SPANISH AND THE AZTECS

Worldview's in conflict

Gathering Informationabout the Aztec Worldview

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:- 6 PIECES OF L INE PAPER- INCLUDE A TITLE AZTEC WORLDVIEW RETRIEVAL CHARTS .- CREATE A T-CHART WITH TWO COLUMNS.- LABEL ONE SIDE KEY ELEMENTS OF AZTEC LIFE AND THE

OTHER EVIDENCE TO PROVE IT ’S A KEY ELEMENT.- YOU WILL CREATE 12 CHARTS IN TOTAL LABEL THEM:

1. GEOGRAPHY 2. RELIGION 3. TIME 4. EXPANDING THOUGH TRADE AND WAR 5. HIERARCHY 6. EDUCATION 7. CITIZENSHIP 8. LAWS 9. WEALTH 10. CORTEZ 11. MILITARY STRATEGY AND WEAPONS 12. DISEASE

Example: – Aztec Worldview Retrieval Charts

Format your charts

like this!

It will be the easiest

to use when

completing your

Assignment!

1. Geography 2. Religion 3. Time

4. Expanding through trade and war 5. Hierarchy 6. Education

7. Citizenship 8. Laws 9. Wealth

10. Cortez 11. Military strategy and weapons

12. Disease

IN THIS UNIT YOU WILL INVESTIGATE THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

IN WHAT WAYS D ID INTERCULTURAL CONTACT BETWEEN THE AZTECS AND THE SPANISH AFFECT EACH SOCIET IES WORLDVIEW?

DID THE IR D I FFERENT WORLDVIEWS MEAN THAT CONFL ICT WAS INEVI TABLE BETWEEN THE AZTECS AND THE SPANISH?

WHAT FACTORS CONTRIBUTED TO THE DOMINANCE OF THE SPANISH OVER THE AZTECS?

TO WHAT EXTENT DOES PRESENT DAY MEXICO REFLECT THE EXPER IENCE OF SPANISH-AZTEC CONTACT?

WHO WERE THE AZTECS???

NINETEENTH-CENTURY HISTORIANS CREATED

THE TERM AZTEC. THEY WERE REFERRING TO

THE CIVIL IZATION CREATED BY A NOMADIC

TRIBE THE MEXICA— DURING THE 15TH

CENTURY. AZTEC MAY BE DERIVED FROM

AZTLAN, THE PLACE FROM WHICH THE MEXICA

BELIEVE THEY SET OUT TO FIND THEIR NEW

HOME IN TENOCHTITLAN.

The Aztec’s Legendary TrekJournal Entries.

- THE TREK TO FIND THEIR PROMISED LAND HAD A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE AZTEC WORLDVIEW.

- YOUR JOB IS TO PRETEND THAT YOU ARE AN AZTEC WHO IS ON THIS JOURNEY AND HAS KEPT A JOURNAL OF THEIR EXPERIENCES ALONG THEIR JOURNEY.

- RECREATE A JOURNAL ENTRY EXPLAINING HOW THEIR WORLDVIEW IS CHANGING IN REGARDS TO GEOGRAPHY, TIME, AND BELIEFS.

WHERE DID THE AZTECS LIVE???

When the Spanish arrived in 1519, the area of present-day Mexico was home to many

Indigenous groups.

CHAPTER 7: THE PEOPLE OF THE SUNIn what ways do a group’s collective beliefs and experiences contribute to shaping a unique identity?

WHAT WE WILL COVER

The Aztec’s Legendary Trek

The land and religious beliefs

The Power of the Mountains.

An Island Home

A Changing Geography

THE PEOPLE OF THE SUN

- For the Aztecs their

150 year trek to find their

new home land is

important to understand

the Aztec connection to

the land.

THE LAND AND RELIGION

The landscape was seen as both

physical and sacred.

Aztec’s believed that the mountains

brought them physically closer to God

Temples were built in the shape of

mountains.

God commanded them to come to this

place so they were determined to

survive there. Geography

THE POWER OF THE MOUNTAINS

The mountains has positive

and negative consequences:

It gave them security from

invaders.

However they were

vulnerable to flooding.

The Aztecs responded by

building dams and aqueducts.

