The Aztecs

The ancient Aztec Architecture can still be seen today throughout Mexico. They mainly resided in Tenochtitlan, which is current day Mexico City, living there in the 1400\'s and the early 1500\'s. Almost all of the buildings were used for religious purposes. They built vast pyramid-like structures that were the holy centers that held alters, plazas, and palaces. On top of these structures were temples. Tenochtitlan was built on systems of islands and marshlands that created numerous canals, and served as a base for their large royal palaces and complex temples. They constructed their buildings using mainly the rectangle, these concepts shows design and contours that were simple. At the center of Tenochtitlan was a plaza that was paved with stone and was used ceremonially. This plaza housed several large government building. The most important part of the plaza though was the terraced pyramid topped with two stone temples that were dedicated to the most important Aztec gods, the rain god and the sun god. The temple contained a privet enclosure that was used by priests, and high-ranking military personal who used it for sacred games. Often these small enclosures contained even smaller pyramids where incense and sacrificial fires burned before large idols. These types of pyramids could be found throughout the city. Each family in the city had one home that was made up of two buildings. The main building was formed by walls made of adobe and a thatched roof. Inside the building there was a kitchen, were the meals were prepare, a sleeping area, a family shrine and discussion area. The building adjacent to the main home was a steam bath, which was used for therapeutic uses.
The Aztecs worshiped many different gods and goddesses, each of whom rules one or more of human activities or aspects of nature. They believed that the power of the gods should be recognized and be worshiped so that the gods would not punish them with catastrophes. That is why the temples were built so elaborately and had so many different religious purposes. They would have human sacrifices to appease the gods. They had eight main gods that were Centeotl, the corn god, Chalchiuhtlicue, the goddess of running water, Chantico, the goddess of hearth fires and volcanoes, Chicomecoatl, the goddess of corn and feretility, Cihuacaotyl, a goddess of war, Coatilue, the goddess of the serpent skirt, Ehecatl, the goddess of wind and Huehueteotl, the god of fires and the renewer of time.
The Aztecs had a basic type of government that was called the calpulli. Each city had their own calpulli, which is similar to our city councils. The calpulli ran the schools, had their own army and served as the justice system. They also had a warehouse for goods and military weapons and a temple. Within the individual calpulli they split the land among different families based upon their needs. Then families then used the land until they were done with it, keeping only the goods that were produced. The Tenochtitlan calpulli gradually became to act as a central government, as the government grew it began to take over and rule the entire city.
Bibliography:
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• www.mnsu.edu

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