Who were the Aztecs?

The Aztecs were a group of Native Americans who ruled a large

empire in Central America- roughly where Mexico and Texas are
now. This empire was made up of many different tribes, who were
ruled by the Aztecs because the Aztecs had defeated them in
battle. The Aztecs did not control the people of their empire by
making them obey their government. Instead, they ruled through
the collection of tribute (taxes) of goods such as gold, silver,
crops, craft items, clothing and people. By the time the Spanish
made contact with the Aztecs in the early 1500s, 371 cities paid
tribute to the Aztecs. Any city that failed to pay the tribute every
six months was attacked. Source A shows a map of this empire
and Source D shows a tribute list detailing some of the things
tribes under Aztec rule had to pay in taxes.
The capital: Tenochtitln
The capital of the Aztec Empire was Tenochtitln, which was an
island. The Aztecs had first come there as a small, warlike tribe in
1325. As they defeated the surrounding tribes, the city grew from
two small islands in the middle of Lake Texcoco to the largest city
in the world by the time the Europeans discovered it. At least
90 000 people lived in Tenochtitln in 1500. London had around 40
000 people at that time.
Wide roads, each protected by a fort, were built across the lake
to reach the city. There was a large market in the city, since
Tenochtitln was the main trading centre of the empire. The city
was extremely well organised, with a sewerage system, aqueducts
for running water, a rubbish disposal system (waste was taken
from the city to be made into fertiliser) and even cleaners, who
were employed to keep the streets clean.

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When the Conquistadors (Spanish) arrived in the city they were

amazed by what they saw. In 1519, the city of Tenochtitln was
approximately six times bigger than the largest city in Spain. The
city had a postal system (couriers would carry items across the
city using their system of roads). The buildings were highly
decorated with paintings, wall hangings, gold finishes and timber
ceilings. They even had hot water systems, fragrance sprayers to
freshen the rooms and hot plates for food. The people who lived in
Tenochtitln wore beautiful gold, silver and jade jewellery. Men
wore fine woollen cloaks and leather, and the women skirts and
blouses. They had a varied diet that included turkey, seafood, fish,
chilli, tortillas, waffles and preserved fruits. They drank chocolatl
chocolatewhich they drank cold and smoked tobacco in pipes or
rolled into cigars.
The Aztecs also had a writing and calendar system.

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Who
were

the

Aztecs?

1. Explain in your own words, who the Aztecs were and then add
information about when and where they lived.
A. Who:____________________________________________________
B. When:___________________________________________________
C. Where:__________________________________________________

2.

How many cities were part of the Aztec Empire in the early 1500s?

What was the name of the capital of the Aztec Empire and where was
it located?
4
When did the Aztecs first come to their capital city?
5a List some of the quite surprising advances in technology the Aztecs used
in everyday life.

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5b. True or false? The Aztecs had cleaner, larger and better organised cities
than the Spanish conquistadors had at home in the 1500s. T/F (Copy it
out in your book and write true or false next to it)
6. Describe the way in which the Aztecs ruled the tribes in their empire.
7a. What was the population of Tenochtitlan in 1500?
8. Write a sentence to compare the population of Tenochtitlan in 1500 with
that of London.
9. What country did the Conquistadors (the first Europeans to see the
Aztecs) come from?
10. True or false? The Aztecs even had a postal system and a hot water
system.

T/F (Copy it out in your book and write true or false next to it).

11. Which do you think is the most likely explanation for the fact that
there was lots of gold and silver in Tenochtitlan? (copy one into your
book).
a. Because people under the vast influence of
Tenochtitlan had to pay tribute including precious goods to
the city, which meant that the capital had lots of gold.
b. Because the citizens of Tenochtitlan worked really
hard to mine gold and silver.

12. Which of the following is not a food of the Aztecs (circle

the odd one out).
Turkey, chocolatl (chocolate), tortillas, chilli, muffins,
waffles.

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13. Did the Aztecs have a writing or calendar system?

____________________________________________________________
14. One interesting thing I have learned about the Aztec so
far is.
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

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