Aztecs

By Frances F. Berdan

Aztecs (generally referring to the Nahuatl-speaking peoples of the Basin of Mexico), Mexica, Tenochca (referring specifically to the Aztec people of the city-state of Tenochtitlan), Culhua-Mexica (Tenochtitlan peoples, but emphasizing their political links to the prestigious Culhua)

The Mexica were the last of several groups of nomadic and semi-nomadic hunters and gatherers (Chichimeca) who migrated fairly steadily from northern Mexican deserts into the more fertile valleys of central Mexico. Settling among long-established agricultural peoples, the Mexica adopted many of their cultural features, overtly linking themselves to prior civilizations (especially Teotihuacan and Tula) and the legitimacies attached to those revered ancestors. However, like their migrating predecessors, the Mexica also retained many characteristics of their Chichimec lifestyle (such as warrior skills, special deities, and honored titles) after establishing themselves in the Basin of Mexico. The Mexica were only one identifiable ethnic group in the region; there was considerable ethnic diversity within the Basin during the last two hundred years prior to the Spanish arrival. The Mexica capital city of Tenochtitlan was located on a small island in a large lake that dominated the Basin of Mexico, at an altitude of approximately 2,240 meters. The Basin of Mexico and adjacent valleys constitute the "Central Mexican Symbiotic Region," noted for its ecological and resource diversity. Tenochtitlan and several of its neighboring cities now are completely overlain by a sprawling Mexico City. In 1428 the Mexica joined with two other powerful city-states in the Basin of Mexico (the Acolhua of Texcoco and the Tepaneca of Tlacopan) to form an imperial Triple Alliance. This tripartite union conquered other city-states in the Basin of Mexico and then subjugated peoples throughout present-day Mexico by expanding slightly north, east to the Gulf Coast, west to the borderlands of the powerful Tarascans, and as far south as the Guatemala border. This Aztec Empire constituted the greatest empire in Mesoamerican prehistory, both territorially and demographically. It encompassed a wide range of environments, from highland basins to temperate valleys, coastal plains, and verdant lowland forests.

At the height of Aztec power (ca. AD 1500), Tenochtitlan boasted between 200,000 and 250,000 inhabitants. Its size was unusual, as the next largest city (Texcoco) is estimated at 25,000 people, and the typical city in central Mexico contained only around 5,000 residents. Cities were central settlements of city-states that included their surrounding territories. In all, there were probably somewhat over one million people living in the Basin of Mexico in the early 1500s, with another two to three million Aztecs throughout the valleys of central Mexico. This large population size was recent in Mesoamerican prehistory, an enormous demographic surge occurring in central Mexico between AD 1200 and 1500. All of these figures are estimates based on archaeological surveys and colonial census records.

The Aztecs spoke Nahuatl, a language of the Uto-Aztec linguistic family. Nahuatl literally means "articulate" or "clear." Eloquent and careful speech was a valued attribute of high-ranking, influential Aztecs. The Aztecs conquered peoples of many different language affiliations throughout central and southern Mexico. They did not impose Nahuatl on their conquered subjects, but rulers and nobles of many subdued city-states became bilingual with Nahuatl, apparently finding it a useful political strategy. Nahuatl also spread to outlying regions through the permanent or sporadic presence of Aztec settlers, administrators, military garrisons, and professional merchants.

