Tenochtitlan
What was in the centre of the city?
The great temple
What is tribute?
Valuable goods or taxes that are paid to another state as a sign of dependence.
Who was believed to controlled every aspect of the Aztec world?
Many gods
Why were the Aztec temples in the shape of pyramids?
They believed mountains were sacred, and the higher you were the closer you were to the gods.
How many days did the Aztec solar month last?
Bonus! Why?
20
Because Aztec counting was based on 20 (10 fingers and 10 toes)
What are chinampas?
“Floating gardens”
Man-made pieces of land used for agriculture
What type of states made up much of the Aztec empire?
Tributary states
What kind of sacrifices were made to the god Tlaloc?
Crying children
What are two ways the Aztec expanded their territory?
Through trade and through war
How were chinampas built?
By putting stakes into the ground, then layering reed mats and soil.
Based on what you know, what do you think was the most common Aztec profession?
Farmer
Aztec kept careful _____________ of what they collected as tribute.
records
What is the word for people, like the Aztec, who believe in more than one god?
Polytheists
Who acted as Aztec spies?
Merchants
What was the religious reason the Aztec went to war?
To capture prisoners for sacrifice
How did the Aztecs decide to migrate south?
Huitzliopochtli commanded them to
They kept travelling until they saw an eagle on a cactus
What was used as Aztec currency?
Cocoa beans
What did the Aztecs believe would happen if they did not feed their gods blood?
The gods would grow sick and die and the world would end
How did the Aztec believe the earth was shaped? What was at the centre?
The Aztec believed the world was shaped like a flat disk divided into four. They believed the Great Temple was at the centre of the world.
What is the difference between the two Aztec calendars?
The sacred calendar is for religion and the solar calendar is based on the sun and moon.
What did the Aztec use to bring fresh water to the city? Why were there more than one?
The Aztec used aqueducts to bring fresh water to the city. There were two, so that one could be cleaned and maintained while the other was used.
How do we know about the Aztec? Hint: think Renaissance
The Florentine Codex
written by a Spanish scholar who worked with the surviving Aztec
Bought & brought to Florence by the Medici family
Huitzilopochtli was the god of what?
War and the sun
What kind of water can be found in Lake Texcoco? How did the Aztec deal with that?
Lake Texcoco had brackish (salty water), the Aztec built dams to keep the brackish water from mixing with the fresh water around the island.
What does compulsory mean? How was it used in this chapter?
Compulsory means mandatory. The Aztec had compulsory military service.