They used their brains and their brawn to defeat their neighbors — first the other ethnic groups in the central basic of Mexico, and then much farther afield. To make sure they remained on top, they used the threat of human sacrifice to keep others in line. But on the whole, like most humans, they preferred to laugh and dance and do the decent thing. They knew that all peoples had something special to offer, and the markets of their great city were stocked with proof of this—the products of the widest possible reach, created by talented artisans from across the land.
Later, in the s, s and s, some of their descendants now mixed with Spaniards returned north and settled the area from California to Texas. This migration only stopped when the United States invaded their country in the s and defeated them in war, suddenly claiming the region as their own.
Likewise, the people of Central America, who once existed on the edges of the Aztec empire, find themselves facing poverty and violence and look to the north with hope. If they were here today, they would probably see a certain irony in the situation.
That instead of traveling south, Mesoamericans now journey north, reversing the steps taken by their ancestors so many years ago. And that even in the face of American hostility and outright violence, they still find hope, energy and resilience, much like their Aztec ancestors in the shadow of their Spanish colonizers.
For too long, we have accepted as fact the records left behind by the Spaniards, whose language, culture and worldview vastly differed from the people they conquered. Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives. For thousands of years, this area was populated by groups such as the Olmec, Zapotec, Maya, Toltec, and Aztec peoples. Cultural traits that define the region include the domestication of maize, beans, avocado, and vanilla, and a common architectural style.
Learn more about the rich cultures and lives of these early civilizations. Mexico City is founded on the ruins of Tenochtitlan. If you could go back in time, what would you see?
Each country had different motivations for colonization and expectations about the potential benefits. Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students.
Skip to content. Image Pyramid of the Sun The Teotihuacan pyramids are some of the largest of their kind in the Americas. Photograph by f9photos. Twitter Facebook Pinterest Google Classroom. Encyclopedic Entry Vocabulary. Spanish explorer or conqueror of Latin America in the 16th century. Media Credits The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit.
Media If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. Text Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. Interactives Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. Related Resources. The Aztecs appeared in Mesoamerica—as the south-central region of pre-Columbian Mexico is known—in the early 13th century. Their arrival came just after, or perhaps helped bring about, the fall of the previously dominant Mesoamerican civilization, the Toltecs.
When the Aztecs saw an eagle perched on a cactus on the marshy land near the southwest border of Lake Texcoco, they took it as a sign to build their settlement there. Typical Aztec crops included maize corn , along with beans, squashes, potatoes, tomatoes and avocados; they also supported themselves through fishing and hunting local animals such as rabbits, armadillos, snakes, coyotes and wild turkey. Their relatively sophisticated system of agriculture including intensive cultivation of land and irrigation methods and a powerful military tradition would enable the Aztecs to build a successful state, and later an empire.
In , under their leader Itzcoatl, the Aztecs formed a three-way alliance with the Texcocans and the Tacubans to defeat their most powerful rivals for influence in the region, the Tepanec, and conquer their capital of Azcapotzalco. By the early 16th century, the Aztecs had come to rule over up to small states, and some 5 to 6 million people, either by conquest or commerce. The Aztec civilization was also highly developed socially, intellectually and artistically. It was a highly structured society with a strict caste system; at the top were nobles, while at the bottom were serfs, indentured servants and enslaved workers.
The Aztec faith shared many aspects with other Mesoamerican religions, like that of the Maya , notably including the rite of human sacrifice. The Aztec calendar, common in much of Mesoamerica, was based on a solar cycle of days and a ritual cycle of days; the calendar played a central role in the religion and rituals of Aztec society. The first European to visit Mexican territory was Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba, who arrived in Yucatan from Cuba with three ships and about men in early In March , Cortes landed at the town of Tabasco , where he learned from the natives of the great Aztec civilization, then ruled by Moctezuma or Montezuma II.
Defying the authority of Velasquez, Cortes founded the city of Veracruz on the southeastern Mexican coast, where he trained his army into a disciplined fighting force. Cortes and some soldiers then marched into Mexico, aided by a native woman known as Malinche, who served as a translator.
Thanks to instability within the Aztec empire, Cortes was able to form alliances with other native peoples, notably the Tlascalans, who were then at war with Montezuma. Though the Aztecs had superior numbers, their weapons were inferior, and Cortes was able to immediately take Montezuma and his entourage of lords hostage, gaining control of Tenochtitlan.
0コメント