The Aztec Civilization: The Capital City Of Tenochtitlan

Jeet Shah

Mrs. Patterson

GT Geography

3 March 2023

The Aztec Civilization

The Aztecs were a group of warriors who first settled in the valley of Mexico in the 14th century. They became some of the most important and powerful people in Mesoamerica and ruled a large empire. The Capital city of Tenochtitlan was built on an island and was founded when the Aztecs saw an eagle perched on a cactus eating a snake. They interpreted this as a sign from the Gods and built their capital there. The Aztecs were known for their fierceness, calendar system, architecture, agriculture, sacrifices, and more. While many remember the Aztecs as a cruel civilization, they should be remembered as an advanced civilization because of their advanced architecture, agriculture,

The image of the city Tenochtitlan shows big pyramids that were built with precision, symmetry, and geometrical designs. One particular pyramid had double stairways, which was a unique style for the Aztecs. The layout of the city was very organized and supported a population of up to 300,000 people which showed evidence of advanced architecture and social organization. Aqueducts served the purpose of carrying fresh water to cities. In Tenochtitlan, there was one masonry aqueduct that ran three miles from the mainland to the city, supplying people with fresh water. According to the image, “Tenochtitlan had one of the best freshwater delivery systems in the world at that time.” This shows that the Aztec aqueducts were very advanced. The image also mentions that Tenochtitlan was built on a landfill, which means that the Aztecs developed a whole city with their advanced architecture in about 200 years. The highly-developed architecture, pyramids, and aqueducts used by the Aztecs showed that they were an advanced

Some of the things the markets had were food, gold and silver jewelry, metals such as lead, brass, copper, tin, precious stones, bones, shells, snails, and feathers. “Every kind of merchandise was sold in a particular street or quarter of the market.” The markets were organized and designed in a way so that there were different sections for each product, an advanced setup for the time since we still see a similar setup in today’s department and grocery stores. The way the Aztecs measured their goods by number or measure is being used today in markets as well. Public Squares also had barber shops, restaurants, and apothecaries (herb and medicine shops). The markets had a great variety of foods, that even the Spanish conquistador Cortes noted. “Everything that can be found throughout the whole country is sold in the markets.” He conveys that the Aztec markets were advanced and that they had a variation of goods that extended throughout the whole country. The market system in the Aztec society showed that they were an advanced civilization because they designed systems and concepts that are still relevant