Aztec Culture

Generally, Aztecs called the inhabitants of the territories conquered by Hernán Cortés, applying, therefore, that term not only the Aztecs themselves but also to Mexicans.

The Aztecs founded Mexico City, where they settled.

The Aztec culture is characterized by being good at administration, in fact, based division of its territory in 38 provinces tax and social organization was a pyramidal stratification.

On top of this pyramid Nobles and priests were. After they were merchants and warriors. Finally, at the base of the pyramid, the laborers and slaves were after.

The main crops practiced by the Aztecs were corn, fruit, snuff and chiles.

The Aztecs spoke a language called Nahuatl. Writing mixed pictograms, ideograms and phonetic signs. In his writing their own history, geography, economics, religion, etc. is reflected

Some codices have survived over time such as the Bourbon Codex. This is a book-calendar with two parts, the first book of destinations, called tonalamalt and second parties month, xiuhpohualli.

In Aztec society, the emperor had unlimited power, covering all things and all people. Beside him, warriors and priests were the most powerful social group. The warriors were the mainstay of the emperor and allowed the creation of a powerful empire but politically isolated.

Most of the population were artisans, farmers, civil servants, etc., that were organized in kinship groups called calpulli.

Hardly had intermediate social groups. Here we can place the rich merchants of the capital, getting up exchanging their wealth for prestige at parties organized and offering one of his slaves as a victim of a ritual sacrifice.

 There were slaves used for agricultural work, transportation, trade and domestic service. Some of the slaves were in this situation temporarily, until they paid a debt or a conviction. Others were prisoners of war who could be sacrificed to Huitzilopochtli.

On the sexual plane, there were only two forms of permitted sex: those taking place within marriage and singles with priestesses engaged in ritual prostitution warriors. The latter were considered to be protected by the goddess Xochiquétzal. These relationships always kept before the warriors should depart into battle. Adultery, moreover, was severely punished.

Every aspect of sexual life was associated with a different god.

Another fundamental aspect in the daily life of the Aztecs was education, which was compulsory, although sex differences.

For boys there were two types of schools: telpochcalli and calmecac. The first is studying in school but was going home to sleep at night and the second was a kind of boarding school that was reserved almost entirely to the nobles.

The girls however were educated by their mothers at home to perform household chores. Only nobles could go to learn a kind of monastery

...