You may have heard of their calendars, seen their temples, or admired one of their cool-looking sculptural artifacts in a museum. But chances are you have no idea what life was really like for the Aztecs. The Aztec civilization was built upon a complex combination of Olmec and Mayan traditions.
But during the 14th, 15th, and early 16th centuries, the Aztecs acquired a new, baller level of power, influence, and riches across most of Mexico and Central America. Today, we're exploring what everyday life was like for the Aztecs. But before we get started, be sure to subscribe to the Weird History channel and let us know what ancient civilization you would like to hear about. OK, it's time to hop into our time machines and live like the Aztecs did. The Mexica originally settled in the area around Lake Texcoco, where they founded their city-state of Tenochtitlan.
Oh, you've never heard of Tenochtitlan? Well, you may know it by its current name. Mexico City, this booming culture with a uniform set of societal expectations thrived before eventually falling victim to Spanish conquerors in the 16th century.
Can you imagine if human sacrifices were a normal part of your everyday life? Well, for the Aztecs, it really was. This type of ritualistic purging was a pretty common and run-of-the-mill religious and social convention in the Aztec civilization. Slaves and prisoners of war would be sacrificed to the gods according to a ritual calendar.
as well as in times of drought, famine, or other periods of strife. If there weren't enough people around to sacrifice, then the Aztecs would attack their neighbors to gather some prisoners for the bloodletting. One such war, the so-called Flower Wars, took place in 1450 and was likely waged in order to bring about human sacrifice tributes, as well as to train warriors. Both sides would fight long enough to obtain prisoners for sacrifice. Then the war would end.
Known as Xochitl, we're never about land or defeating the enemy. But as the number of sacrificial victims grew, the demographics of the different clans and states changed. The Tala Scala pretty much boycotted the whole war for the sake of offing people in rituals part of being an Aztec and eventually allied with the Spanish.
As with most vast empires, trade was essential to the success of the Aztecs, though culturally they did look at long-distance merchants with an eye of skepticism. Regional markets, however, were managed and overseen by the government and were great outlets for the quick exchange of goods, not to mention gossiping and socializing, a classic Aztec activity. Paca, or long-distant merchants, often lived in separate areas of the city and formed their own social groups. And as there were no trucks or trains running around, merchants had to move their goods by hand or on their backs, making it a serious workout. These big halls were doubly dangerous at times when pirates and bandits factored into the equation.
Because of this ongoing threat, some Paco were put to work as informants, spies, and messengers. Occasionally, they'd even wear disguises. Like most cultures across Mesoamerica, the Aztecs depended on maize, a.k.a. corn, as their staple crop. They also grew a lot of beans and squash, as well as tomatoes, avocados, chilies, tubers, and root vegetables. enjoying a mostly vegetarian diet.
The upper-class folks generally ate more meat and fish than the commoners, but there were plenty of ants, grasshoppers, and worms for everyone from all walks of life to enjoy. Yeah, you heard that right. The Aztecs straight up ate bugs. Mmm, grasshoppers. Aztec farmers even cultivated insects and used their eggs to make tortillas, similar to the ones made today out of corn.
Some insects were cooked while others were eaten alive. The Aztecs felt particular insects had medicinal values. In fact, In many parts of Mexico and Mesoamerica today, insects are still a part of the cuisine. One of the many weapons in the Aztec warrior's badass repertoire was a blowgun.
Aztec warriors also carried slings, bows and arrows, and spears in preparation for combat at various ranges, not to mention daggers, batons, clubs, and axes for hand-to-hand combat. Basically, you don't want to get on the bad side of an Aztec warrior. especially one that has one of their most discreet and deadly weapons of all, the blowgun.
The blowgun was most commonly used for hunting animals, but would have been a handy tool against one's enemies as well. The guns themselves were five to six foot long hollow tubes, harboring darts that were tipped with poisonous frog secretions. The modern world is pretty violent, but for the most part, we're safe from death by poisonous frog spear.
Ding dong! Here comes the Aztec bride! Much like our world now, marriage was a big part of Aztec life and was ceremonial and done according to strict legal conventions. Bizarrely, only a man's first wife went through the elaborate and traditional marriage ceremony.
After his first marriage, a man could then take... on a secondary wife who would also be legally recognized, but his rightful heirs would only come from his first marriage. Polygamy wasn't for everyone, though.
It was usually the wealthier men who took on multiple wives, as they were supposed to treat all their wives equally and fairly. And plus, weddings are expensive, you know? Imagine hosting an Aztec open bar wedding for seven different wives. Oof, that liquor tab really adds up. Concubines were also common, but cheating on one's wife was illegal.
Presumably because men were the head of the household, a woman committing adultery resulted in a death sentence. A total double standard, but men committing adultery with a married woman was also a capital offense. Splitting up was only granted on special occasions. Court petitions to separate on the basis of abuse, incompatibly, lack of a male heir, or abandonment could be filed in certain circumstances. That's right.
