Life in Tenochtitlan

The 1524 Nuremberg Map tells more about the life in Tenochtitlan than meets the eye. It shows the causeways to the mainland and the dykes controlling the lakes. It shows the main transportation as canoes. But is also shows the water ways, temple precinct, districts, neighborhoods, and architecture of Tenochtitlan.

“Map of Tenochtitlan and the Gulf of Mexico from Cortés' Second Letter,” VistasGallery, accessed December 3, 2022, https://vistasgallery.ace.fordham.edu/items/show/1781.

Temple Precinct

The temple precinct was the heart of the city, even the empire. It was the most important place. Within the walls there were over seventy structures including the dual temples for the god of rain and earth’s fertility, Tlaloc, and the god of sun and war, Huitzilopochtli.1 An important part of the religious ritual were the human sacrifices at the stairs of the temples. It is believed this comes from the folklore of Huitzilopochtli and Coyolxauhqui. It is said that Huitzilopochtli’s first act after birth was to lay his half sister, Coyolxauhqui. He was to dismember her and throw her down Coatepec’s stairs. To remember the sacrifice offered by Huitzilopochtli, there was a three meter carving of the dismembered Coyolxauhqui at the base of the dual staircase. The Aztecs did similar sacrifices as Huitzilopochtli. They dismembered their sacrifices and threw the bodies down the staircase of the temples. In the temple courtyard, they had racks for the dismembered heads of the sacrifices.2 Most of the sacrifices came from war prisoners, but it also included men, women, and children, sold into slavery by their families.3

Not all of the rituals were done at the temple precinct. Some of the rituals were done in the household as part of the domestic ritual. That included burning the sap from a copal tree. This took place in shallow ceramic bowls with long, hollow tubes for handles.4

Rojas, José Luis de., Michael Ernest Smith, Marilyn A. Masson, and John Wayne Janusek. Tenochtitlan Capital of the Aztec Empire. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2012. 52

1 Moreiras Reynaga, Diana K., Jean François Millaire, Ximena Chávez Balderas, Juan A. Román

Berrelleza, Leonardo López Luján, and Fred J. Longstaffe. “Residential Patterns of Mexica

Human Sacrifices at Mexico Tenochtitlan and Mexico Tlatelolco: Evidence from Phosphate Oxygen Isotopes.” Journal of anthropological archaeology 62 (2021): 101296

2 Mundy, Barbara E. "Mapping the Aztec capital: The 1524 Nuremberg map of Tenochtitlan, its sources and meanings." Imago Mundi 50.1 (1998): 16

James Chakraborty, Kathleen. Architecture Since 1400. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2014. Accessed December 2, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central. 18

3 Moreiras Reynaga, Diana K., Jean François Millaire, Ximena Chávez Balderas, Juan A. Román

Berrelleza, Leonardo López Luján, and Fred J. Longstaffe. “Residential Patterns of Mexica Human Sacrifices at Mexico Tenochtitlan and Mexico Tlatelolco: Evidence from Phosphate Oxygen Isotopes.” Journal of anthropological archaeology 62 (2021): 101296

4 Smith, Michael. At Home with the Aztecs : An Archaeologist Uncovers Their Daily Life. London: Taylor & Francis Group, 2016. Accessed December 4, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central 62.

Architectural Modernity | Rachel Sorensen

Smith, Michael. At Home with the Aztecs : An Archaeologist Uncovers Their Daily Life. London: Taylor & Francis Group, 2016. Accessed December 4, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central

City Regions

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The city of Tenochtitlan is divided into four main regions. These regions are Cuepopan to the northwest, Moytlan to the southwest, Teopan to the southeast, and Atzacualco to the northeast. These regions are divided by the major roadways in and out of the city to the mainland. Each region is composed of calpulli, or tlaxilacalli, which are neighborhoods based on kinship or settlement units. When the city formed, there were approximately 15-20 calpullis, but as the city grew over time, so did the number of calpullis.5

“Map

https://vistasgallery.ace.fordham.edu/items/show/1781.

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The calpulli of Tenochtitlan

Rojas,

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Rojas, José Luis de., Michael Ernest Smith, Marilyn A. Masson, and John Wayne Janusek. Tenochtitlan Capital of the Aztec Empire. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2012.

of Tenochtitlan and the Gulf of Mexico from Cortés' Second Letter,” VistasGallery, accessed December 3, 2022,

José Luis de., Michael Ernest Smith, Marilyn A. Masson, and John Wayne Janusek. Tenochtitlan Capital of the Aztec Empire. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2012.

Markets

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The Aztec Empire created a system of floating fields called chinampas. This allowed them to grow fresh vegetables and flowers but also gave access to staples of grains and beans. The chinampas were separated by canals and anchored to the trees. This system supplied food for Tenochtitlan until the population grew. Then they required food from the mainland to sustain the population.6 Each city region had several markets where goods were sold. These markets sold every kind of good that they could find. Hernan Cortes writes about all the different things sold from ornaments of gold and silver, game and birds, fruits, ready made medicine in apothecaries and even barber shops. He witnessed things that were brought from the mainland as well as items produced on the island.7

Rojas, José Luis de., Michael Ernest Smith, Marilyn A. Masson, and John Wayne Janusek. Tenochtitlan Capital of the Aztec Empire. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2012. 71

7 James Chakraborty, Kathleen. Architecture Since 1400. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2014. Accessed December 2, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central. 18

James Chakraborty, Kathleen. Architecture Since 1400. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2014. Accessed December 2, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central. 18

Architectural Modernity | Rachel Sorensen

Architecture

The city was made up of large grand buildings and small houses with virtually no windows or doors. The buildings were more than just a place the people lived; they also signaled the status of that person in society. The best buildings were reserved for being near the center of the city. This was important because all the building material was transported from the mainland into the island city. Not only were the best buildings there, but they were also reserved for the “great lords” and the “great captains.” It was against the law for a commoner to build a large house or have a second story on their house. There were usually two to six family groups living in each house. The housing complexes can be identified into four types: exclusively residential, residential with domestic chinampas, residential with areas for nonagricultural production or service, and estates with multiple functions. The Aztec king lived in an estate with multiple functions. Cortes writes about hundreds of people being served by the Kings servants at each meal.

The commoner houses were made of whitewashed adobe with few doors and windows and a roof or terrace. They were grouped around a patio that included a kitchen and steam bath. Houses were typically 30 40 (322 – 430 sf) square meters, but some were as small as 10 square meters (107 sf). The small size of houses led to creative strategies to accommodate growing families and that often led to overcrowding.8

John Wayne Janusek. Tenochtitlan Capital of the Aztec Empire. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2012. 42

8 Rojas, José Luis de., Michael Ernest Smith, Marilyn A. Masson,

and

“Map of Tenochtitlan and the Gulf of Mexico from Cortés' Second Letter,” VistasGallery, accessed December 3, 2022, https://vistasgallery.ace.fordham.edu/items/show/1781.