The History of the Aztecs in Mexico

The Aztecs were a complex society that occupied the Valley of Mexico from the 13th century until the Spanish Conquistadores entered their world and, via actual conflict and the spread of European disease, conquered them circa 1521. At the center of Aztecan religion were many gods, including the war god Huitzilopochtli. Huitzilopochtli directed the Aztecs to the Valley of Mexico, giving them the sign of an eagle clasping a snake in its talons while perching on the Nopal cactus (this is now commemorated on the Mexican flag).

The great Aztecan capital city, Tenochtitlan, was built upon the marshy islands of the now dry Lake Texcoco. Built of stone quarried at great distances, the city had grand canals, pyramids, palaces, and marketplaces. A bustling trade center, Tenochtitlan was rich in goods and culture, a complex blend of the many peoples with whom the Aztecs exchanged material goods, ideas, and iconography.

The most recognized and remembered aspect of Aztecan life and religion is human sacrifice. Although some victims were actually “volunteers” from the Aztecan elite, many were captives taken during the “Flower Wars,” ritualized, scheduled conflicts that allowed men to gain honor, prestige, and status. Captives brought back to the city were sacrificed in highly public ritual events. Priests used many techniques, but the most common (or at least, most documented), was the use of a sharp obsidian blade, which sliced through skin and ribs to reach the heart. If performed properly, the heart was removed still pulsing.

Although the practice of human sacrifice may make the Aztecs seem barbarian, they were in fact extremely civilized, in the full definition of the word. They had a complex government and military, complicated architecture – found in their buildings, canals, and causeways, a very advanced calendar and understanding of astronomy. They wrote books, called codices, and decorated the walls of their city with frescos and vividly bright paint. They grew food on “floating gardens” and imported (by taxing conquered communities far from home) all else that they required to keep their city beautiful and bountiful.

Unfortunately, with the arrival of the Conquistadores in AD 1519, the Aztecan Empire began its rapid decline. Within only a few short years, the Emperor was murdered, the city in ruins, and much of the population dead by European weapons and disease. The “New Spain” enslaved the survivors, converted them to Catholicism, and burned the codices as heretical. Now, our knowledge of this rich culture comes from archaeology, the writings of the Spanish priests and conquistadores, and a select number of writings from descendents of the elite Aztecan class.