[MUSIC PLAYING] You may have heard of their
calendar, seen their temples, or admired one of their
cool-looking sculptural artifacts in a museum. But chances are you have no
idea what life was really like for the Aztecs. The Aztec civilization was
built upon a complex combination of Olmec and Mayan traditions. But during the 14th, 15th
and early 16th centuries, the Aztecs acquired
a new baller level of power, influence,
and riches across most of Mexico and Central America. Today, we're exploring
what everyday life was like for the Aztecs. But before we get started, be
sure to subscribe to the Weird History Channel and let us know
what ancient civilization you would like to hear about. OK. It's time to hop into
our time machines and live like the Aztecs did. [MUSIC PLAYING] The Mexica originally settled
in the area around Lake Texcoco where they founded their
city-state of Tenochtitlan. Oh, you've never
heard of Tenochtitlan? Well, you may know it
by its current name-- Mexico City. This booming culture,
with a uniform set of societal
expectations, thrived before eventually falling
victim to Spanish conquerors in the 16th century. Can you imagine if human
sacrifices were a normal part of your everyday life? Well, for the Aztecs,
it really was. This type of
ritualistic purging was a pretty common and run of
the mill religious and social convention in the
Aztecs civilization. Slaves and prisoners
of war would be sacrificed to the gods
according to a ritual calendar as well as in times
of drought, famine, or other periods of strife. If there weren't enough
people around sacrifice, then the Aztecs would
attack their neighbors to gather some prisoners
for the bloodletting. One such war, the so-called
Flower Wars, took place in 1450 and was likely waged in order
to bring about human sacrifice tributes as well as
to train warriors. Both sides would
fight long enough to obtain prisoners
for sacrifice. Then the war would end. Known as Xochiyaoyotl,
were never about land or defeating the enemy. But, as the number of
sacrificial victims grew, the demographics of the
different clans and states changed. The Tlaxcala pretty much
boycotted the whole war for the sake of offing people in
rituals part of being an Aztecs and eventually allied
with the Spanish. As with most vast
empires, trade was essential to the
success of the Aztecs, though culturally they did
look at long distance merchants with an eye of skepticism. Regional markets, however,
were managed and overseen by the government and
were great outlets for the quick exchange
of goods, not to mention gossiping and socializing,
a classic Aztec activity. Pochteca, or long
distance merchants, often lived in separate
areas of the city and formed their
own social groups. And as there were no trucks
or trains running around, merchants had to
move their goods by hand or on their backs,
making it a serious workout. These big hauls were
doubly dangerous at times when pirates and bandits
factored into the equation. Because of this ongoing
threat, some Pochteca were put to work as informants,
spies, and messengers, occasionally they'd
even wear disguises. Like most cultures
across Mesoamerica, the Aztecs depended on maize,
AKA corn, as their staple crop. They also grew a lot
of beans and squash, as well as tomatoes,
avocados, chilies, tubers, and root vegetables, enjoying
a mostly vegetarian diet. The upper class folks
generally more meat and fish than the commoners. But there were plenty of
ants, grasshoppers, and worms for everyone from all
walks of life to enjoy. Yeah. You heard that right. The Aztecs straight up ate bugs. Mm, grasshoppers. Aztec farmers even cultivated
insects and used their eggs to make tortillas similar to
the ones made today out of corn. Some insects were cooked,
while others were eaten alive. The Aztecs felt particular
insects had medicinal values. In fact, in many parts
of Mexico and Mesoamerica today, insects are still
a part of the cuisine. [MUSIC PLAYING] One of the many weapons in
the Aztec warriors' bad ass repertoire was a blow gun. Aztecs warriors also carried
slings, bows, and arrows, and spears in
preparation for combat at various ranges, not to
mention daggers, batons, clubs, and axes for
hand-to-hand combat. Basically, you don't want to
get on the bad side of an Aztecs warrior, especially
one that has one of their most discreet
and deadly weapons of all-- the blow gun. The blow gun was most commonly
used for hunting animals, but would have been a handy tool
against one's enemies, as well. The guns themselves were
five to six foot long hollow tubes,
hovering darts that were tipped with poisonous
frogs secretions. The modern world
is pretty violent. But, for the most part,
we're safe from death by poisonous frog spear. [MUSIC PLAYING] Ding dong. Here comes the Aztec bride. Much like our
world now, marriage was a big part of Aztec life
and was ceremonial and done according to strict
legal conventions. Bizarrely, only a
man's first wife went through the elaborate and
traditional marriage ceremony. After his first marriage,
a man could then take on a secondary
wife, who would also be legally recognized. But his rightful
heirs would only come from his first marriage. Polygamy wasn't for
everyone though. It was usually the wealthier
men who took on multiple wives as they were supposed
to treat all their wives equally and fairly. And plus, weddings are
expensive, you know? Imagine hosting an
Aztecs open bar wedding for seven different wives. Phew, that liquor
tab really adds up. Concubines were also common. But cheating on one's
wife was illegal. Presumably because men were
the head of the household, a woman committing adultery
resulted in a death sentence. A total double standard,
but men committing adultery with a married woman was
also a capital offense. Splitting up was only
granted on special occasions. Court petitions to separate
on the basis of abuse, incompatibility, lack of a
male heir, or abandonment could be filed in
certain circumstances. [MUSIC PLAYING] That's right. Boys, girls, men, and women
all received an education, though each group was trained
to do specific tasks based upon their gender,
age, and social status. Girls and boys were
educated by their parents, homeschool style, from a young
age with a greater emphasis placed on basic skills. Typically, girls were
taught domestic activities like sewing, weaving, cooking,