Geography

AN ISLAND HOME

The Island also provided

safety.

The Aztecs built three

causeways to connect the

island to the mainland.

Causeways could be

destroyed in case of an

invasion.

Geography

CHANGING THE GEOGRAPHYThe Aztecs made

changes to the

physical geography

because they were

determined to

survive on the land.

One way that they

changed the land

way by Chinampas

CHANGING THE GEOGRAPHY

- The Aztecs determination to live on the island

forced them to change the physical geography by

creating Chinampa’s which were floating islands

that were like gardens.

AN ISLAND HOME

- Provided the Aztecs with security.

- Built causeways or bridges that to connect them to the mainland,

and could be destroyed in case of an invasion. ***Importance of

geography, as they adapted the land to make it more suitable****

Geography

SPANISH AND THE AZTEC'SAZTEC RELIGION: THE SACRED LANDSCAPE

Group Note-Taking Activity

PERSON 1:

USING PAGES 158 – 163 PEOPLE CREATE NOTES FOR THE KEY ELEMENTS TIME AND RELIGION GEOGRAPHY.PERSON.

PERSON 2:

USING PAGES 165 – 168 TWO PEOPLE CREATE NOTES FOR THE KEY ELEMENT –EXPANDING THROUGH TRADE AND WAR SHARE YOUR NOTES WITH YOUR GROUP. YOU SHOULD HAVE ABOUT 6 PIECES OF KEY INFORMATION.

WHAT WE WILL COVER

The Aztec’s Legendary Trek

The land and religious beliefs

The Power of the Mountains.

An Island Home

A Changing Geography

WHAT WE WILL COVER

Aztec Gods

Aztec Calendars

Human Sacrifice

The New Fire Ceremony

Being at the center of the

world

WHY IS RELIGION IMPORTANT TO AZTEC WORLDVIEW?

- Aztec religion impacts every part

of their life. They had many Gods

and believed that some Gods were

more powerful than others.

AZTEC GODS

In groups of 4 read about FOUR of the Aztec Gods on

page 159. As a group decide which God would you fear

the most and why.

Religion

AZTEC CALENDARSThe Aztec calendar emphasized the

close connection between gods and

human beings, between the sacred and

physical landscapes.

The Aztecs had two calendars the

solar and the sacred. The sacred

calendar was 260 days long. It took

the sacred calendar exactly 52 years

to “catch up” with the solar calendar.

The sacred calendar told how the

world began and how it will end.

Time

AZTEC CALENDARSTime

In the centre the Aztec calendar the god Tonatiuh has

his tongue out to show he awaiting sacrificial blood.

Aztecs believed that there were four eras before the

present one. Each had previously been destroyed.

HUMAN SACRIFICE

For the Aztecs, human sacrifice

had a deeply religious

significance.It was the strongest

expression of their devotion to the

gods, since they believed that the

victims actually fed the Gods.

Without it, the gods would grow

sick and die.

Religion

HUMAN SACRIFICE

One of the reasons war

was so important to the

Aztecs was becauseit gave

them the opportunity to

capture new victims for

sacrifice.Religion

AZTEC CEREMONIES

Occurred every 52 years then the

two calendars would catch up.

Aztec religion was evident through

the new fire ceremony.

Aztecs would fast, and let their fires

go out. Wait on their rooftops until the

fire was lit by Tenochtitlan and brought

a courier to relight their house fires.

Religion

or Time

TENOCHTITLAN AT THE CENTRE(PG 163)

Religion

Or Geography

TENOCHTITLAN AT THE CENTRE

- The Aztecs believed that the world was a round

and flat disc divided in to four sections.

- Their capital city Tenochtitlan was at the centre.

- They believed that they were in a special or

location in the universe.

Religion

TENOCHTITLAN AT THE CENTRE

Right in the middle of the

city was a large square,

which contained a number

of temples, including the

Great Temple. To the Aztecs,

Tenochtitlan was a model of

the world, with the Great Temple at the very centre.

ReligionOr Geography

TENOCHTITLAN AT THE CENTRE

Aztec priests sometimes built

temples on mountain- tops,

where they believed the physical and spiritual worlds met.

