Aztec Tribes List

A map showing the maximum extent of the Aztec Empire c.1521. Despite dominating the area of central Mexico, the Aztecs had migrated from the north.The Aztecs actually called themselves the ‘Mexica’ and spoke the Nahuatl language. Some three million people continue to speak the indigenous language in central Mexico today. The Mexica originated from northern MexicoNahua speaking people began to migrate to the Basin of Mexico around 1250 AD. The Mexica were one of the last groups to arrive, and most of the fertile farming land had already been taken. They founded Tenochtitlan in 1325 ADThey moved to an island in Lake Texcoco, where an eagle nested upon a cactus eating a snake (the symbol in the middle of the modern Mexican flag).

American Indian Tribal Directory Select from the list below, the region where your tribe is located, these are a list of Federally Recognized Tribes. American Indians is the term that applies to all Native Americans that once lived in North America. These were the men and women living on the continent long before white settlers from Europe arrived.

They saw this as a prophesy and founded Tenochtitlan on this island on 13 March 1325. The Mexican flag features an emblem of an Eagle eating a snake on a cactus – the Aztec prophesy. They defeated the Tepanecs to become the most powerful state in MexicoFrom 1367, the Aztecs had been militarily supporting the nearby state of Tepanec and benefited from the expansion of that empire. In 1426, the Tepanec ruler died and his son Maxlatzin inherited the throne.

He sought to reduce Aztec power, but was crushed by the former ally. The empire wasn’t strictly an empire as we might thinkThe Aztecs didn’t directly rule their subjects in the same way a European empire like the Romans did. Rather than direct control, the Aztecs subjugated nearby city states but left the local rulers in charge, then demanded regular tribute – leading to great wealth for Tenochtitlan. Their combat became focused on capture over killing on the battlefield. Folio from the Codex Mendoza showing a commoner advancing through the ranks by taking captives in war. Each attire can be achieved by taking a certain number of captives.While the Aztec did fight pitched battles, from the mid-1450s fighting became something rather more like a blood sport, with ornately dressed nobles attempting to make their enemies submit so they could be captured and then sacrificed. The ‘flowery wars’ prioritised military training and religion over conquestThe ritualised ‘flowery war’ was practiced against enemies like Tlaxcala and Cholula – whereby the Aztecs could have conquered the cities, but decided not to as the constant war helped train Aztec soldiers and served as a source for gathering sacrifices.

Their religion was based on existing Mesoamerican belief systemsThe polytheistic pantheon that the Aztec religion was based upon had existed for thousands of years prior to their own civilisation. For instance, a feathered serpent – which the Aztecs called Quetzalcoatl – were present in Omec culture which dated to 1400 BC. The ruins of Teotihuacan north of Mexico City. This well preserved site was one of the world’s biggest cities in 500 AD, but fell into decline around 250 years later and was abandoned.

The Aztecs believed its giant structures to be the work of gods. In this photo, the huge Pyramid of the Sun is shown next to the 3km long Avenue of the Dead. Photo by the author.The pantheon of the Teotihuacan city state, which was one of the world’s largest cities between 200-600 AD, had many similarities with the Aztec pantheon. Indeed, the word ‘Teotihuacan’ is Nahuatl language for ‘birthplace of the gods’. There were over 200 deities within their PantheonAztec gods were divided into groups, such as for the weather, agriculture and warfare. The patron god was called Huitzilopochtli, who was associated with war and sacrifice.

Tlaloc, the god of rain, and Quetzalcoatl, the god of knowledge and wisdom are other prominent gods common in art and stonework. An Aztec pot paying homage to the rain god Tlaloc, housed in the Templo Mayor Museum in Mexico City. Tlaloc was a common feature of pots because they would be used to catch rain water. Boogeyman wwe.

Photo by the author. Their religion practiced human sacrificeCaptives would be sacrificed to please the gods, which was common throughout Mesoamerican religion. While the Aztecs certainly increased the amount of sacrifice that occurred in the region, the true extent of how much it occurred is unclear. Spanish sources are almost certainly exaggerated. Aztec human sacrifice Human sacrifice as shown in the Codex Magliabechiano.

They lacked metallurgy for warfareIn terms of military technology, the peoples of the Mexico region were a long way from the Europeans at the time – they had not developed either bronze or iron for widespread battle use and most metalwork was for jewellery or small ornaments.Most Aztec weaponry was based on a volcanic glass called obsidian, which was sharp and strong enough to fashion primitive weapons. Militarily they were only as advanced as European peoples in the Neolithic (Stone Age) period. And pack animals for buildingThere were no horses, cows or sheep native to the region. This meant armies could not be easily supported and all of the structures in the region were built purely by man power. Communications in central Mexico could only run as fast as a man. An large Aztec stone sculpture in the Templo Mayor museum in Mexico City.