The Mexica and their neighbors developed the last of a series of great civilizations in Mesoamerica that included the Olmec, Classic Maya, Teotihuacan, and Toltec. Mexica history is shrouded in myth and conflicting histories, but all generally agree that they originated sometime in the early twelfth century at an unidentified locale called Aztlan ("Place of Herons"), later stopping at Chicomoztoc ("Seven Caves") with other similar peoples. They were the last of these several nomadic hunting/gathering groups migrating from northern deserts into the more fertile regions of central Mexico. The Mexica arrived in the Basin of Mexico around AD 1250. They encountered numerous well-established sedentary communities, and bounced from one to another in search of a friendly affiliation or a homeland. They found neither until forging a marriage alliance with the prestigious city-state of Culhuacan, in the southeastern Basin of Mexico. However, serious misunderstandings forced the Mexica to flee from the people of Culhuacan onto a small island in the lake. The year was 1325 and they named their new homeland Tenochtitlan. From 1325–1428, the Mexica built their city, gained lands and wealth as rewards for mercenary services, established marital alliances carrying political legitimacy, and grew rapidly in size and wealth. In 1428 they conquered the most powerful city-state in the Basin of Mexico (Azcapotzalco), forged alliances with neighboring city-states of Texcoco and Tlacopan, and created the immense military and political empire that is known as the Aztec Empire. During this time they vanquished their Tlatelolco neighbors who shared their small island. Tlatelolco became the site of the empire’s greatest market and a major merchant center. Tenochtitlan is therefore sometimes designated as Tenochtitlan-Tlatelolco. The Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlan-Tlatelolco in August of 1521 summarily ended the empire’s dominion. Central Mexico (indeed, the entire imperial territory) exhibited ethnic and linguistic diversity, although group identity depended more on city-state affiliation and class than on ethnicity.

The basic settlement in Aztec Mexico was the altepetl, or city-state. It is estimated that there were approximately fifty city-states in the Basin of Mexico alone in the early 1500s. The cities that served as the focal points of city-states had formally planned cores, with temples, plazas, platforms, altars, ballcourts and palaces. Excavations at the ceremonial precinct of Tenochtitlan have revealed more than thirty structures and over 136 buried offerings containing thousands of artifacts. This central district was walled, an unusual feature in Aztec city-states. In general, the surrounding urban and rural residential districts (often grouped into calpolli, or “barrios”) were more casually laid out, often conforming to the lay of the land. Tenochtitlan was again atypical: its residential districts expanded outward on a vast lakebed by building up rectangular plots of land (ultimately with the farmers’ houses) in regular patterns. Dispersed settlements were especially common in areas of terraced cultivation. Residences were clearly differentiated according to status. High-ranking individuals lived in large, elevated palaces constructed of plaster-covered stone. Palaces varied considerably in size and elegance, but all had multiple rooms built around patios, and some had walls painted in plain red or polychrome murals. Commoners lived in humbler dwellings, usually built of wood or of unadorned stone and adobe. These were single-room dwellings or groupings of small rooms around a courtyard. Additional settlements were developed throughout the Aztec domain, such as fortresses in tense frontier areas and shrines on sacred hilltops. Exquisite palaces and pleasure gardens were also built for powerful rulers beyond their city-state boundaries.

The Aztec diet was based on agricultural production of maize, beans, squashes, chiles, and a variety of other vegetables. It was supplemented with domesticated turkeys and dogs, as well as game (especially rabbits and deer), birds, fish and other aquatic resources, and insects and their larvae. For beverages, atolli (a maize gruel) was a common daily drink, cacao was theoretically restricted to nobles and imported from lowlands to highlands, and the intoxicating octli or pulque was fermented from the juices of mature maguey plants. Agriculture produced large surpluses and highly intensive techniques were used. These included terracing on hillsides, canal irrigation on flatlands, and the construction of plots of land in shallow lakebeds. This last technique resulted in chinampas that produced up to seven crops a year, even in the central highlands. By the time of the Spanish conquest, large tracts of land were cultivated as chinampas in the vast lake system that dominated the Basin of Mexico.

Lively markets were found in every major city-state capital throughout the Aztec domain. The largest marketplace was at Tlatelolco, sister-city of Tenochtitlan. As many as 25,000 buyers and sellers attended that market daily, and up to 50,000 were present at the big market every fifth day. Apparently, anyone could buy and sell in the markets: vendors ranging from wealthy professional merchants to regional traders to individual householders with small surpluses for sale. An impressively wide array of goods was available at the Tlatelolco market, ranging from staple foodstuffs to utilitarian ceramics, "fast food," tropical feathers, precious jewels, and slaves. More limited offerings were available at smaller markets. Some markets were known for their specializations, such as dogs at Acolman, slaves at Azcapotzalco, and cloth, ceramics and fine gourds at Texcoco. Marketplaces were well organized; goods were arranged by type around the open plaza, and judges oversaw fair exchanges in at least the largest venues. Barter was the most common means of exchange. Nonetheless, some objects—especially cacao beans and large white cotton cloaks—served as widely accepted means of exchange. Cacao beans were even counterfeited.

