The Aztecs

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The Aztecs
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Where and When

• Late 1200s A.D.
• Valley of Mexico

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Temples, Palaces, Religious Beliefs

• Polytheistic over 1,000 gods
• Pyramid temple where priests performed rituals to
  please gods
• Human sacrifices for the sun to rise (believed in
  forces of darkness)
• Chief god-Huitzilopochtli-Sun god- made the sun
  rise every day. When the sun set, he had to
  battle the forces of evil to get to the next day.
  To make sure he was strong enough, he needed the
  nourishment of human blood.

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Social Classes and Government

• Single Ruler chosen by council of nobles and
  priests
• Nobles-Officials, judges, governors of provinces
• Warriors-could rise to nobility if they killed
  enough enemies
• Farmers-most people
• Slaves-Criminals/prisoners of War

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Learning Advancements, Achievements

• Built Chinampas floating gardens corn, squash,
  and beans
• Used herbs and meds, set bones, practiced
  dentistry
• Priests kept knowledge
• Recorded laws and history, ran schools
• Accurate calendar

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Aztec Calendar
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Main Cities and Features

• Largest city-Tenochtitlan -200,000-400,000 people
  actually an island and engineers built raised
  roads to connect to the mainland.
• Wealth through trade
• Temples, palaces, zoos
• Floating Gardens-chinampas

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Decline

• 1519-Cortes (Spain) landed on the coast
• Friendly relations turned violent
• Montezuma was killed
• 1521 the city was destroyed
• Guns, germs, horses and steel

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