As an urban or city-dwelling

people, the Aztecs needed to

create sacred places inside their

cities.Religion

Or Geography

TENOCHTITLAN AT THE CENTRE

Temples were built in the shape

of a pyramid to resemble a

sacred mountain. The most

magnificent of these was the

Great Temple in Tenochtitlan,

the physical and spiritual

centre of the universe for the

Aztec people.ReligionOr Geography

EXPANDING THE EMPIRE

The Aztecs formed trade and

defense allies, The Aztecs took

great pride in these two aspects

of their character, the trader and

the warrior.

Trade and war were two

important ways that the Aztecs

expanded their empire.

EXPANDING THE EMPIRE

Merchants would often

travel with hundreds of

slaves to carry back

materials from the

expedition which could

take months at a time.Through Trade

EXPANDING THE EMPIRE

Merchants also acted as spies for

the Aztec army. They created

maps that detailed which cities

would be easily conquered. This

was key information for Aztec

leaders as they expanded their

Empire.

Through Trade

EXPANDING THE EMPIRE

As soon as a baby boy was born

his parents put a small bow and

shield in his hands showing his

commitment to his people.

The Aztecs had a law that made

every young man serve in the

army. Through War

EXPANDING THE EMPIRE

Aztecs profited from the

conquered groups by

collecting tributes in the

forms of gifts, taxes.

The Aztecs kept good

records of what they

received. Through War

Group Note-Taking Activity

PERSON 1:

USING PAGES 158 – 163 PEOPLE CREATE NOTES FOR THE KEY ELEMENTS TIME AND RELIGION GEOGRAPHY.PERSON.

PERSON 2:

USING PAGES 165 – 168 TWO PEOPLE CREATE NOTES FOR THE KEY ELEMENT –EXPANDING THROUGH TRADE AND WAR SHARE YOUR NOTES WITH YOUR GROUP. YOU SHOULD HAVE ABOUT 6 PIECES OF KEY INFORMATION.

AZTEC SOCIAL HIERARCHY

Key Questions to Guide Your Research Pg 172 - 179

1. What were the two main classes in the Aztec Social

Hierarchy? Describe these roles.

2. What was the role of the Emperor?

3. How were family clans and society organized?

Describe the characteristics of three calpolli.

4. How did Aztec’s show their status in society?

5. How were people able to move upward in the Aztec

social Hierarchy?

AZTEC HIERARCHY

The Aztecs were divided into two main

classes:

Nobles – Were a small percentage of the

population which held most of the wealth.

Many nobles became priests, government

officials or teachers.

Commoners: Anyone who was not a noble

belonged to this class. Jobs for commoners

included slaves farmers, or fishermen

AZTEC HIERARCHY

The Emperor had many privileges and responsibilities:

He was a human being but was treated like a God.

Members lived in the same neighborhood

and went to the same temple.

Some calpolli were made up of people

who did the same kind of job such as gold

smiths or feather workers. Some were

made up from close family ties.

They elected council, owned land and

collected taxes.

AZTEC

HIERARCHY

SOCIETY

Society was organized in to units called Calpolli:

Merchants:

Richest Calpolli in

Tenochtitlan.

Provided knowledge about

the geography and helped

as advisors to generals.

AZTEC

HIERARCHY

SOCIETY

Society was organized in to units called Calpolli:

Farmers:

Grew crops to feed the population.

Were also skilled hunters and fishers,

often sold what they caught.

Paid taxes

May have been asked to volunteer to

work on projects for the state.

AZTEC

HIERARCHY

SOCIETY

Society was organized in to units called Calpolli:

Artisans:

Were skilled crafts workers and

made masks, gold smiths and

feather workers were the most

respect trades.

The most-prized feather came

from The Quetzal bird, which

was associated with the

feathered serpent.”.

AZTEC

HIERARCHY

SOCIETY

Society was organized in to units called Calpolli:

Signs of Status:

Status was shown by the clothes and

jewelry that the Aztec’s wore and well

as the size and location of their house.

Moving up in Society

The main way to move up in society

was to have success on the battlefield.

A warrior could move up from a

commoner to nobility.

AZTEC

HIERARCHY

SOCIETY

AZTEC

EDUCATION

What do the Codices tell us about Aztec

education???

Aztec Children were educated at home until

they started school between ages 10 – 15.