The Aztecs produced enormous quantities of cloth from cotton and maguey fibers. Thread waw spun on hand spindles, and woven into cloth on backstrap looms. All women, of whatever status, learned to spin and weave, and this was a major activity throughout their adult lives. They manufactured capes and loin cloths for men, tunics and skirts for women, and cloths of various sizes and decoration for household use. Cloth was produced for personal and immediate household use, for trade in marketplaces, and for payment of tribute. Nearly 300,000 pieces of cloth were paid in tribute annually by conquered provinces to the Aztec ruler. The Aztec and their neighbors were also highly skilled in the construction of buildings and large monuments. These were all produced on an immense scale, and required precise engineers, seasoned construction workers, and accomplished sculptors. More mundane, universal household implements and goods such as metates, mats and ceramics were also produced on a broad scale throughout the empire. All of these activities required the production of appropriate tools manufactured primarily from stone, wood, and bone.

Extensive trading activities moved materials and commodities from one end of the empire to the other, and beyond. The most famous professional traders were the pochteca, long distance merchants who became wealthy trafficking in the most valuable materials and objects. They operated as private entrepreneurs and state agents for the Mexica and other Basin of Mexico rulers. As state agents they traded the rulers’ goods in distant lands, served as intermediaries with rulers in lands outside the empire, and operated as spies in marketplaces throughout the empire and beyond. Outside of the Basin of Mexico they were unpopular and often targets for assassination, which frequently provoked war between the Aztecs and the perpetrators. Trade was also conducted by less privileged individuals. These regional traders traveled from market to market, trading less expensive goods such as salt, cacao, and cotton. Through both the long-distance and regional merchants, the vast diversity of materials and manufactured goods of Mesoamerica became available to the Mexica and their neighbors in the Basin of Mexico. The Aztec heartland lacked immediate access to luxury goods such as tropical feathers, precious stones and valuable gold, and depended on long-distance merchants for provision of these status-linked goods. In exchange, the highland valleys had an abundance of obsidian which found its way to distant regions through merchant activities.

Age and gender provided the bases for division of labor in Aztec life. Some domains were exclusive by gender: for example: only men alone went to war; only women wove; only men were judges and ambassadors; only women cooked food. Yet both could serve the temples, sell merchandise in the marketplaces, participate in state and household rituals, and cooperatively produce utilitarian and fine artistic goods. Children worked from an early age, contributing to a household according to its social status and occupational specialization. Beyond age and gender, Aztec life was highly specialized in economic, political, and religious realms. Some skills, such as elaborate stone working, gold casting, and feather working required years of training, and such artisans usually lived in their own residential districts where the exclusive production and transmission of these crafts could be maintained. Rulers, judges, ambassadors, tribute collectors and scribes likewise were specialized positions, as were the vast number of priests serving a multitude of temples. Throughout the Aztec domain, specialization of labor was the rule, from merchants to bureaucrats, from barbers to potters.

Land was owned and controlled by nobles. The lands of rulers and high-ranking nobles were often broadly distributed in noncontiguous plots, and they reaped the yields from those plots worked by commoner farmers. Rulers enjoyed patrimonial lands by virtue of their exalted birth, and reportedly also controlled other types of lands: tecpantlalli or palace lands, milchimalli or military lands, and teopantlalli or temple lands, each of which apparently supported political, military and religious activities. In at least some cases when a city-state was conquered by imperial forces, the Aztec ruler appropriated the conquered lands and distributed them to warriors who had distinguished themselves in combat. Some lands were held by calpolli or residential districts, the commoners (macehualtin) who worked those lands reportedly holding them in a communal fashion. Yet even here it appears that the lands were controlled by nobles residing in the districts.

The Aztecs and their neighbors reckoned descent cognatically. The kinship system was loosely structured and did not form descent groups. Even though individuals were said to be embodiments of their ancestors, this was conceived as an idea rather than as actual lineal groups. Extended kin (such as grandparents and cousins) took an active part in an individual's major life cycle events, repeatedly reaffirming their importance to the individual. Identification with these kin also affirmed specific rights, emphasizing ancestry. Specific to each individual, these groups of kin beyond the nuclear family called huanyolque and tlacamecayotl closely resemble ego-centered kindreds.

