Social Studies Unit Test: The Aztecs

Aztec Social Structure

• Social hierarchy consisted of nobles (pipiltin), commoners (macehualtin), serfs, and slaves.
• Nobles included government leaders, military officials, high-level priests, and lords (tecuhtli).

Values in Aztec Culture

• Humans were valued primarily for sacrifices to the gods, believed to need human blood to sustain the universe.
• Successful battles against enemy warriors were key to securing sacrificial victims.

Tenochtitlan

• Capital city located on an island near the western shore of Lake Texcoco in central Mexico.
• Served as both the political and religious center of the Aztec civilization.

Political Structure

• Land ownership was collective among families, organized into groups known as calpulli.
• Calpulli leadership managed local governance, educational institutions (telpochalli), and tax collection.

Chinampas

• Innovative agricultural method using small rectangular plots created in the shallow lake beds for crop production.

Aztec Power Tactics

• Specific strategies for rising to power were not detailed in the information provided.

Bartolomé de las Casas

• 16th-century Spanish historian and social reformer.
• First resident Bishop of Chiapas and "Protector of the Indians."

Treatment of Defeated Aztecs

• Defeated Aztecs faced severe humiliation and were forced to carry heavy burdens.

Spanish Conquest Success

• Despite being outnumbered, Spanish forces utilized advanced weaponry, including guns.
• The Aztecs lacked modern weapons and faced strategic disadvantages such as blocked canals.