How would starting school at the age of 15

affect your life?

AZTEC

EDUCATION

Aztec Children were pampered until the were

about 3 years old.

After that they were expected to be hard

working and obedient. If they weren’t they were

harshly punished.

The aim was to create citizens with “ A stone

heart and a stone face”

AZTEC

EDUCATION

Developing Questions for Inquiry

Good questions are focused on and refer to only one

topic.

- They are written so that they cannot be answered

using just one word.

-They are written to help you understand a point of

view, perspective or worldview.

-Should be used to help you extend your

understanding of a specific topic by making

connections to familiar topics.

INQUIRY PROCESS

Try it!!!!

When you are about to buy something are you

“Torn” between two brands?

How do you end up making a decision?

- Asking questions to weigh your options and

evaluate preferences.

- Asking questions to find out which products

will best serve your purpose.

Asking Questions????

Developing Questions for Inquiry

Your topic: How are the Aztec social structure and

education systems related?

Individually write a series of 3 questions to help guide

your research in understanding Aztec education.

Share your ideas with the class.

AZTEC

EDUCATION

Sample Inquiry questions

Topic: How is Aztec social structure and education

system related?

1. Did Aztec’s value education?

2. Did everyone in Aztec society receive the same

education? If yes what does this say about their

society? If no how were people educated

differently? (Define the types of schools and

describe what people learned)

3. Did all Aztecs learn to read and write? Explain.

4. Were men and women educated differently?

AZTEC EDUCATION

Value of Education

Education was valued in Aztec society

because all school was free and every child went to school.

AZTEC

EDUCATION

The Aztecs Had Two Types of schools:

Calmecac- was the schools for nobles located

in their neighborhood, attached to the temple.

Telpochcalli - was the school for commoners,

they did not learn to read and write, everything

was spoken and students learned through

memorization.

AZTEC

EDUCATION

Nobles studied: (Take 3 samples)

AZTEC

EDUCATION

Commoners studied:

Aztec history, religion, citizenship duties, music

and dance for sacred ceremonies. Although

most of their time was spent doing physical

labour.

Commoner Training:

Most commoners were prepared at home for

the family trade.

. AZTEC

EDUCATION

Aztecs Reading and Writing

Reading and writing occurred using a system of

glyphs

Only Nobels learned to read and write.

Commoners learned orally and through

memorization and hands on work.

AZTEC

EDUCATION

Military Training in School

At school boys trained to be warriors to defend

the state. They were partnered and acted as

soldier servants to learn how conduct

themselves in battle. Boys became warriors at

age fifteen.

AZTEC

EDUCATION

Aztec women and education

Aztec’s believed that women should be

educated, and even though many women

had to stop school when they had children

some women would have jobs in the army, as

doctors and healers because they had the

most knowledge about medicinal herbs.

AZTEC

EDUCATION

Contributing to SocietyAZTEC CITIZENSHIP

Make The Connection!

What do these

men

Have in

Common???

Make The Connection!What do these

men

Have in

Common???Nelson Mandela

What do you think is the right information?

Things to consider:

How did the Aztecs promote good citizenship?

What did the Aztecs believe were the

characteristics of good a good citizen?

AZTEC

CITIZENSHIP

Based on this piece of text can you tell about

AZTEC Citizenship?

AZTEC

CITIZENSHIP

Aztec Citizenship

AZTEC SOCIETY FOCUSED ON PRODUCING CITIZENS WHO WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO THE COMMUNITY AND LESSONS FOR GOOD CITIZENSHIP WERE A PART OF CHILDREN'S EDUCATION.

In your opinion what are the most important

characteristic of an idea Aztec citizen?

AZTEC CITIZENSHIP

Contributing to SocietyAZTEC LAWS

Selecting the right information:

Develop inquiry questions and answer them to

select the right information to develop your

understanding of how Aztec laws promoted

good citizenship and protected the rights of all

Aztec citizens.

AZTEC

LAWS

Law is a key element of Aztec life because,

peoples rights were protected by a system of

written laws.

The legal system was a powerful tool for

maintaining order because it reminded citizens

to be honest and obey the laws.

All people no matter their class were bound by

the law, however commoners were treated

more harshly.

