Aztec History: Daily Life In Tenochtitlan

Daily Life in Tenochtitlan The Aztec history is a rich one that spans from 1325 to 1521. The Aztec daily life was extremely organized and that was evident in their work and how they ran the Empire they built. Mostly, Aztecs are known for their family life, markets, religion and their complex history with Spain. The Aztecs are one of the most popular and important topics we learn about today as their ideas and traditions are the foundation upon which current civilization was formed. Furthermore, the more we learn more about them the more we realize how much of an influence they had.

In looking at the Aztecs family life, we travel back to the 14th century. Marriage typically began for men in their mid-twenties and women in their

Different ages of woman or girls had different jobs. The women's were usually harder than the girls. For instance, many Aztec women wove cloth of many colors. (Frey 297). Women’s weaving was usually beautiful and many people liked to wear it. The women would trade these cloaks in exchange for goods at the market. “Some made cloaks in patterns of sun designed, or images of shells, fish, cacti, snakes, or butterflies.” (Frey 297).

At the same time, boys and men also had their own responsibilities. “Young boys fetched water and weeds while older boys learned how to fish and handle a canoe.” (Frey 297). When they boys got older, they did more advanced jobs. Eventually, boys accompanied their fathers to work at the market. (Frey 297).

Elders were held in esteem and often looked upon for wisdom. They were very important to the family and their care and death were influenced by ritual and religion.

The highly organized life of the family worked as a result of the well-defined cooperative efforts of the men, women, and children. Many of these same ideas and familial relationships can still be found in societies around the world

Aztec religion reflected on mainly sacrifices and their gods. They believed in giving the gods what they wanted so they wouldn’t turn on them. For this reason, they held human sacrifice with the belief that they would then be ensured an afterlife. “Religion played an important part in Aztecs lives and was very complicated because they adopted many aspects of the people that they conquered.” (Aztec Civilization). When they conquered a city they adapted to their beliefs and started to run things differently. “They had three gods Huitzilopochtli, Tezcatlipoca, and Quetzalcoatl.(Aztec civilization). These were some of the gods that they were doing the human sacrifices for. The religious concept was that the gods provided things for humans only if they were nourished by human beings. (Aztec Civilization). The gods could be nourished in many different ways, such as blood or living hearts of captives. The sacrifices were all practiced in Mesoamerica, but the Tencha used sacrifice on a grand scale. (Aztec civilization). “The Aztecs believed that their special purpose in life was to delay destruction.”(Aztec civilization). They strove to make sure the gods were always happy in order to prevent horrible consequences. The Aztecs believed also that their death was more important than their life, as then they would live with their