and other home-based tasks, while boys learned
the basics of farming, or whatever trade their
fathers practiced. If you were a boy
of certain nobility, you might branch
off to calmecac, which was essentially
a military school, around the age of 12 or 13. At this military
middle school, they'd learn the skills necessary to
be warriors-- running, jumping, fighting-- as well
as matters of law, religion, and
other civic topics. These elite boys were
expected to go on to become government officials,
scholars, teachers, or priests. Around the same
age, commoner boys went to telpochcalli to
learn more about agriculture and receive some
warrior training. Middle school-aged
girls, on the other hand, went to a separate
school to learn about running the household,
as well as singing, dancing, and crafts. Once commoner boys and
girls finished school, most returned home to
put their skills to use. One thing all
schools had in common was they all taught
about religious rituals and the duties related to
citizenship and history. Only the most
talented students were chosen to become priests
and ritual healers. [MUSIC PLAYING] Since agriculture was essential
to the survival of the Aztecs, they developed several practices
to ensure they got the most out of their land. They used this thing called
the chinampa system, which called for the dredging of
mud from the bottoms of swamps to fertilize soil. The chinampa system helped with
planting growing and harvesting everything from corn
to peppers to tomatoes. Aztecs farmers would then place
the muck on top of reed rafts and float the rafts
on top of water, holding them in place by
planting trees or building walls. The Aztecs would also channel
water into these raised fields and terraced them to
increase yield efficiency. In addition to that
technique, the Aztecs planted small gardens,
collected algae, and fertilized soil
with human manure. Aztec men wore simple clothing. But their level of
adornment and decoration was more than a fashion trend. It was a matter of social rule. The breakdown goes as follows. Individuals of a
higher social class were able to dress up their
loin cloths, capes, skirts, and loose-fitting shirts with
gold bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and pendants. They would also wear
furs and feathers to further indicate
their social position. The elite classes also wore
clothing made of ayate cloth, crafted from the Maguey
cactus, while commoners wore simple cotton garments. All of the Aztecs loved color
and often dyed their clothes vibrant shades of yellow, red,
and blue with plant and flower dyes. Serious runway material. The merchant and
military classes typically used jewelry to
distinguish themselves. Kind of like modern day
armies, Aztecs warrior heroes were able to wear additional
ornamentation as they became more successful in battle. Sadly, lower classes
were unable to wear adornments comparable to
their social superiors. But they could dress more
elaborately than merchants. Priests, on the other hand, wore
special clothes and costumes, which consisted of
some sort of jacket or long robe that was
dark in color, depending on the role the
priest was playing. When the Aztecs weren't
working or fighting, they actually knew how
to have a good time. They passed the time by
playing board and dice games, sang, danced, and even gambled. Patolli was one of
the most common games and was played by moving
tokens on and off a reed mat based on the throw of
beans that served as dice. Young women were taught
dancing and singing in school because dancing and singing
were actually considered part of maintaining a household. Singing and dancing was
also an important part of religious ceremonies
and community celebrations. And it was happening all
the time in Aztec life, like one big Broadway
musical, with a few hundred human sacrifices sprinkled in. The Mesoamerican
ballgame predates the Aztec civilization,
but they picked up where the Olmec and
Maya left off and played the game as a religious event. Just as battles provided Aztecs
with sacrificial victims, so too did the ballgame. The game was played
on an H-shaped field, with the creation
story of Mesoamerica carved into the
surrounding stone walls. The loser of the
game, which involved trying to keep an eight to 10
pound rubber ball from hitting the ground, or to get it
into the opponent's goal, would be sacrificed to the gods. The stakes were a little higher
than your average pickup game. [MUSIC PLAYING] The two calendars in
Aztecs civilization dictated all aspects of life. The solar calendar was
made up of 365 days. Hm. Just like us. And divided into 18
months, with at least one major religious
ritual in each month. Days were given sign
names that indicated a particular aspect of
nature, such as deer or water. And then there were 13 numbers
that represented sequentially. At the end of 360 days, there
were five unlucky days that didn't have names or numbers. Aside from the solar
calendar, the Aztecs also had a ritual calendar
which ran for 260 days. It was the responsibility
of the priests to make sure the rituals
were conducted according to the calendar and in honor of
the appropriate god or event. Ceremonies, such as mock
battles, fertility rituals, and human sacrifices,
were carried out, depending on the day. The ritual calendar was
also divided into 20 days, with animals and elements
of nature ascribed to them. And then, again,
they were broken off into 13-day increments,
indicated by numbers. The two calendars were
operated at the same time and actually did match up once
every 52 years, at which time a new cycle of
both was celebrated with additional
rituals and sacrifices to make sure the
gods didn't decide it was time to put an end
to humanity entirely. One ritual that took place
was removing a man's heart and lighting his chest on fire. That fire would
then be transferred to homes and temples
throughout the empire. Gruesome? Sure. But that's just the way things
were for the ancient Aztecs. A naturally spiritual, creative,
and scientifically adept society, the Aztecs
made a mark on the world that is still felt to this
day, even if life for them wasn't exactly a
walk in the park. What do you think of the
daily life for the Aztecs? Let us know in the
comments below. And while you're at it, check
out some of these other videos from our Weird History. [MUSIC PLAYING]
