Aztec Warriors

Aztec Warriors

The Aztec culture dominated the Valley of Mexico during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries . They were divided into two separate groups , the Tenochcas , or craftsman , and the Chichimec , or wild people

The two groups became bitter rivals after the Tenochcas sacrificed the daughter of a Chichimec king . The Chichimecs , in turn , drove the Tenochcas from the mainland to the island . The Tenochcas taught the islanders urban culture and architecture and began to build the city of Tenochtitlan

The Aztecs had two social classes : At the bottom were the

macehualles , or "commoners " and at the top the pilli , or nobility These were not clearly differentiated by birth , for one could rise into the pilli by virtue of great skill and bravery in war (Hooker

It was also a male dominated society with women as inferior to men Women were expected to behave with high moral standards and chastity They could not hold government or religious offices and were not usually educated "Within commoner families women contributed to services and tribute payments by grinding maize , preparing tortillas , spinning , and weaving (Prem 36

The males , on the other hand , were sent to school from the age of 15 and taught the history and religion of the Aztecs , the art of war and fighting , the trade or craft specific to his calpulli , and the religious and civic duties of everyday citizenship . The children of nobility also attended another school , a school of nobility or calmecac , if he was a member of one of the top six calpulli . There the child learned the religious duties of priests and its secret knowledge for the distinction between government and religious duties was practically non-existent (Hooker

The Aztecs built up their war skills and became fierce warriors . There was great ferment in the Valley , a coming and going of peoples , the establishment of small city-states which vied with one another for political supremacy even while absorbing one another 's culture . Eventually the Aztecs , or Tenochca of Tenochtitlan , proved the best warriors , and were able to dominate not only the Valley but all of Central Mexico from coast to coast . HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d (Vaillant 19

Although the lakes of Mexico had five names , they were actually a continuous body of water . Since there was no outlet , the water was mostly saline except in the southern parts (lakes Chako and Xochimilco which received fresh streams of water from the snow-topped volcanoes The system of dikes and causeways was later developed by the Aztec so as to control the salinity of the lakes . HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d (Von Hagen 39

Aztecs had a homogeneous culture . Aztec , tribe was developed from family animal diet was supplemented by crude agriculture--plots of ground were burned and seeds inserted in holes made by a fire-hardened stick . Agriculture revolved around corn as the staple , and society was then , as it has remained ever since , machineless . There were no draft animals the...