90 UNIT 1 PREHISPANIC MESOAMERICA
The Aztecs of Central Mexico
As we have seen, the Aztecs were heirs to earlier Central Mexican civilizations that
included the powerful Classic period Teotihuacanos, and especially the Early Post-
classic period Toltecs. Most Aztec peoples insisted that their dynastic lines and reli-
gious beliefs were handed down from the Toltecs, although scholars have pointed out
that their cultural legacy probably extended much farther back than the Toltec pe-
riod. An early phase of Aztec history (ca. A.D. 1200–1325) was dominated by migra-
tions of partially Mesoamericanized Aztec peoples from the north into the valleys of
Central Mexico. Stimulated by influence from surrounding Mesoamerican peoples
and competition with each other, the Aztec peoples began to create fledgling city-
states that were established in such places as the Basin of Mexico, Tlaxcala, Cholula,
Morelos, and Toluca (Smith 2003:34–37).
It was during the next phase of Aztec history (ca. A.D. 1325–1519) that the Aztec
peoples were able to create powerful city-states, and in some cases empires. The Mex-
icas, for example, established a city-state on the island of Tenochtitlan, and in 1372
they proclaimed their first “Toltec” ruler (tlatoani). In 1428 the Mexica state entered
into an alliance with the Texcocan and Tlacopan states to form a powerful confed-
erated empire. Subsequently, under the direction of energetic rulers such as Mote-
cuhzoma I and Axayacatl, the Mexicas rose to dominance in the confederacy and
expanded imperial reach far beyond Central Mexico. Motecuhzoma II, a hardline elit-
ist ruler, held the reigns of power over the empire at the time the Spaniards finally
reached Tenochtitlan in 1519 (Smith 2003:37–55).
The cultural features to be described next largely refer to this last phase of Aztec
history, and particularly to the Mexica version of it.Aztec Economy. Although the Aztecs utilized a technology that was largely
“Stone Age,” their material productive capacity was truly astounding. They provided
food for approximately 200,000 inhabitants in the city of Tenochtitlan and more
than one million persons residing in the Central Basin. They erected monumental
structures in the numerous cities of the basin. As described in Box 2.1, the stone
and mortar constructions in Tenochtitlan included thousands of public buildings; a
huge hydraulic system of dikes, causeways, canals, and aqueducts; and an extensive
system of irrigation channels in the hilly country surrounding the central lake area
(Figure 2.12).
The Aztecs were heirs to centuries of Mesoamerican developments with respect to
food production (see Table 1.1, Box 1.1, and Box 1.3). The many cultigens available
to them included maize, beans, squash, chile, chía, amaranth, and maguey. Domesti-
cated dogs and turkeys and wild game provided a supply of meat, although diet for com-
moners was predominantly vegetarian, especially maize and beans. Swidden agriculture
(tlacolol) was practiced along the foothills, whereas the flat areas and river beds were
worked into complex irrigation systems of agriculture, and agricultural terraces were
constructed on hillsides. Especially productive were the lake gardens (chinampa), which
began to fill in much of the southern shoreline of the great lakes. The chinampas
could produce seven crops per year, and it has been estimated that they may have pro-
vided over half of the basic food needs of Tenochtitlan, the other half coming from