The Aztec Culture: The Origins Of Chocolate

The Aztecs were a great Empire that lasted approximately 200 years. They entered the Valley of Mexico from North and founded their capital in the center of a lake. Their capital was called Tenochtitlan, and it was founded in 1325. In 1428 a Triple Alliance was formed with other two cities, Texcoco and Tlacopan, consolidating what we now call, the Great Aztec Empire. The primary source, The Broken Spears, not only tells us about the Conquest of the Aztec Empire by the Spaniards, but it reveals us some of their social, cultural and political aspects.

The Aztec Empire 's agriculture was very developed and religion played a huge role in it. The Aztec people worshiped a God of corn and put a lot of thought into how to neatly organize their fields. Some farmers used chinampas to grow their crops while others used the terracing method. Farmers who used the chinampas method built boxes for crops in shallow lake waters and built the area inside the box up with mud and sediment to make it above the water level, then watered their plants using the lake water surrounding the box. However, the farmers who used the terrance method built walls of stone on the hillsides and made the land level. Aztec families also had the typical home gardens with common fruits and vegetables in them. Farmers grew crops

intestines. Like the cayenne pepper, chilies also contain capsaicin. However, the indigenous use of chili was slightly different from that of the cayenne use. Chili peppers were used in anything and everything edible in Aztec and Mayan society. The indigenous medical uses were a gruel made of corn and chili pepper. The gruel was believed to relieve depression, strengthen the body, and cure colds. In modern times, the pepper is used in a better medicinal way. They have an abundance of the vitamins A and C, which provide carotene to the body and overall reduce levels of cholesterol and triglycerides within a person’s body. Also much like the cayenne, the capsaicin aids in getting rid of harmful bacteria and many other services, like driving prostate

The Aztecs were an ancient civilization found in Mesoamerica. Two aspects that they are known for are building temples and pyramids and also known for developing a form of writing called hieroglyphics. However, historians should emphasize on agriculture. We should emphasize on agriculture for three reasons.

As the world of global exploration and colonization grew, many powerful European empires set out to see what the New World had in store for them. Each empire had their own individual agendas and incentives for colonization. This led to the many differences between methods of colonization and exploration in every colony and region. The Atlantic World portrayed these contrasts between the Spanish, French, Dutch and British empires. However, the British settlements along the Eastern seaboard differed the most from those of other empires because there were no established policies or methods in British colonization, which led to differences in the economics and culture of each colony depending on who settled it.

The Aztec people dominated the 14th through 16th century Mesoamerica. They are one of the most noted cultures recognized in history books today and they deserve as much recognition for their accomplishments and errors as much as any other civilization because their works were much the same. Their religious practices were similar to that of the ancient civilizations throughout the entire world. The magnificent capital, Tenochtitlan, displays accomplishments other cities had achieved thousands of years before the Aztecs marched through what is now Mexico. Even the fall of their empire was like that of the far away Celtic civilization and countless others.

The Aztec Empire was a society that existed between the fourteenth and the sixteenth century A.D. the Aztec civilisation was highly advanced for their time, There are many ways in which the Aztecs proved their advancement in their society; this included excelling in a number of fields such as their architecture, health and sanitation, engineering and agriculture. In 1325 the Aztecs began to construct the basic foundations of their city, which was located in the centre of lake Texcoco, the Aztecs named it Tenochtitlan.

The Aztec tribe was established during the 14th century in Mesoamerica.They were connected with their use of the Nahuatl language. This tribe eventually grew to become one of the great empires. It became possible with the Aztec Triple Alliance, consisting of the Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan. The Aztec culture was a crucial part of the history of many Native American tribes.

As scientists believe, ancient culture, which gave rise to all the others, was the Olmec civilization. Therefore, all people of pre-Columbian America is characterized by several common features: hieroglyphic writing, illustrated books, calendar, human sacrifice, ritual ball game, belief in life after death, stepped pyramids. In this unit response, I would like to describe three main cultures in Mesoamerica: Olmec, Maya and Aztec.

