Good morning. Today I will be sharing my findings based on my investigation of the Aztec empire, a sophisticated society that dominated the central plateau of Mexico for over 1,500 years (Easton et. al,2017). With a focus on societal progress through engineering and agriculture, human sacrifice, warfare and the Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlan, I investigated the causes and consequences of change within this region. After background reading on the Aztec society, I drafted a hypothesis, which you can see up here: (Change slide) The Aztecs were an advanced society that, to a high extent, instigated both internal change and experienced change from external forces. Societal progress was created through advancements in engineering and agricultural …show more content…
As shown behind me, I first approached this task by attempting to understand the agricultural and engineering advancements that generated societal progress. (Change slide) With a growing population and a capital city located in the middle of a lake, there existed three major issues that would require technological ingenuity: sanitation, fluctuating seasonal water levels, and a lack of land for agricultural production (Saragoza, 2012). The Aztecs were in dire need of sanitation and access to safe drinking water as the lake water was not always potable (Saragoza, 2012). (Change slide) To combat this, a combination of aqueducts, sewerage treatment, and physical structures were implemented (Saragoza, 2012). Two aqueducts served the city - one to bring water from outlying springs, and the other to act as an aquifer, excrement was collected by the labour force and used as manure, and water fluctuations were dealt with by a system of canals, sluices, and dykes (Saragoza, 2012). (Change slide) One of the most important agricultural innovations initiated by the Aztecs was the chinampa, a small, but relatively stable and highly fertile artificial plot of land created through mixing straw, mud, excrement, and wattle (Saragoza, 2012). In this way, the Aztecs were able to sustainably create land on which they could farm on and give employment to a massive workforce (Saragoza, …show more content…
As he is highly experienced in the field and his lectures are taught at a university level, it suggested to me that his work would be reliable and his perspective largely objective. I found that his conclusions were supported by primary sources from the Aztec era, as shown behind me. This primary source is an artist’s impression of the technology of the chinampas, suggesting that the Aztecs were indeed successful farmers, engineers, and instigators of internal change. I also found through my research that Aztec agriculture was so successful in supplying food to the population of Tenochtitlan that it created opportunities for trade. (Change slide) This is confirmed by another primary source – an account by Bernal Diaz de Castillo about the booming marketplace of Tenochtitlan, as shown behind me. In conclusion, advancements in technology helped to sustain the Aztec empire, and this system of highly intensive agriculture came to influence the growth of the Aztec