AZTEC LAWS

The legal system had an appeal system where if

someone was unsatisfied with a judgment they

could go to a higher court and even the

emperor.

Judges based decisions on the evidence that

was presented to them.

Sentences tended to be slavery or even death

for serious crimes.

AZTEC LAWS

Slave Laws:

Laws protected slaves from being beaten

Being a slave was not seen as shameful. It was seen

more like “bad luck” because it was not seen as

permanent. Slaves could keep property and even

have their own slaves.

If a slave escaped to the palace from the market

they were free.

Children born in to slavery were born free.

AZTEC LAWS

Do you agree with the YCJA?

The Youth Criminal Justice Act is the law that

governs Canada's youth justice system. It

applies to youth who are at least 12 but under

18 years old, who are alleged to have

committed criminal offences.

AZTEC

CITIZENSHIP

The Impact of the Youth Criminal Justice Act

The Impact of the Youth Criminal Justice Act

AZTEC WEALTH

-It was a drive for wealth and gold that made

Cortes want to go to the new world.

-The drive for wealth was what caused Cortes to

attack the Aztecs.

-The want to become rich or have lots of resources

(gold, silver) was something the Aztecs and the

Spanish had in common.

-Quality of clothing and its patterns were signs of

wealth in Aztec society.

-Jewelry and the size and location of a person’s

house was also a sign of wealth.

Cortez and the rest of the people that went on

expeditions from Spain had a not-so-secret formula

for how to conquer a new piece of land and the

people in it.

Cortez was greedy, he did not want land, he

wanted gold.

He believed that the Caribbean would be a good

place to make his fortune.

Set traps for great leaders and threatened their lives

if their followers did not obey their orders.

CORTES

Cortes and the Spanish has a not so secret formula which they

regularly used to guide them as they conquered groups of people.

Their formula was a series of 5 steps.

Your Task:

Create a 5 step plan that you think would put you in the best

position to conquer a group of people.

Share with the class.

How did your plan compare to the Spanish formula?

NOT-SO-SECRET

FORMULA ( PG. 218)

How did your plan compare to the Spanish formula?

NOT-SO-SECRET

FORMULA ( PG. 218)

MILITARY STRATEGY AND

WEAPONS

-Both the Spanish and the Aztecs had powerful tools

war but they were not evenly matched.

-The Spanish brought with them new weapons

(Muskets) that were unknown to Aztecs which

completely took them by surprise.

-The biggest advantage that the Spanish had in

battle were horses.

-Moctezuma chose to wait to see what the Spanish

would do first, rather than just attack.

-Cortes used the Aztec’s neighbors to their

advantage.

European explorers, traders and settlers brought

diseases such as small pox and measles.

Small pox epidemic broke out in Tenochtitlan,

killing a large number of Aztec people.

DISEASE

Gave the Spanish the advantage because it

made the army weak and unable to fight the

incoming Spanish army in the second time the

Spanish attacked Tenochtitlan.

Took away the Aztecs ability to be a warrior

society, which was very important to their

citizenship.

DISEASE

Explain how the Aztecs religious beliefs

influenced where they decided to settle.

AZTEC

WORLDVIEW

REVIEW

Where the Aztecs chose to settle forced the to

adapt their physical geography. Explain how

the Aztecs responded to the challenges that the MOUNTAINS presented?

AZTEC

WORLDVIEW

REVIEW

Where the Aztecs chose to settle forced them to

adapt their physical geography. Explain how

the Aztecs responded to the challenges that their ISLAND HOME presented?

AZTEC

WORLDVIEW

REVIEW

Provide one example of an Aztec god and

describe how they influenced the actions and

decisions of Aztec society

AZTEC

WORLDVIEW

REVIEW

List the two types of Aztec calendars and

explain how one represented the importance of

Aztec religion

AZTEC

WORLDVIEW

REVIEW

Explain two reasons why TRADE was so

important to Aztec society.

AZTEC

WORLDVIEW

REVIEW

Aztecs believed that SOCIETY as a whole was

more important than the INDIVIDUAL. In what

two ways did the Aztecs show this was significant?

AZTEC

WORLDVIEW

REVIEW

Explain how Aztecs profited through war.

AZTEC

WORLDVIEW

REVIEW