, wide street and large red brick houses covered with white stucco.

The structure and activities of the capital centered on ceremonial and religious matters, rather than commerce.

The Aztecs made beautiful tapestries and vivid, descriptive pictographs.

The men wore cloaks made of cotton, and the women wore robes that reached the ground.

Both women and men wore nose rings and face makeup made of colored oils. They used dye from the cochineal, a type of insect, to stain their teeth.

Typical Aztec dishes included corncakes, frogspawn and stewed ants in chili sauce. The Aztecs also drank chocolate.

They had no cash currency and traded goods using a barter system.

They Aztecs never invented the door or the wheel and had no horses or cattle.

Aztec Religion

The Aztecs worshipped many gods, including a rain god and a fire god.

The most formidable god was the sun god, Huitzilopochtli, who demanded that thousands of human beings be sacrificied to him every year.

In order to gain enough victims to satisfy the sun god's thirst for human sacrifice,  Aztec warriors constantly went on raiding parties.

Human sacrifices took place every day. Priests would tear out the victim's hearts while they were still beating. The skulls of the victims would be erected on walls near Huitzilopochtli's temple.