The Topic:  Aztecs

Easier - Aztecs were a wandering Native American tribe who came to Mexico during the 13th century. There they built a great civilization including cities, pyramids, and temples. In 1519 Spanish conquistadors arrived in Mexico and defeated the Aztecs.

Harder - Aztec comes from the word Azteca, which is derived from Aztlán ("White Land"). Aztlán is believed to have been the northwestern region of today's Mexico. Aztlán is the land where, according to Aztec tradition, their tribe originated. According to Aztec legend at the beginning of the 12th century until the 13th century, the Aztec peoples migrated south to the Valley of Mexico in search of a place to settle.

 

By the 1400's and into the early 1500's, the Aztecs had established one of the most advanced civilizations in the Americas. Some of their cities at that time were as large as any in Europe. Aztec peoples practiced a religion that affected every part of their lives. To honor their gods, they constructed towering temples, huge sculptures, and held ceremonies that included bloody human sacrifices. The Aztec empire was destroyed by the Spaniards, who conquered it in 1521. But the Aztecs have made a lasting mark on Mexican culture.

 

 

The Aztecs/Mexicas 

http://www.indians.org/welker/aztec.htm

Here you find information about the Aztecs and links to several other related websites.

 

The Ancient Aztecs (TrackStar, grade 6-9) 

http://scrtec.org/track/tracks/s00749.html

This website has photos of temples, sculptures and glyphs,eyewitness accounts of ritual human sacrifice, poems in Nahuatl -- the language of the Aztecs (translated to English),an extensive listing of the gods and goddesses worshiped, and more.

 

History: The Aztecs

http://www.cyberessays.com/History/4.htm

This essay is an interesting history of the Aztecs.

 

Mexica: Aztecs 

http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/CIVAMRCA/AZTECS.HTM

Read descriptions of the history, religion, economy, society, and writings of this culture that dominated the Valley of Mexico in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

 

 

Websites By Kids For Kids

Aztec 

http://www.kent.wednet.edu/KSD/SB/Ancient/Aztec.html

Here are student reports and artwork on the Aztec empire.

 

Aztec Architecture 

http://library.advanced.org/10098/aztec.htm

A few people may mistake the Mayas for Aztecs. This website explains how the Aztecs built their holy temples, houses, the Emperor's palace, as well as a very religious temple.

 

The Aztec World With Mr. Burnett

http://eaglelink.sas.edu.sg/intermediatesc/ThirdGrade/EBurnett/Aztecs/aztecworldindex.html

Internet links, activities, research, and more.

 

The Ancient Aztecs 

http://library.advanced.org/27981/

The website includes information about Aztec rulers, daily life, technology, culture, religion, the Spanish conquest, and has a timeline, glossary, web links, and bibliography.

 

Aztecs from the Empires Past website 

http://library.advanced.org/16325/y-main.html

Website provides information about the Aztecs society and governmental structure, their scientific advances in the areas of astronomy and medicine, religion,and interest in the arts, agriculture and social conditions of their time. Also learn about Cortez and the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs.

 

More Aztec Websites

Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico 

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/aztecs1.html

In 1519 Hernan Cortés sailed from Cuba, landed in Mexico, and made his way to the Aztec capital. Here you can read accounts by the Aztecs written shortly after the conquest.

 

"Mexico" Lessons Stories at Trek Teachers' Zone 

http://www.worldtrek.org/odyssey/mexico/mexstories.html

Read Aztec myths about the founding of their capital city: 'The Heart of Copil' and 'The Evil of Texcatlipoca.'

 

History of Mexico/ The Aztecs 

http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/hpostclassic2.html

The Aztecs were in Mexico in the 13th century.

 

Aztecs Information site

http://www.uwgb.edu/galta/mrr/aztecs/

Get information on Aztec origins, lifestyles, religion, mythology, and art.

 

Buried Mirror: Conflict of the Gods 

http://www.umich.edu/~proflame/texts/mirror/conflict.html

This website describes Cortés' expedition to Mexico beginning in 1519 and ending with his conquest of the Aztecs in 1521.

 

The Conquest of the Aztec Empire: Hernando Cortes (University of Calgary) 

http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/eurvoya/aztec.html

Here you can learn of Cortes and get information about the conquest of the Aztecs.

 

The Aztec Calendar 

http://www.azteccalendar.com/

There is not just one Aztec calendar, there are two more or less independent systems. A 365 day calendar, called the xiuhpohualli, describes the days and rituals related to the seasons,. The other calendar has 260 days. In Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, it is called the tonalpohualli or, in English, the day-count. Most information on this Internet-site refers to the tonalpohualli, which is the sacred calendar.

 

The Formation and Structure of the Aztec Universe 

http://www.astronomy.pomona.edu/archeo/nmexico/aztec.univ.html

Here is a description of how the Aztecs viewed their gods and the universe.

 

Websites for Teachers

The Aztec: Markets, Maize, and Mathematics 

http://www.mts.net/~lsisco/PAGE4.HTM

Lesson plan incorporates the Aztec unit, quahuitl, in calculating perimeter and area.

 

The Aztecs: From Aztlan to Tenochtitlan at Trek Teachers Zone 

http://www.worldtrek.org/odyssey/mexico/mexlessons.html

This website contains lesson plans for Mexico Trek.

 

Aztecs Meet the Spanish (Grade 6-8) 

http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/aztecs_spanish/

It is the year 1527 and an Independent Counsel has been chosen by the Roman Catholic Church to determine a policy for the Church toward future exploration, conquest and conversion of the native people of Mexico.

 

Aztec Mythology by Lorna Dils (Grade 4-5) 

http://www.cis.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1994/3/94.03.03.x.html

This lesson on Aztec mythology provides an understanding of the basics of the Aztec's polytheistic religion.

 

Aztec	Inca	Maya	South America	Cuzco	chinampa
Spanish	Nahua	Mesoamerican	Motecuhzoma	sacrifice	macehualles
merchant	craftsman	peasant	slave	noble	pilli
calpulli	Cilhuacan	Toltec	Tenochca	temple	telpuchcalli
Mexico	Tenochititlan	Hernán Cortés	solar calendar	astronomy	maize
conquistador	farming	crops	music	huehuetl	writing
Mexica	Aztlán	sun worship	poyolli	warrior	cacao bean