Unit 1 A New World Rising Grade 5 Social Studies/ELA Curriculum Lesson 3: Great Civilizations Emerge in the Americas.

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1 Aztec Religion One of the most important aspects of Aztec religion was the sun. The Aztecs called themselves the "People of the Sun". They felt that in order for the sun to rise each day the Aztecs needed to perform rituals and sacrifices to give the sun strength. Celebration of worship to the sun god, Inti. Quetzalcoatl was the Aztec god of life, wind and learning. ambergriscaye.com Page 1 Revised July 2014

2 Aztec Jobs and Class Structures Jobs for men and women Aztec men were typically warriors, hunters and builders. Women generally took care of the home and children and made clothing. Nobles and priests helped the emperor. The warriors fought the battles. Traders carried goods throughout the empire and beyond. There were also craftworkers who created jewelry, garments, pottery, sculptures, and other goods. Most people, however, were farmers. Class structures The Aztec Empire was made up of city-states. At the center of each city-state was a large city that ruled the area. For the most part, the Aztec Emperor did not interfere with the ruling of the city-states. What he required was that each city-state paid him a tribute. As long as the tribute was paid, the city-state remained somewhat independent of Aztec rule. Page 2 Revised July 2014 msamhis

3 Aztec Cities Tenochititlan was the capital city of the Aztecs. It was built in the center of a lake. The Aztecs built floating islands by piling rich earth from the bottom of the lake onto rafts made of wood. Some of the islands were the size of football fields. They were able to turn a swampy lake into a magnificent city. The Aztecs expanded their empire and began conquering the other people in the region. They forced people to pay them taxes. People would pay their taxes with food, cotton, gold, or slaves. Page 3 Revised July 2014

4 Aztec Government The Aztec maintained a unified empire, unlike the Mayans who were organized into city-states. When Moctezuma II came to power in 1502, he expanded an already vast empire. The Aztec Empire was at that time one of the most powerful civilizations in the world. The Aztec government was similar to a monarchy where an Emperor or King was the primary ruler. They called their ruler the Huey Tlatoani. The Huey Tlatoni was the ultimate power in the land. They felt he was appointed by the gods and had divine right to rule. The Aztecs had a fairly sophisticated code of law. There were many laws including laws against stealing, murder, drunkenness, and property damage. They even held court where they appointed judges to decide if people were guilty or not. Page 4 Revised July 2014

5 Aztec Language and Writing Systems The Aztecs did have a spoken language as well as a written language. The spoken language, Nahuatl, is still used today in some parts of Mexico. Their written language consisted of symbols called glyphs or pictographs. They didn't have an alphabet, but used pictures to represent events, items, or sounds. Only priests could read and write. They wrote on long sheets made of animal skins or plant fibers. An Aztec book is called a codex. Most of the codices were burned or destroyed, but a few survived and archeologists have been able to learn a lot about Aztec life from them. Page 5 Revised July 2014

6 Aztec Technology Pyramids were important in Aztec architecture. The major cities each had at least one. The pyramids had stairs up all four sides, and at the top, there was a sacrificial temple. These look somewhat like Egyptian pyramids, but are especially amazing because the Aztecs did not have wheels, pulleys, or other things that the Egyptians used to build their pyramids. Aztec Calendar One of the most famous aspects of Aztec technology was their use of calendars. They were used not only to keep time, but for tracking religious ceremonies and festivals. Page 6 Revised July 2014