Kinship terms radiated out from ego in a cognatic system. To highlight this, kin terms were always found in possessed form (e.g., my older brother, his mother). Kinship terms were applied equally to father's relatives as to mother's relatives. Distinctions were made in terms of age and gender in ego's generation. Older siblings were distinguished by gender, but a younger one was simply "younger sibling" irrespective of gender. These same terms extended to egos first cousins. In addition, terms vary depending on the gender of the speaker relative to the referent. Kinship terminology was also expressed metaphorically to indicate particularly salient relations: for example, a ruler was considered "the father, the mother" of his subjects.

As a general rule, individual Aztecs were allowed to marry anyone beyond the nuclear family. However, choice of marriage partner was conditioned by factors such as social status, residence, and occupation. In particular, nobles (and especially rulers) were expected to marry nobles, a practice that consolidated resources and forged alliances. This resulted in endogamy based on social status; endogamy was also the general rule among some occupational specialists such as professional merchants and luxury-good artisans. Monogamy was the rule among commoners, while polygyny was common among the elite. Polygyny was an important strategy in establishing multiple political alliances.

Aztecs lived in both nuclear and joint households. While nuclear families may have been common in many areas, multifamily households appear to have been the norm in Tenochtitlan. Joint families usually consisted of two to six nuclear families. These extended households typically joined together the families of brothers in complexes of separate rooms built around a common patio. Residence following marriage was flexible; the newly married couple could reside with a wide range of either of their relatives. Similarly, household composition was dynamic over time as individuals came and went and the fortunes of the household waxed and waned. Residences varied greatly in size and layout, depending on the household’s composition, status and wealth. Noble houses, as might be expected, were notably larger and fancier than those of commoners.

Inheritance was based on kinship ties. It involved the transmission of both tangible property and intangibles such as titles and rights. Based on colonial wills and similar information, it appears that inheritance of property was usually divided among a number of heirs, especially spouses and children. Men and women could inherit from either men or women. However, in the matter of movable goods, women tended to bequeath to women or grandchildren more often than men did. Men with luxury goods typically bequeathed them to brothers. Titles passed either from brother to brother (as in Tenochtitlan) or from father to son (as in Texcoco). This was the rule with royal and other high-ranking successions, although selection involved additional criteria (especially military achievements) to choose the most qualified and capable successor.

Children began contributing to household tasks at an early age. They were constantly admonished in the virtues of obedience, respect and honesty. At age five boys were toting loads and girls were learning to spin thread. By age fourteen a commoner boy could at least fish from a boat and certainly cultivate a field, while a girl had become a competent (if not accomplished) weaver. Children in artisan households contributed to the family’s craft production (e.g., children made the glues for featherworking), and those in noble households prepared for entrance into a priestly school (for boys) or for temple service or household management (for girls). Punishments for misbehavior or slack work were physically severe. There were three types of schools. All children attended a cuicacalli ("house of song"), usually between the ages of twelve and fifteen, to learn ceremonial songs and dances. Additionally, commoner boys entered the telpochcalli of their district by at least age fifteen where they learned military skills and contributed to public works. Noble boys entered a priest-run calmecac school by age fifteen where they learned writing, history, calendrics, orations and other knowledge particular to elites, along with military skills. Nobles and commoners were considered sufficiently educated to assume full adult roles by age twenty.

Aztec social life was highly stratified. At the apex sat the city-state ruler; if the city-state had been conquered, this ruler answered to the conquering or imperial ruler. Every city-state also had its cadre of nobles, a landed elite born into their exalted positions. These privileged individuals held the highest political positions in the realm as royal advisors, governors, ambassadors, generals, and tax collectors. Other nobles became priests, scribes, teachers and other bureaucratic officials. While only perhaps five percent of the total population, this elite held the reins of power. The bulk of the population was of commoner status: farmers, fishers, artisans who made utilitarian goods, and providers of basic services. Farmers directly or indirectly worked lands controlled by nobles. While other commoners may have been more independent, all paid the taxes that supported elite lifestyles. Between nobles and commoners were wealthy professional merchants and luxury artisans. Their status was ambiguous; they were commoners by birth yet, in some cases, their wealth exceeded that of nobles. Each status was advertised publicly by sumptuary rules: fancy dress and adornments were restricted to nobles, as was polygyny and the building of two-story houses. Still, some fancy goods have been found archaeologically in commoner houses. Apparently they could possess, but not display them. While seemingly rigid, this social system allowed for some mobility. Warriors, in particular, gained prestige, status and gifts by capturing enemies on the battlefield.

