Aztec Civilization Part 1 Quiz

The Aztec Empire was centered in the Valley of Mexico, in modern-day central Mexico.

Tenochtitlan was the magnificent capital city of the Aztec Empire, built on an island in Lake Texcoco, where modern-day Mexico City is located.

Chinampas were highly productive artificial islands built by the Aztecs in Lake Texcoco for intensive agriculture.

The Aztec writing system was primarily pictographic (pictures representing objects) and ideographic (symbols representing ideas), often used in codices.

Tlatoani was the title for the supreme ruler of an Aztec city-state, holding significant political, military, and religious authority.

Montezuma II was the Aztec emperor who reigned when Hernán Cortés and his forces arrived in Tenochtitlan in 1519.

Obsidian, a natural volcanic glass, was highly valued by the Aztecs for its extremely sharp edges, used for weapons (like the macuahuitl), knives, and other tools.

Huitzilopochtli was the patron god of the Mexica (Aztecs) and the god of war, sun, and human sacrifice, essential for the sustenance of the sun.

Aztec warfare was primarily conducted to expand their tribute system (collecting goods from conquered peoples) and to capture victims for religious sacrifices.

Hernán Cortés led the Spanish expedition that, with the help of indigenous allies, conquered the Aztec Empire in 1521.