Social Structure and Technology
The Aztec state was made up of 20 clans (capulli), each of which elected one leader and one speaker (tlatoani)
to take a place on the supreme council. Four of these tlatoani were given executive posts, one of which was tlacatecuhtli (chief of men). The Tlacatecuhtli had complete authority. Most of the land in the empire was owned by the clans.
The Aztecs had a very distinct social pyramid, in which everyone had his or her place. Though the majority of people stayed in the same class for the duration of their lifetime, it was possible for a person to move up or down the social pyramid based on a combination of hard work (or a lack thereof) and luck. The pyramid described below consists of the social classes within each clan. Each social class could contain both women and men, as they treated each other as equals and a person of either gender could have very high religious positions.
Above is a depiction of an Aztec warrior,
a member of the Knights class.
At the top of each clan’s social pyramid was the Tlatoani, who were considered much like kings. The Tlatoani was said to be a descendant of Quetzalcoatl, an important god. Below them were the Pipitlin (nobles), who were also said to be related in some way to Quetzalcoatl. They were given the highest positions in military, religion, and civics, but were not guaranteed these positions of leadership: in addition to their high social standing, they must show leadership skills in order to obtain one of the positions. If they did not earn one, they might end up as palace servants, or even unemployed.
The next social class was called Caballeros Pardos, or the Knights. This class was made up of people from lower classes who had managed to raise their social standing, usually through excellence in warfare. These people were considered higher in the social pyramid than nobles who had lost status by not being given a good position. The next, and largest, social class was the commoners (Macehualtin). These
people were educated to work farming land or to help make trades. They were not allowed to personally own farm land, but were allowed to work on it and sell anything that they produced on it, or consume or exchange their products. Excellence was rewarded in this class; a commoner who was very good at his job could be raised to the Caballeros class. A class of commoners slightly below the Macehualtin had no land but also worked no land. These people often found jobs as day laborers or craftspeople in their communities.
The next class of the social pyramid, the Mayeques, consisted of serfs, who were each assigned a plot of land to work on and were
paid with a fraction of the products they produced in their work. They were often also expected to complete other small tasks for their masters. If the plot of land they were working on was bought or sold, the serfs were considered part of this deal and would change masters. Some serfs had previously been commoners of tribes the Aztecs had conquered, and some Aztec commoners would pretend to be serfs so they did not have to pay taxes. Serfs were occasionally able to work well enough to move up into the working class of commoners or day-laborers. The final and lowest class of the Aztec social pyramid was the slaves. A slave’s master owned their labor, but not their life, so the slave must give their consent before being traded or sold to another master. Most slaves were not slaves for their entire lives, and were even able to be the master of their own slaves while they themselves were still slaves.
to take a place on the supreme council. Four of these tlatoani were given executive posts, one of which was tlacatecuhtli (chief of men). The Tlacatecuhtli had complete authority. Most of the land in the empire was owned by the clans.
The Aztecs had a very distinct social pyramid, in which everyone had his or her place. Though the majority of people stayed in the same class for the duration of their lifetime, it was possible for a person to move up or down the social pyramid based on a combination of hard work (or a lack thereof) and luck. The pyramid described below consists of the social classes within each clan. Each social class could contain both women and men, as they treated each other as equals and a person of either gender could have very high religious positions.
Above is a depiction of an Aztec warrior,
a member of the Knights class.
At the top of each clan’s social pyramid was the Tlatoani, who were considered much like kings. The Tlatoani was said to be a descendant of Quetzalcoatl, an important god. Below them were the Pipitlin (nobles), who were also said to be related in some way to Quetzalcoatl. They were given the highest positions in military, religion, and civics, but were not guaranteed these positions of leadership: in addition to their high social standing, they must show leadership skills in order to obtain one of the positions. If they did not earn one, they might end up as palace servants, or even unemployed.
The next social class was called Caballeros Pardos, or the Knights. This class was made up of people from lower classes who had managed to raise their social standing, usually through excellence in warfare. These people were considered higher in the social pyramid than nobles who had lost status by not being given a good position. The next, and largest, social class was the commoners (Macehualtin). These
people were educated to work farming land or to help make trades. They were not allowed to personally own farm land, but were allowed to work on it and sell anything that they produced on it, or consume or exchange their products. Excellence was rewarded in this class; a commoner who was very good at his job could be raised to the Caballeros class. A class of commoners slightly below the Macehualtin had no land but also worked no land. These people often found jobs as day laborers or craftspeople in their communities.
