Despite the careful efforts of the Spanish colonialists, a lot of material evidence remained from the Aztecs. They completely break the image created by the Spaniards, the image of the Aztecs as bloodthirsty savages who only knew how to fight, execute thousands of prisoners and engage in cannibalism. Even a small part of the traces of the Aztec civilization that have survived to this day testifies to the fact that they were a people who harmoniously combined the development of military affairs and agriculture, crafts and road facilities. The capture of the Aztec empire by the Spaniards put an end to the highly developed state.
1. The Aztec Empire was located in North America on the territory of modern Mexico, but this territory, according to legend, was not the native land of the Aztecs - they originally lived to the north.
2. The peoples who lived on the lands to which the Aztecs came, considered the newcomers wild and uncultured. The Aztecs quickly convinced them otherwise, conquering all their neighbors.
3. The Aztecs are a community of peoples, a single people with such a name did not exist. This is approximately the same as the concept of "Soviet man" - there was a concept, but there was no nationality.
4. The state of the Aztecs is called "empire" rather due to the lack of a suitable term. It was not very much like Asian or European empires, tightly controlled from a single center. Direct similarity is seen only in the mixing of different peoples in one state. And the Aztecs, as in Ancient Rome, had imperial roads with accompanying infrastructure. Despite the fact that the Aztecs moved only on foot, this is quite surprising.
5. The empire of the Aztecs existed for less than a century - from 1429 to 1521.
6. The history of the Aztecs had its own great reformer. The Aztec version of Peter the Great was called Tlacaelel, he reformed the local government, transformed religion and re-created the history of the Aztecs.
7. The Aztecs cultivated military affairs quite simply: only a young man who managed to capture three prisoners became a man. The outward sign of the youth was long hair - they were cut off only after the capture of prisoners.
8. There were dissidents already then: men who did not want to choose the path of a warrior walked with long hair. Perhaps the roots of the long hairstyles of the hippies that promoted peacefulness lie in this Aztec custom.
9. Mexico's climate is ideal for agriculture. Therefore, even with primitive instruments of labor without the use of draft animals, the empire was fed by the peasants, whose number was about 10%.
10. Coming from the north, the Aztecs settled on the island. Due to the lack of land, they began to arrange floating fields. Later, the land became abundant, but the tradition of growing vegetables on floating plantations collected from poles was preserved.
11. The mountainous terrain has contributed to the creation of an extensive irrigation system. Water was supplied to the fields through stone pipes and canals.
12. Cocoa and tomatoes first became cultivated plants in the Aztec empire.
13. The Aztecs did not keep pets. The exception was dogs, and even that attitude towards them was not as reverent as among modern people. The meat got on the table only as a result of a successful hunt, killing a dog (on a solemn occasion) or catching a turkey.
14. The source of protein for the Aztecs was ants, worms, crickets and larvae. The tradition of eating them is still preserved in Mexico.
15. Aztec society was fairly homogeneous. There were classes of peasants (maceuali) and warriors (pilli), but social lifts worked, and any brave man could become pilli. With the development of society, a conditional class of merchants (post office) appeared. The Aztecs also had slaves who had no rights, but the laws regarding slaves were quite liberal.
16. The structure of the education system also corresponded to the class structure of society. The schools were of two types: tepochkalli and calmecak. The former were similar to real schools in Russia, the latter were more like gymnasiums. There was no rigid class border - the parents could send the child to any school.
17. Large surplus product allowed the Aztecs to develop science and arts. The Aztec calendar of the starry sky was seen by everyone. Also, everyone has seen photographs of the Temple Major, but not everyone knows that it was carved out of solid rock exclusively with stone tools. Theatrical performances and poetry were popular. Poetry was generally considered the only worthy occupation of a warrior in peacetime.
18. The Aztecs practiced human sacrifice, but their scale in European culture is greatly exaggerated. The same goes for cannibalism. The soldiers besieged by the Spaniards in one of the cities, having received an ultimatum, which mentioned the lack of food, offered the Spaniards a battle. They promised to use the killed enemies for food. However, if such warlike statements are taken as historical evidence, then any warrior can be attributed the most terrible sins.
19. The Aztecs dressed simply: a loincloth and a cloak for men, a skirt for women. Instead of a blouse, women threw raincoats of different lengths over their shoulders. Noble ladies sported in whipily - a kind of dress with a tie at the throat. The simplicity of clothing was offset by embroidery and embellishments.
20. It was not the Spanish conquest that finally finished off the Aztecs, but an extensive epidemic of intestinal typhus, during which 4/5 of the country's population died. Now there are no more than 1.5 million Aztecs. In the 16th century, the empire's population was ten times larger.
