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Aztec Achievements

Aztec Acievements

Intro

The Aztec Empire was an ancient empire that ruled from 1345 to 1521 CE and covered most of Northern Mesoamerica. Throughout this presentation, we will teach you about the achievements of the Aztecs.

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to

explain and show the impact of Aztec achievements, and

answer questions on Aztec achievements in...

Inventions

Mathematics

Mathematics

Art

Architecture

Inventions of the Aztecs

  • hot chocalate
  • chewing gum
  • Popcorn
  • Antispasmodic medication
  • Aztec Calendar
  • Chinampas

Inventions of the Aztecs

food

The Aztecs may not have invented the foods chewing gum, hot chocolate, or popcorn but they help popularize it when the Spanish came.

Antispasmodic medication

The Aztecs used a wide variety of herbs in their medicine as well as a plant called passion flower, was used in Antispasmodic medication, a type of medicine that relaxes muscles. Steam baths were also commonly believed as a way to cure sickness.

Antispasmodic medication

Aztec Calendar

In Aztec technology, they had two calendars One of the calendars was used to track when religious ceremonies and festivals would occur. This calendar was called the tonalpohualli. The other calendar was used for tracking time. This calendar was called the Xiuhpohualli. It had 365 days divided up into 18 months of 20 days each.

Aztec Calendar

this is a picture of a aztec calender

this is a picture of a aztec calender

Chinampas

One of their techniques for growing food that was used in swampy areas was called chinampa, which is an artificial island. They used these islands to plant crops on. The chinampas worked well for crops because the soil was fertile.

Chinampas

Mathematics

The Aztecs used different symbols to represent numbers. The order that the symbols were in didn't matter. The symbols that were grouped together were added together to get the number that is shown. While the Aztecs did have an understanding of zero, there is no proof of a symbol representing zero.

Mathematics

Aztec Art

The Aztecs had many different forms of art, that we will talk about.

Aztec Art

FEATHER WORK

Featherwork is probably the least known and least popular with the Aztecs. The Aztecs were good at featherwork-crafting and before the arrival of the Spaniards and had developed many methods of getting feathers and putting them into other objects to make them look nicer and make them last longer.

FEATHER WORK

CERAMICS

The Aztecs made many things that are very useful out of clay, for example, they made dishes, ritual vessels, funerary urns and a lot more. most of these clay objects had decoration, but usually without the complicated details.

CERAMICS

this is an example of aztec pottery

WOOD ART

WOOD ART

A lot of the Aztecs would have rather the wood over the stone figures because while stone did have good durability and endurance, wood has better weight and flexibility, wood was the better material for some objects such as drums, spears-throwers, and was used more often then stone. Some objects were also made of wood so that they could be burned as offerings.

MONUMENTAL STONE SCULPTURE

Aztec sculptures were the result of religious and cultural concepts. And an important characteristic of the Aztec sculpture is the abstraction of full images that retain concrete details. Sculptures represented the myths, dreams, and illusions of life and death

MONUMENTAL STONE SCULPTURE

TERRACOTTA SCULPTURE

The Aztecs worked less often with clay than most of the other places around them. Except for a few larger hollow figurines, most Aztec terracotta sculptures are small, solid, mold figurines. Their main subjects are the gods of nature and fertility and mothers with children. Death and sacrifice seem to be the focus of noble terracotta works.

TERRACOTTA SCULPTURE

Architecture

The Aztecs built many structures and buildings. Using tools such as chisels, hard rocks, and obsidian blades, they created structures like round pyramids, twin star pyramid, shrines, and temples. They also constructed ballcourts, aqueducts, and dams. But their greatest architectural achievement of all is the city of Tenochtitlan.

Architecture

Pyramid-Temples

Pyramid-temples were believed to represent mountains that were sources of water and fertility. They were government sponsored, and building them was one of the most important architectural duties, because of their religious significance. They were important sanctuaries for rituals being celebrated, and people were sometimes buried in them.

Ballcourts

Ballcourts for the famous Mesoamerican ballgame were generally constructed in an I shape, but there were variations. To the Aztecs, the ball game was their main sport, that embodied religious ritual and recreation.

Aquaducts and Dams

The Major cities Tenochtitlán and Tlatelolco were built on small marsh islands, along the lake Tetzcoco. The islands had a limited supply of drinking water, so aqueducts were built to carry fresh water over the lake from the springs on the mainland. The Aztecs created long canals for irrigation of fields, and a dam that protected Tenochtitlán from floods that were very destructive during heavy rainy seasons was built.

Aquaducts and Dams

Tenochtitlan

Tenochtitlan

The Aztec city of Tenochtitlan was constructed on a small island, in the center of a lake. This by itself, already makes the city an impressive acomplishment. As the population grew to a quarter of a million, they were able to extend the size of the island by literally building more land. There was cannals that ran through the city, like Venice. When the Spainiards saw this impressive city, they were awed by it.

Now its Your Turn!

Share the answers that you got on our hand out!

Now its Your Turn!

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