Fall+Research

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Section A

Climate & Geographic Factors  -The Aztec people lived in the Valley of Mexico located in south-central Mexico. -The valley is 7,000 feet above sea level and is on high mountains on all but the northern side.

-The valley is a closed unit, water flowing down the mountains drains into a series of shallow.

-The relatively high elevation of the Valley of Mexico results in a climate generally cooler than expected.

-The average temperature of the region is around 12 degrees celcius.

-These lower temperatures allow for only a one-crop growing season, it is interrupted by frost during fall

-The cool climate caused uncertainty for the Aztec farmer, wondering if his crops would be ruined by frosts. 

-The rainy season that the Aztecs experienced lasted from May through October.

-The amount of rainfall varied from an average of 450 mm in the north up to 1000 mm in the southern valley.

-Rainfall, throughout most of the valley, was often sporadic and could not be relied upon for the watering of the Aztec's crops.

-The Aztecs learned early that rain was unpredictable.

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Events & Leaders

-The Aztecs first saw the Spaniards as gods and gave Cortes many riches of gold

-It is a legend from the mythical Aztlan, a Nahuatl meaning “place of the heron.”

-They lived a nomadic life and endured many hardships before settling in the area of the main lake of Mexico in 1325

-The empire spread by gradually conquering other tribes, taking captives and territories

-The Aztec Empire was at its geographic peak when the Spaniards arrived in 1519.

-Cortes’ arrival and the Spaniards’ greed led to the fall of the Aztec Empire.

-Cortes and his armies were reinforced by many of the tribes who had been embattled with and conquered by the mighty Aztec warriors over the years

-The city’s population had also died from hunger and smallpox as well as the long battle with the Spanish.

-The smallpox epidemic of 1520-1521 was the first of three outbreaks on the Great Aztec Civilization.

-Destroying a total of 75% of the population of Mesoamerica

-A few Aztec survived and descendants today have carried on much of the culture. Leaders The Aztecs were stationed in Mexico and had more than one leader. 1. Acamapichtli. 2. Huitzilihuitl. 3. Chimalpopoca. 4. Itzcoatl. 5. Moctezuma ilhuicamina 6. Axayacatl. 7. Tizoc. 8. Ahuitzotl. 9. Moctezuma Xocoyotzin. 10. Cuitlahuac. 11. Cuauhtemoc. []

Transportation and Weaponry

-Perhaps the best known ancient Aztec weapon is the //maquahuitl// (macahuitl). -This is sometimes compared to the sword, and it was a powerful, close contact weapon. -Like the European sword, they came in two varieties - one handed and two handed. - The two handed versions might be slightly wider and as tall as a person -The maquahuitls were incredibly strong, and the Spanish claimed they could chop the head off a horse with one blow. -They were sharp and the Aztecs knew how to use them. []

Agriculture

-Corn was the most important crop. -Farmers also grew avocados, beans, squashes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and many other crops. -The lowlands provided such tropical products as cotton, papayas, rubber, and cacao beans. -The basic agricultural tool was a pointed stick for digging. -They chopped down and burned a section of forest, then planted crops in the clearing. -The ashes fertilized the soil. -in the highlands, the Aztecs cut terraces into the hillsides to increase the amount of level farmland. -They also dug irrigation systems to water their crops. -In addition, farmers turned areas of shallow lakes into cropland by scooping up mud from the lake bottoms to form islands. -These islands were called //chinampas -//<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The farmers regularly added fresh mud -<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Lake Xochimilco in Mexico City still has many chinampas [] Plagues & Diseases

-<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">During the siege of Tenochtitlán in 1520, the population was not only low on food but dying of smallpox. -25<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">% of the empire is said to have been lost to the disease alone. -<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">the Aztec chain of command was in ruins. -<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The emperor, **Cuitláhuac**, died of smallpox, along with many of the leaders of the army -<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">After Cortes landed in Mexico, another Spanish army came from Cuba to make sure he followed orders -<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">In this new group was an African being held as a slave, who had smallpox, -<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">One of Cortes' men contracted the disease. -<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> the Aztec army was to much for the Spanish, killing many and causing the rest to retreat. -<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Quickly, smallpox spread among the population. []