WHO WERE THE

Aztecs?
Presenter: Lovely Joyce Ragucos
BSE-SST 3-1
 Aztecs
The Aztecs were considered a Mesoamerican Civilization.
Mesoamerica is the area of current-day Central America,
extending from Northern-Central Mexico, through the
Pacific Coasts of Costa Rica. Their capital, Tenochtitlán
( or Mexico-Tenochtitán ) was founded in 1325 CE, in the
Valley of Mexico, within the region that is Mexio City
today.
Mesoamerica
 The Aztecs excel as builders
The Aztecs borrowed ideas and skills from other peoples in Mesoamerica. Aztec
architecture had its roots in Teotihuacán. From the Olmecs' successors came the Aztec
calendar and writing system. The Aztecs' social system, their religion, and many of their
arts and crafts also came from earlier cultures in Mesoamerica.

As engineers and builders, however, the Aztecs had no equal in Mesoamerica. Broad
causeways linked the island city of Tenochti- tlán with the mainland. Aztec engineers built
aqueducts to carry fresh water from the main- land to the city and sewers to carry away
waste. Dams protected the city from floods, and irri- gation systems carried water to crops
during the dry season.
Tenochtitlan
Lake Texcoco
Chinampa
A trad e empire develops

Trade and tribute, not political

organization, held the Aztec stage
together.
 Ruler
and
Military Expansion

• Chief Priests and Soldiers elected the • It began in 1428 when they formed a
ruler. military alliance with two other tribes
known as the Triple Alliance.
• The Ruler had absolute power

• Aztec soldiers were armed with

swords, spears, and shields.
Human beings are sacrificed
• Their religion included the worship of many
gods and they built large stepped pyramids to the
most important ones.

• Their religious practices included human

sacrifice because the Aztec believed that their
gods needed human blood to maintain order in
the world.
Education is important in Aztec society
• Education gave the Aztecs the opportunity to
advance socially. All Aztec children were
required to go to school, where they learned
Aztec history and religion.

• Even greater opportunities existed in the

schools where young people were trained to be
priests.
 End of Aztec Empire
In 1519, a spanish force under the command of Hernan
Cortez encountered the Aztec Empire. The Aztec emperor at
the time, Montezuma II, invited them into Tenochtitlan.

However, Cortez formed his own

military alliances with local tribes and
attacked the Aztec capital city.

Hernan Cortez Montezuma II

 References:
The Aztec Empire in 2 minues. (2021, April 29). [Video]. Youtube.
Retrieved October 6, 2023, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2olRyI392rI

[Captivating History]. (2020, September 8). The Aztecs: All you need
to know [Video]. Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urFpctOmJZY
Thank you!