Mesoamerican Civilizations

The Aztecs
Seat work Students will quietly enter the room, find your seats and discuss your three sticky notes on pages 590-595 with your row group.

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Mesoamerican Civilizations

The Aztecs
Artificial island built by the Aztecs. Chinampa What was a union of three Aztec kings. The Triple Alliance Who choose a new Aztec king when an old one died. A Supreme Council of nobles

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Mesoamerican Civilizations The Aztecs

How do you meet your daily needs for food, shelter, clothing, and safety?

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Mesoamerican Civilizations The Aztecs

Key Ideas
The Aztecs built a powerful empire through conquest. Aztec kings led a strong government and ruled a society organized into clearly defined social classes. The Aztec capital city, Tenochtitlan, featured advanced engineering and impressive architecture.

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Mesoamerican Civilizations The Aztecs

Key Terms
basinbowl-shaped area
chinampaartificial island built by the Aztecs

dikewall to hold back water

absolute monarchysystem of government in which the monarch has unlimited power over the government aqueductchannel that moves water over a long distance
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Mesoamerican Civilizations The Aztecs

Land of the Aztecs

How did their location in the Valley of Mexico help the Aztecs build an empire? What advantages did Lake Texcoco offer as a setting for a city?

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Mesoamerican Civilizations

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

Mesoamerican Civilizations

The Aztecs
Seat work Students will quietly enter the room, find your seats and discuss your three sticky notes on the assigned web pages with your row group.

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

Mesoamerican Civilizations The Aztecs

Land of the Aztecs

What were chinampas?
How did the Aztecs expand their empire?

About how many people lived in the Aztec empire by 1500?

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Mesoamerican Civilizations The Aztecs

Aztec Government
The Triple Alliance was a union of three Aztec kings. The three kings cooperated on decisions affecting the Triple Alliance. Councils and ministers helped make decisions affecting Tenochtitlan. Each Aztec king had an absolute monarchy over his Kingdom. The nobles controlled the villages.
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Mesoamerican Civilizations The Aztecs

Aztec Government
A Supreme Council of nobles helped choose a new Aztec king when an old one died.
Conquered city-states had to pay tribute to the Aztec conquerors.

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Mesoamerican Civilizations The Aztecs

Aztec Society
Which Aztec gods were most important?
What happened to prisoners the Aztecs captured?

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Mesoamerican Civilizations The Aztecs

Aztec Achievements
The Aztecs built aqueducts to carry water to Tenochtitlan. In the walled plaza, Templo Mayor was the largest structure.

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Mesoamerican Civilizations The Aztecs

Aztec Achievements
Aztec artists were known for goldworking, jewelry-making, and featherwork. The Aztecs were skilled orators and poets. Aztec influence continues to the present, especially in Mexican cooking. Some of todays most popular foods are those with Nahuatl names: chocolate, tomato, and avocado.

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Mesoamerican Civilizations The Aztecs

What distinguishes one culture from another?

Workbook page 239

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