The creation of large Aztec stone works is all the more remarkable due to the stone having to be shifted by manpower alone. Photo by the author. They were advanced in architecture, art and astronomyDespite primitive technologies and the lack of load bearing animals, the Aztecs constructed many great religious buildings – notably the large Templo de Mayor complex at the heart of Tenochtitlan. Aztec society placed great emphasis on skilled masonry, and intricate stonework is a regular feature on many of their buildings. The remarkable 24 ton Aztec Sun Stone consists of detailed motifs and the heart of Aztec cosmogony.

The colossal Aztec Sun Stone, housed in the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. Photo by the author. They were agricultural innovatorsFor centuries prior to the Aztec arrival the Valley of Mexico had complex irrigation systems called chinampas. The Aztecs developed these for large scale cultivation. Soil from the bottom of the shallow Lake Texcoco was piled up to create ridges between ditches, and small rectangular fields were formed.The rich soil combined with a constant water supply and a favourable climate meant there were three harvests every year, leading to a very high population density. Maize was the principle Aztec crop.

Maize (corn) was the staple of the Aztec diet – similar to rice in Asia or Wheat in Europe. This could be eaten on the cob, in corn tortillas or in a gruel. Maize was so important to the Aztecs that they had a god for it – Centeotl – which translates to “Maize cob Lord.” 16. Tenochtitlan was one of the largest cities in the world by 1500The city’s population was over 200,000 by the early 16th century – only Paris and Constantinople were bigger cities at the time. Montezuma was emperor of the Aztecs when they met the Spanish conquistadors under Hernan CortesHe was the ninth rule of the Aztecs, reigning from 1502 until his death in 1520. Under his rule, the Aztec Empire reached its greatest size, but was also conquered.

He first met the Spanish expedition led by Cortez in 1519. Montezuma was already facing internal problems when the Spanish arrivedMany subdued tribes under Aztec rule were very discontent.

Having to pay regular tribute and provide sacrificial victims built up resentment. Cortes was able to exploit the poor communications and turn city states against the Aztecs. The strange ruins of Zempoala, near Veracruz on east coast of Mexico. The city was the first major settlement Hernan Cortes encountered on his expedition to the Americas. Photo by the author.His first meeting with indigenous people, with the Totonacs at Cempoala near modern day Veracruz, quickly informed him of the resentment towards the Aztec overlords. The empire was crushed by the Spanish conquistadors and their allies in 1521Cortes was, but then took him hostage. After an incident when Montezuma was killed, the Conquistadors were forced out of Tenochtitlan.

They rallied with indigenous allies like Tlaxcala and Texcoco, to build a vast force which besieged and sacked Tenochtitlan in August 1521 – crushing the Aztec empire. The ruined Templo Mayor complex in the heart of Mexico City. After the Spanish sacked Tenochtitlan, they destroyed the central temple complex, built houses over it and later used it as a rubbish dump. Photo by the author.

Spanish brought smallpox that devastated the Aztec populationThe defense of Tenochtitlan was severely hindered by smallpox, a disease from which Europeans were immune. Very shortly after the Spanish arrival in 1519, between 5-8 million people in Mexico (about a quarter of the population) died from the disease.It subsequently ravaged the indigenous population of the Americas at a greater scale than even the Black Death in Europe during the late 14th century. There were no revolts in favour of the Aztec empire once it had fallenUnlike the Incas in Peru, people in the region did not rebel against the Spanish conquerors in favour of the Aztecs. This is possibly indicative of the empire’s fragile and fractured power base.

Spanish rule of Mexico ended exactly 300 years later – in August 1821.Main image: Mural by Diego Rivera in the Palacio Nacional showing life in Aztec times.

Current extent of Uto-Aztecan languages in MexicoUto-Aztecan or Uto-Aztekan is a of, consisting of over 30 languages. Uto-Aztecan languages are found almost entirely in the. The name of the language family was created to show that it includes both the of and the (also known as Aztecan) of Mexico.The Uto-Aztecan language family is one of the largest linguistic families in the Americas in terms of number of speakers, number of languages, and geographic extension.

The northernmost Uto-Aztecan language is, which is spoken as far north as, while the southernmost is the of. Gives the total number of languages in the family as 61, and the total number of speakers as 1,900,412. The roughly 1.7-1.9 million speakers of languages account for almost four-fifths (78.9%) of these.The internal classification of the family often divides the family into two branches: a northern branch including all the languages of the US and a Southern branch including all the languages of Mexico, although it is still being discussed whether this is best understood as a genetic classification or as a geographical one. Below this level of classification the main branches are well accepted: (including languages such as and ) and the Californian languages (formerly known as the group, including and ) account for most of the Northern languages.

And are languages outside those groups. The Southern languages are divided into the (including and ), the (including and ), the (including and ), the (including and ), and the.The homeland of the Uto-Aztecan languages is generally considered to have been in the or possibly Northwestern Mexico.

An alternative theory has proposed the possibility that the language family originated in southern Mexico, within the, but this has not been generally considered convincing.