The fundamental unit of political organization was the altepetl or city-state. City-states were characterized by a capital city, bounded territory, royal dynasty, patron deity, and founding legend; also, often, a specific ethnicity, occupation, and/or notable market. Heading the polity was the tlatoani, or ruler, and his council or support group of high-ranking nobles. This system was highly centralized, for the ruler bore supreme and individual responsibility for his city-state. As the Aztecs formed their empire and conquered other city-states, they typically allowed the local ruler to retain his position of altepetl leadership. This created a hierarchy of rulers, with the imperial ruler called huey tlatoani or "great ruler." Conquered city-states paid regular tribute to the imperial ruler in specific goods and labor services; this tribute contributed to sustaining Tenochtitlan's massive population and political bureaucracy, and helped finance its wars. The everyday running of government was handled by numerous governmental officials, from judges and ambassadors to storehouse managers and scribes.

The Aztecs were subject to strict rules, especially pertaining to drunkenness, adultery, thievery and homicide. Punishments were both secular and religious. In the secular realm the stated penalty was often death, although thievery may result in service as a slave to the victim (working off the amount of the theft). Nobles and commoners were judged separately in formal courts. Nobles were judged more harshly than commoners for the same crime; their infringements were more serious as they were expected to serve as exemplary models. Status-linked infractions (such as a commoner wearing fancy jewelry) were serious, as they threatened the social hierarchy; violations reportedly resulted in death. Some religiously-related offenses might result in supernatural punishments, particularly as unpleasant physical afflictions.

The numerous city-states in central Mexico related to one another primarily through warfare and alliances. Shortly after the Mexica arrived in the Basin of Mexico they served as mercenaries to a powerful city-state in its frequent wars. They gained their autonomy through warfare and their empire was built on military successes. Every male was trained in the military arts (in noble and commoner schools), and could be expected to be called to service at any time. There was no standing army, but professional high-ranking officers and “knightly” orders (jaguars, eagles, otomí, and “shorn ones”) existed. The Aztec empire was built on successful wars against nearby and distant city-states. The Mexica and their allies were aggressors in these wars; Tenochtitlan itself was never attacked until the Spanish arrived. Some wars, called “flowery wars,” were reputedly waged to capture enemies for prestige and sacrifice, although it appears that many such wars were fought in earnest. The Aztec empire was not always successful, losing desperate conflicts with the Tarascans to the west and the Tlaxcalans to the east.

According to Aztec mythology the universe was created and destroyed four times (by jaguars, hurricanes, fiery rain and a great flood). Following the fourth destruction the gods assembled and created the fifth and current world or “sun,” which, in turn, was fated to be destroyed by earthquakes. The Aztec world was conceived to be made up of hree layers: above the earth, below the earth, and the surface of the earth itself. Horizontally, the world was divided into quadrants, each represented by a characteristic tree, bird, color, and other features. The “center” held special meaning for the Aztecs, and their Great Temple was considered to be situated exactly at the center of their universe. A multitude of gods and goddesses populated the Aztec world. The most important were Huitzilopochtli (the Mexica patron god), Tlaloc (rain god), Tezcatlipoca (war god and patron of the young warriors), Quetzalcoatl (a creator god and patron of fine arts), and Coatlicue (mother goddess). The celestial world was complicated, since these and other deities dominated several realms, appeared in different guises, and were known by alternate names. On a more individual level, an intense belief in fate permeated Aztec life decisions. One’s birth day in the 260-day ritual calendar directed one’s future, perhaps toward honor and riches, perhaps toward shame and poverty. In addition, some days were favorable for events such as a king’s coronation, the planting of crops, a wedding, or the beginning of a journey.