Boys, girls, men, and women all received an education, though each group was trained to do specific tasks based upon their gender, age, and social status. Girls and boys were educated by their parents, homeschool style, from a young age, with a greater emphasis placed on basic skills. Typically, girls were taught domestic activities like sewing, weaving, cooking, and other home-based tasks, while boys learned the basics of farming or whatever trade their fathers practiced.
If you were a boy of certain ability, you might branch off to Kalmakauk, which was essentially a military school around the age of 12 or 13. At this military middle school, they'd learn the skills necessary to be warriors, running, jumping, fighting, as well as matters of law, religion, and other civic topics. These elite boys were expected to go on to become government officials, scholars, teachers, or priests. Around the same age, commoner boys went to Telpachkali to learn more about agriculture and receive some warrior training. Middle school-aged girls, on the other hand, went to a separate school to learn about running the household as well as singing, dancing, and crafts. Once commoner boys and girls finished school, most returned home to put their skills to use.
One thing all schools had in common was they all taught about religious rituals and the duties related to citizenship and history. Only the most talented students were chosen to become priests and ritual healers. Since agriculture was essential to the survival of the Aztecs, they developed several practices to ensure they got the most out of their land.
They used this thing called the chinampa system, which called for the dredging of mud from the bottoms of swamps to fertilize soil. The chinampa system helped with planting, growing, and harvesting everything from corn to peppers to tomatoes. Aztec farmers would then place the muck on top of reed rafts and float the rafts on top of water, holding them in place by planting trees or building walls.
The Aztecs would also channel water into these raised fields and terrace them to increase yield efficiency. In addition to that technique, the Aztecs planted small gardens, collected algae, and fertilized soil with human manure. Aztec men wore simple clothing, but their level of adornment and decoration was more than a fashion trend.
It was a matter of social rule. The breakdown goes as follows. Individuals of a higher social class were able to dress up their loincloths, capes, skirts, and loose-fitting shirts with gold bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and pendants. They would also wear furs and feathers to further indicate their social position. The elite classes also wore clothing made of aite cloth, crafted from the mugwe cactus, while commoners wore simple cotton garments.
All of the Aztec loved color and often dyed their clothes vibrant shades of yellow, red, and blue with plant and flower dyes. Serious runway material. The merchant and military classes typically used jewelry to distinguish themselves. Kind of like modern day armies, Aztec warrior heroes were able to wear additional ornamentation as they became more successful in battle.
Sadly, lower classes were unable to wear adornments comparable to their social superiors, but they could dress more elaborately than merchants. Priests, on the other hand, wore special clothes and costumes, which consisted of some sort of jacket or long robe that was dark in color depending on the role the priest was playing. When the Aztecs weren't working or fighting, they actually knew how to have a good time. They passed the time by playing board and dice games, sang, danced, and even gambled.
Peitoli was one of the most common games and was played by moving tokens on and off a reed mat based on the throw of beans that served as dice. Young women were taught dancing and singing in school because dancing and singing were actually considered part of maintaining a household. Singing and dancing was also an important part of religious ceremonies and community celebrations.
And it was happening all the time in Aztec life, like one big Broadway musical, with a few hundred human sacrifices sprinkled in. The Mesoamerican ballgame predates the Aztec civilization, but they picked up where the Olmec and Maya left off and played the game as a religious event. Just as battles provided Aztecs with sacrificial victims, so too did the ballgame.
The game was played on an H-shaped field, with the creation story of Mesoamerica carved into the surrounding stone walls. The loser of the game. which involved trying to keep an 8-10 pound rubber ball from hitting the ground.
or to get it into the opponent's goal would be sacrificed to the gods. The stakes were a little higher than your average pickup game. The two calendars in Aztec civilization dictated all aspects of life. The solar calendar was made up of 365 days, just like us, and divided into 18 months with at least one major religious ritual in each month.
Days were given sign names. that indicated a particular aspect of nature, such as deer or water, and then there were 13 numbers that represented sequentially. At the end of 360 days, there were five unlucky days that didn't have names or numbers.
Aside from the solar calendar, the Aztecs also also had a ritual calendar, which ran for 260 days. It was the responsibility of the priests to make sure the rituals were conducted according to the calendar and in honor of the appropriate god or event. Ceremonies such as mock battles, fertility rituals, and human sacrifices were carried out depending on the day. The ritual calendar was also divided into 20 days with animals and elements of nature ascribed to them.
And then again, they were broken up into 13-day increments indicated by numbers. The two calendars were operated at the same time. And actually, did match up once every 52 years, at which time a new cycle of both was celebrated with additional rituals and sacrifices to make sure the gods didn't decide it was time to put an end to humanity entirely.
One ritual that took place was removing a man's heart and lighting his chest on fire. That fire would then be transferred to homes and temples throughout the empire. Gruesome?
Sure. But that's just the way things were for the ancient Aztecs. A naturally spiritual, creative, and scientifically adept society, the Aztecs made a mark on the world that is now.
still felt to this day, even if life for them wasn't exactly a walk in the park. What do you think of the daily life for the Aztecs? Let us know in the comments below. And while you're at it, check out some of these other videos from our Weird History.