Geography/
Social Structure
Social Structure
How many social classes are there?
Name them.
1. Ruler
2. Government officials, priest, military leaders
3. Commoners
4. Peasants
5. Enslaved people .
Most Aztec rituals included ______ sacrifices.
Give two examples.
Most Aztec rituals included blood sacrifices.
Human
Birds
Animals
Priests would pierce their own skin
Men married around age ___ while women married around age ___
Men married around age 20 while women married around age 16
How did the Aztecs maintain so much power?
Through their strong military
professional soldier who is paid to fight for another country or group is a ______
Mercenarie
The Aztecs built their capitol city of Tenochitlan on an ________ in the center of lake ________, present day ____________
The Aztecs built their capitol city of Tenochitlan on an island in the center of lake Texcoco, present day Mexico city
HUITZILOPOCHTLI is the god of what?
Sun and War
How many city states did the Aztecs have at their height?
400-500 City states
The Aztecs came to dominate the surrounding city-states through ______ or _______.
The Aztecs came to dominate the surrounding city-states through force or alliance.
What is a political unit within a city, often a neighborhood
Ward
What is the definition of Semi-divine and who on the social hierarchy was considered to be Semi-divine?
semi-divine: half-human and half-god
The Aztec ruler / emperor
What did the Aztecs believe the Gods had the power to do?
Gods granted good harvest or sent earthquakes and floods
The Aztecs believed that the Tlachtli court represented ______ and the ball represented a ______
The Aztecs believed that the Tlachtli court represented the world and the ball represented a heavenly body
People would go to the market to ....
Bargain
Socialize
What act was honored to the same level of men going to war?
Women's ability to give birth
All boys went to school. What was the difference between what the sons of commoners would study vs what the sons of nobles would study?
sons of commoners trained to be soldiers
sons of nobles trained for higher professions
What was the goal of Aztec warfare?
Name foods the wealthy would eat vs foods the commoners would eat
Wealthy: Cocoa, pineapple, oysters, axolotl, and crabs
Commoners: Turkeys and hunted wild rabbits, pigeons, frogs, shrimp, insect eggs and algae
Who were the two major cities the Aztecs formed an alliance with?
Texcoco and Tlacopan
Having more than one spouse at one time is ...
Polygamy
When an emperor died, who became ruler and how were they chose?
A group of advisers chose the new ruler from the emperor's family. Each new ruler was expected to acquire new wealth of his own, which was an important motive for constant warfare.
Name one other god (by element) the Aztecs would honor and how they would offer a sacrifice to them.
Fire god - honored by throwing the sacrifice into a flame
Corn goddess - honored by cutting off a womans head
Name the two games the Aztecs played and what the goal of the game was.
Patolli, A board game, players threw beans marked with holes, similar to dice, The first person around the board five times won.
Tlachtli, played only by Aztec nobles, was a game in which players tried to hit a rubber ball through a small ring
What was the Aztec empires most vital business?
Collecting Tribute
Name 4 items cities might use as their tribute payment
Who made sure they paid regularly?
Cities might pay in food, cacao, gems, cotton, cloth, animals, animal skins, shells, building materials, or even soldiers.
Tax collectors stationed around the empire made sure that cities paid regularly.