Each deity was housed in one or more temples, and each temple had its own cadre of priests and/or priestesses, along with varying numbers of dedicated lay persons. Because the various deities had differential importance, their priests were hierarchically ordered. In Tenochtitlan, the high priests of Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc reigned supreme. Priests were trained for their future careers in priestly schools (calmecac). Priestesses were dedicated to temple service by their parents, a few continuing in the vocation throughout their lives. Priests and priestesses cared for their specific temples and idols, and priests also engaged in broader political and social arenas by serving as teachers, readers of sacred books, and warriors. Since religion and politics were intertwined, rulers also performed religious functions at major public ceremonies. Shamans and sorcerers cured illnesses or created chaos at a more personal level.

Public ceremonies were flamboyant and theatrical. They consisted of varying combinations of feasting, fasting, dancing, singing, processions, offerings, and human sacrifices. Each of the eighteen months had its own fixed ceremonies, most of which combined public and private rituals. Eleven of the eighteen monthly ceremonies were dedicated to rain and fertility deities. The most intense ceremony occurred every 52 years and was designed to forestall the inevitable end of the world; all fires were extinguished and a new fire kindled to symbolize the beginning of a new era. Other public ceremonies revolved around state events, such as the coronation or funeral of a ruler, or the dedication of a temple. Private ceremonies focused primarily on life cycle events and took place in households or neighborhoods.

The Aztecs and their neighbors were expert artisans, fashioning exquisite objects from precious stone, metal, feathers, shells, and wood. These included items such as decorative jewelry, headdresses, banners, shields, and masks. Designs were intricate and symbolically meaningful, sometimes embodying supernatural and other powerful forces. These exquisite objects were designed for use by nobles, who were fond of overtly displaying their exalted status. They were also used to adorn deity images, to embellish theatrical ceremonies, and to announce the primacy of the ruler. Few of these objects survive, but those that do attest to the high levels of workmanship and meticulous care applied to these arts. The Aztecs were also accomplished orators and poets, and placed a premium on oratorical skills; after all, tlatoani, or ruler, meant "speaker." Aztec poetry spoke of friendship, warfare, the meaning of life and death, and the greatness of the Aztecs; it most likely reflected the thoughts of the intellectual elite, including particular rulers. In addition, songs and dances dedicated to specific deities were intricate parts of virtually every Aztec ceremony. Talented scribes wrote pictorial books on paper, cloth and animal hide. Glyphic symbols served largely as mnemonic devices to knowledgeable readers, and recorded information as diverse as tribute lists, maps, dynastic histories, and concepts of gods and the universe.

The Aztecs were medical empiricists. They devised medical cures for a wide array of illnesses including infections, skin eruptions, gastrointestinal upset, nausea, headaches, fevers and chest pains. At least 132 different herbs were used in curing illnesses other than injuries. The Aztecs were also experts in healing traumatic injuries, no surprise in this warfare-oriented society. All empirically-based treatments were performed by a specialized ticitl or physician. Divination and magic were also used to diagnose and cure illnesses, and some cures required strict taboos.

The Aztecs were either buried or cremated upon death. Cremation was more common. In either case, the corpse was washed and dressed and then wrapped in a bundle; ceremonies involving eating, drinking, and mourning followed. The remains of cremated individuals (placed in a container) and the corpses of others were buried along with their possessions. A person's afterlife was determined by how he or she died. For a man, death on the battlefield or at the sacrificial altar was most honored and resulted in the most glorious afterlife: they accompanied the sun on its daily journey from its rising to the zenith. After four years they returned to earth as butterflies or hummingbirds. Women who died in childbirth likewise were considered to have fought a battle; they accompanied the sun from the zenith to its setting where they hopped off as cihuateteo or "women goddesses" and appeared frighteningly to unsuspecting humans during the night. Persons who died in water-related ways (such as drowning or being struck by lightning) passed a pleasant afterlife in the verdant gardens of the paradisiacal Tlalocan. The majority of Aztecs, however, descended to the dark underworld, or Mictlan. The journey there required four years and was assisted by grave goods deposited with the deceased by caring relatives.

This culture summary was written by Frances F. Berdan in October, 2008. We thank Andrew Turner for additional bibliographic suggestions provided in November, 2016.

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Lockhart, James (1992). The Nahuas After the Conquest. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

López Luján, Leonardo (2005). The Offerings of the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.