The Aztecs began as a northern tribe whose name came from a valley known as Aztlan, which was the name of their homeland. They appeared in Mesoamerica, today known as the south central region of Mexico, in the 13th century. There, the Aztecs built their proud city, Tenochtitlan. It was the heart of the Aztec civilization. The Aztec emperor didn’t rule every city state. Local governments remained but they were required to pay varying amounts to the city of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopa. This empire is called a hegemonic or informal empire (Moreno-Aguilar, 2013). The Aztecs ruled through a local government, this ensured the locals would keep the people happy. This system worked very well for the people, but the empire would eventually be

Everything was perfectly planned out. As the calendar says, they have to sacrifice one of their own to please the Gods. The Mayan people would get together as a whole to practice their religious ceremony at the temple. The Mayan and Aztec civilizations are two ancient civilizations that were located near Central and South America. The Mayan civilization was more remarkable than the Aztecs because of their advanced knowledge. According to Document E: The Mayan Number System, the Mayans created the mathematics that people use today. This is showing how Mayans are very intelligent. They not only created a language, but they created a math system that people use 4,000 years in the future. Secondly, according to Document F: The Mayan Calendar, the

The fall of the Aztec Empire was due to the determination of the Spaniards. The Spaniards were destructive. They did not respect the Natives’ religions at all. They almost destroyed all of the Natives’ culture, and now we know very little about Natives. The Spaniards’ greed and obsession with power, this was their main motivation to conquer the Aztec Empire. The Aztecs’ religion is what got them into the most trouble. They sacrificed humans for their Gods, which was wrong in the Spaniards’ eyes (and mine too). They also were very superstitious .The Aztecs may have won the battle against the Spaniards if they too had advanced weaponry and battle tactics. The Aztecs and the Spaniards were vastly different people, however they had similarities. They both killed in the name of religion, and both growing empires willing to do anything to gain more power.

The Aztec imperial authorities employed an indirect rule by collecting “quarterly tribute payments” from the local dynasties. In other words, the elites controlled the economy by collecting tributes from commoners. However, there was barely any evidence that shows elites’ control over the market or craft production. The large amount of decorated foreign ceramics, obsidian blades and bronze goods excavated from Capilco and Cuexcomate indicated farmers access to marketplace without imperial control (Smith 2005, 94). It is noteworthy that although elites did have more and finer collection of foreign goods in their houses, they didn’t have exclusive access to any particular kind of artifact(Smith 2005, 94). As for craft production,

The Aztec civilization is one of the most spectacular examples of culture and art found in world history. The Aztecs were a group of American Indians speaking Nahuatl who arrived on the North American continent from the arid cactus lands of Northwest. They settled in Mexico for centuries where they were initially enslaved by the other Nahua tribes before emerging as a powerful tribe. The history of the Central Valley of Mexico after tenth century A.D. is dominated by a long tradition of tribal conflicts that led to the fall of several civilizations, replaced by subsequent Nahua tribes. The Aztecs called themselves Mexica, which was the name of priest-chief from ancient, legendary times of Mexi. There is a legendary story which tells that Mexica hailed from Chicomoztoc, the Seven Caves, from the northern lands called Aztlan i.e. the Place of Whiteness. The word Aztec is derived from this same place known as Aztlan. The shifting of Aztecs from the north to central part of Mexico marked the beginning of a tribal story; the tale about the quest and discovery of the omen and the

“Anything is good if it’s made of chocolate “. People around the world adore eating chocolate and enjoy it, but most of the people are not aware of the process of making chocolate. Chocolate production started in Mesoamerica in 1900 BC. The uses of chocolate at that time was to made fermented beverages but, know days it is consider the main ingredient in making cookies, milk suck and candy bars. Also People use chocolate to express their feeling to each other. Although chocolate is popular around the world but, few people know how it produced. Making chocolate is a complicated processes as the cocoa beans goes through several stages to get the chocolate in the end.