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The culture that we chose to focus on was the Aztec Culture. The Aztecs were Mesoamericans and thrived in their growing culture from around 1300-1521 AD until Spanish explorers came and took over (Encyclopedia Britannica 1). Their empire was located in central and southern Mexico and extended about 800 miles.  A big part of their culture had to do with human sacrifice, to show their loyalty and offer up a gift to their gods (Reuter 1). One of the biggest technological advancements of the Aztecs is their calendar; they created a calendar with 260 ritual days and 365 civil days, each day having its own name and number just like the common calendar that we use today. It had two cycles, one consisting of 20 days and another consisting of 13 days that existed together and separated into groups (Cartwright 1). The Aztecs had to make use of the materials that they had around, one of the materials that they did not have around were heavy metals. They mainly focused on using obsidian and chert, which are types of rocks, in order to make the materials that they needed to use on a daily basis. They mainly used wood, obsidian and chert so that they could make the tools and weapons that they needed to hunt, farm and to fight with. They also used various types of wood in order to make their canoes, because they often traveled in the water to find other items that they needed and then brought them back. Another form of technology that they developed was their way of farming, they used composted food, mud and silt to surround the areas that they grew their food in so that the soil would be rich and abundant in nutrients and water so that their food would be full of the necessary nutrients that they needed in their diets (McNulty and Moss 1).

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Archeologists have been studying the Aztec Culture for many years. Many of the archeological evidence found on the Aztecs comes from excavations found in Mexico, but primarily Templo Mayor the Great Temple of the Aztecs in Mexico City. Archeologists have used excavation techniques to figure out what we know today. The findings have varied from indigenous writings, witnesses of the culture through Spanish conquistadors and descriptions of the culture written by Spanish clergyman. Through those finding archeologists of the 19th century had figured out that the Aztec culture was somewhere in the Mexico City area. 20th century archeologists used that to their advantage by digging and excavating most of Mexico searching for anything they could find. In 1914, Manuel Gamio found part of the South West corner of Templo Mayor. However archeologists didn’t fully excavate until 1978 due to the area of which Gamio found a corner of the temple was in an upper class residential zone of Mexico City so there wasn’t a lot of people in favor of a full blown search at that time. The reason why the full excavation occurred in 1978 was because workers for an electric company were digging in the city and about two meters down they hit a huge stone which was later determined to be Coyolxauhqui who was Huitzilopochtil’s sister, the god of sun and war in Aztec culture. The stone was dated around the 15th century. After that, archeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma led a group study project to excavate the temple. While excavating they found over 7,000 artifacts including skeltons, artwork in the form of clay pot and ceramic as well as decorated skulls and masks of obsidian and flint. Findings of the Aztec culture have mostly come from the excavation of Templo Mayor as it is only just the beginning for archeologists to find even more about the Aztec society.

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Aztec society were advanced in my aspects of their methods and technology. The Cerro Gordo Site had various technologies discovered in the excavation site (Evans 13). Firstly, the homes at the site were strategically built on the downslope channels for the benefit of using the rainwater for irrigation or personal use (13). This  information combined with a understanding in crop production to sustain a village long term, allowed Susan T. Evans to make calculations of what grain production looked like (13). She calculated  that most likely the peasant population was producing 200 metric tons with a 25% surplus for a population of 1000 people or 160 metric tons for survival alone (13). Secondly, Susan Evans discussed the three types of homes people lived in at the site. The Macehualcalli was a home used for extended families, Outbuildings were public and private storage units for crops and goods, and Tecpancalli was the house the house of the ruler (15-16). These structures were determined based on various artifacts, location, mound size, and materials used (15). The more affluent families of a society had more pottery, decorated tools and walls, etc (15). These were just a few major results of the excavation that took place at the Cerro Gordo Site.

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In the Aztec culture, the location of the Cerro Gordo mound is of much importance to conspicuous consumption. Many of the crops found around this mound include maguey, which was later replaced with nopal (prickly pear). This crop was then used to create pulque, which is a quickly fermented alcoholic drink. This drink was created and finished within 48 hours, which allowed it to be readily available, and able to be transported to multiple other cities. Another item that the Aztec culture was known for is the Aztec Calendar. This calendar was strongly based around the Aztec's religious beliefs, with each day being "assigned" its own God. The calendar was utilized to decide whether harvests would be successful, if rulers would reign successfully, and even how one's personality would be. When the calendars lined up with one another, the Aztec culture believed it to be significant and auspicious. Pictured below is the Aztec Sun Stone.

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Cartwright, Mark. “The Aztec Calendar.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 15 June 2020.

Evans, S. (1985). The Cerro Gordo Site: A Rural Settlement of the Aztec Period in the Basin of Mexico. Journal of Field Archaeology,12(1), 1-18. doi:10.2307/529371

Hills, Tenaya Joy, B.A. Revitalizing Hacienda San Jose De Cerro Gordo: A Feasibility Study for a 19th Century Mexican Hacienda.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Aztec.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 28 Sept. 2006.
McNulty, Andrew, and Jeremy Moss. “Aztec Technology - Meso America and Africa Before the European Incursion.” Google Sites, Feb. 2011.

Reuter, Kara. “The Digital Library: Science: Cultural Astronomy: Aztec.” ECUIP.

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The Aztec culture was one of many cultures that shaped the world into what it is now. Through their technological advances, agricultural smarts, and ability to create tools, the Aztecs were able to help learn what to do. The irrigation system they created as been used in farming areas to this day. The Aztec calendar has also been used as a main reference to create the calendar that we use now. The Aztec culture has also been looked at for their creation of house development, as they created various aspects that are seen nowadays. All of these items that have been discussed are detrimental to the creation of the world as we know it now. The Aztec culture has been one of the most influential cultures around, and they continue to be important to us today.