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Aztec
built 126 days ago
In Aztec mythology, Chalchiuhtlicue (... Chalciuhtlicue, or Chalcihuitlicue) ("She of the Jade Skirt") was the goddess of lakes and streams. She is also a patroness of birth and plays a part in Aztec baptisms. In the myth of the five suns, she had dominion over the fourth world, which was destroyed in a great flood. She also presides over the day 5 Serpent and the trecena of 1 Reed.Her husband was Tlaloc and with him, she was the mother of Tecciztecatl and ruler over Tlalocan. In her aquatic aspect, she was known as Acuecucyoticihuati, goddess of oceans, rivers and any other running water, as well as the patron of women in labor. She was also said to be the wife of Xiuhtecuhtli.
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![This ornament features a turquoise mosaic on a carved wooden base, with red and white shells used for the mouths. Probably worn across the chest, this ornament measures 20 cm by 43 cm (8 in by 17 in). It was likely created by Mixtec artisans from an Aztec tributary state. 1400-1521, from the British Museum [1].](http://retrieverimages.lycos.com/images/a/z/t/aztec/i/010.jpg)
The Aztec economy was an example of a commercial economy. Several types of money were in regular use. Small purchases were made with cacao beans, which had to be imported from lowland areas. In Aztec marketplaces, a small rabbit was worth 30 beans, a turkey egg cost 3 beans, and a tamale cost a single bean. For larger purchases, standardized lengths of cotton cloth called quachtli were used. There were different grades of quachtli, ranging in value from 65 to 300 cacao beans.
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Aztec farmers had no plows or work animals. They planted crops in soft soil using pointed sticks. Corn was their principal crop. Women ground the corn into a coarse meal by rubbing it with a grinding stone called a mano against a flat stone called a metate. From the corn meal, the Aztec made flat corn cakes called tortillas, which was their principal food. Other crops included beans, squash, chili peppers, avocados, and tomatoes.
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Aztec has a large number of licensed users worldwide (see the developer's list of users). The images in the left panel come from applications that benefited from the use of Aztec. Click on the small icons to display the full image (a new window will open).
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Every 52 years, the Aztec held a great celebration called the Binding Up of the Years or the New Fire Ceremony. Before the celebration, people let their hearth fires go out. At the start of the new 52-year cycle, the priests lit a new fire on the chest of a sacrificial victim. People pricked themselves to add their blood to the sacrifice. Then they relit their hearth fires from the new fire and feasted.
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Perhaps the most important source about the Aztec are the manuscripts of Bernardino de Sahagún, who worked with the surviving Aztec wise men. He taught Aztec tlacuilos to write the original Nahuatl accounts using the Latin alphabet. Because of fear of the Spanish authorities, he maintained the anonymity of his informants, and wrote a heavily censored version in Spanish. Unfortunately the Nahuatl original was not fully translated until the 20th century... realising the extent of the censorship of the Spanish version. The original Nahuatl manuscript is known as the Florentine Codex.
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