The next class of the social pyramid, the Mayeques, consisted of serfs, who were each assigned a plot of land to work on and were
paid with a fraction of the products they produced in their work. They were often also expected to complete other small tasks for their masters. If the plot of land they were working on was bought or sold, the serfs were considered part of this deal and would change masters. Some serfs had previously been commoners of tribes the Aztecs had conquered, and some Aztec commoners would pretend to be serfs so they did not have to pay taxes. Serfs were occasionally able to work well enough to move up into the working class of commoners or day-laborers. The final and lowest class of the Aztec social pyramid was the slaves. A slave’s master owned their labor, but not their life, so the slave must give their consent before being traded or sold to another master. Most slaves were not slaves for their entire lives, and were even able to be the master of their own slaves while they themselves were still slaves.
"...shrines in these cities that looked like gleaming white towers and castles: a marvelous sight. All the houses had flat roofs, and on the causeways were other small towers and shrines built like fortresses"
- Bernal Diaz de Castillo (one of the Spaniards who conquered the Aztecs) An Aztec pyramid, like the ones the Spaniards
saw in Tenochtitlan.
The largest and most impressive area of the Aztec empire was its capital, Tenochtitlan. When Tenochtitlan had a population of about 200,000, London barely had 50,000 inhabitants. This is the city that the Spaniards were most amazed by when they eventually conquered the empire. Tenochtitlan was full of giant, brilliantly constructed buildings made of stone and cedar-wood that were both well-built and beautiful. These buildings had cotton cloth awnings. The Aztecs had worked well with the water in their empire, as they had wonderfully constructed the bridges and canoes to bring supplies into the city. The capital was full of wealth, and had huge pyramids constructed.
The Aztecs had markets (tianquiztl) in every town and most villages, and in villages they would operate five consecutive days at a time. People would walk up to fifteen miles to participate in both the economic (trading) and social (gathering) aspects of these markets. Each town had its specialty that it produced and was known for at markets. The most impressive was the market at Tlatelolco, because everything that could be made or found in the empire could be found at this one market. There were even supervisors to ensure that sellers were selling quality goods,
and that everyone was behaving properly.
The Aztecs had two calendars, one that had 365 days and was based on the solar year. The Aztecs used it for keeping track of seasonal holidays and customs. The other was a religious calendar with 200 days each year, which was dedicated to setting out equal time to appreciate each Aztec god, a concept that was important to the Aztecs. The Aztec calendar stone kept track of this calendar, and was a very important monument because it was believed to be preventing the gods from warring, essentially keeping peace in the empire. Their technology was amazing on other fronts as well. In addition to their brilliant architecture and calendar, they had a very advanced use of canoes, great science and mathematics (and advanced number system and great astronomy), and had very advanced medicine. Though Aztecs understood and used the wheel, they only used it in things such as children's toys, since they did not rely on carts and animals to transport their goods. Instead, they used their advanced canoes to take advantage of the water in the area.
Sources:
Carrasco, David, and Scott Sessions. The Daily Life of the Aztecs. Daily Life Through History. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press, 2011. Accessed April 17, 2014. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%
7CCX2535400005&v=2.1&u=redm10284&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w&asid=f5a76a94a5e324f77920289683c2d093.
Johansen, Bruce E. "Aztec Political and Social Structure." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. Last modified 2014. Accessed April 17, 2014. http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1795869?terms=aztec+social.
———. "Aztec Technology." The Aztecs. Last modified 2010. Accessed April 20, 2014. http://www.aztec-indians.com/.
Image Bibliography:
Mesoamerican Pyramid- Aztec. Photograph. Famous Buildings. Accessed April 22, 2014. http://www.famousbuildings.net/ancient-buildings/52-mesoamerican-pyramids.html.
Verebelyi, Viktoria. Aztec Warrior. Illustration. Warriors in Art. January 8, 2011. Accessed April 22, 2014. http://warriorsinart.blogspot.com/2011/01/aztec-warrior-by-viktoria-verebelyi.html.
Carrasco, David, and Scott Sessions. The Daily Life of the Aztecs. Daily Life Through History. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press, 2011. Accessed April 17, 2014. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%
7CCX2535400005&v=2.1&u=redm10284&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w&asid=f5a76a94a5e324f77920289683c2d093.
Johansen, Bruce E. "Aztec Political and Social Structure." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. Last modified 2014. Accessed April 17, 2014. http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1795869?terms=aztec+social.
———. "Aztec Technology." The Aztecs. Last modified 2010. Accessed April 20, 2014. http://www.aztec-indians.com/.
Image Bibliography:
Mesoamerican Pyramid- Aztec. Photograph. Famous Buildings. Accessed April 22, 2014. http://www.famousbuildings.net/ancient-buildings/52-mesoamerican-pyramids.html.
Verebelyi, Viktoria. Aztec Warrior. Illustration. Warriors in Art. January 8, 2011. Accessed April 22, 2014. http://warriorsinart.blogspot.com/2011/01/aztec-warrior-by-viktoria-verebelyi.html.