The sick were so utterly helpless that they could only lie on the beds like corpses The city was theirs in August Broken spears lie in the roads; we have torn our hair in grief. The houses are roofless now, and their walls are red with blood. We have pounded our hands in despair against the adobe walls, for our inheritance, our city, is lost and dead. The shields of our warriors were its defense, but they could not save it. Editor's Note: This reference article was first published on May 23, It was updated with new discoveries on June 15, Live Science.
The city center was also home to the ceremonial center, built inside of a square meter walled square. Surrounding the city and floating on the shallow flats of Lake Texcoco were enormous chinampas—long raised plant beds set upon the shallow lake bottom.
Two double aqueducts, each more than 2. The Great Temple measured approximately ft by ft at its base, dominating the Sacred Precinct. Construction of the first temple began sometime after , and it was rebuilt six times.
Mexican pyramids were typically expanded by building over prior ones, using the bulk of the former as a base for the latter, as later rulers sought to expand the temple to reflect the growing greatness of the city of Tenochtitlan.
The fourth temple was constructed between and during the reigns of Moctezuma I and Axayacatl. This stage is considered to have the richest of the architectural decorations, as well as sculptures.
Its great platform was decorated with serpents and braziers, some of which are in the form of monkeys and some in the form of Tlaloc. At this time, the stairway to the shrine of Tlaloc was defined by a pair of undulating serpents, and in the middle of this shrine was a small altar defined by a pair of sculpted frogs. The circular monolith of Coyolxauhqui also dates from this time. Templo Mayor : Scale model of the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan, showing the various stages as it was enlarged over time.
Very little of this layer remains because of the destruction the Spaniards wrought when they conquered the city: only a platform to the north and a section of paving in the courtyard on the south side can still be seen. The pyramid was composed of four sloped terraces with a passage between each level, topped by a great platform that measured approximately by feet. It had two stairways to access the two shrines on the top platform.
The two temples were approximately feet in height, and each had large braziers where the sacred fires continuously burned. The entrance of each temple had statues of robust and seated men, which supported the standard-bearers and banners of handmade bark paper.
Each stairway was defined by balustrades flanking the stairs terminating in menacing serpent heads at the base; these stairways were used only by the priests and sacrificial victims. The entire building was originally covered with stucco and polychrome paint. The deities were housed inside the temple, shielded from the outside by curtains. The idol of Huitzilopochtli was modeled from amaranth seeds held together with honey and human blood. Inside were bags containing jade, bones, and amulets to give life to the god.
This figure was constructed annually, and it was richly dressed and fitted with a mask of gold for his festival held during the Aztec month of Panquetzaliztli. At the end of the festival, the image was broken apart and shared among the populace to be eaten. Ruins of Templo Mayor : While the location of the ruins of Templo Mayor was rediscovered in the early 20th century, major excavations did not take place until to Outside of the city center was the palace of Moctezuma with rooms, each one with its own bath, which was used by the lords and ambassadors of allies and conquered people.
The palace also had two houses or zoos, one for birds of prey and another for other birds, reptiles, and mammals. About people were dedicated to the care of these animals. Also contained within the palace were a botanical garden and an aquarium, which had 10 ponds of salt water and 10 ponds of fresh water and contained both fish and aquatic birds.
The Aztecs excelled in creating sculptures made of stone and other material, ranging from small works of art to monumental buildings. As with many Mesoamerican cultures, the Aztecs excelled in stone sculptures that ranged from small works of art to monumental buildings. Aztec sculpture often took the form of striking carvings of Aztec gods or mythical creatures, and it was expressed through ceramics, architecture, freestanding three-dimensional stone works, and relief work.
Tenochtitlan eventually reached an area of more than 13 square kilometers five square miles. Causeways that doubled as dikes connected the island to the mainland and separated freshwater from saltwater, protecting the chinampas.
Tenochtitlan was laid out symmetrically, with four sectors separated by four causeways or canals surrounding the central area. Each of the four sectors had its own services, including a religious precinct , and was occupied by craftspeople like weavers, sculptors, and potters. The center of the city was known as the Templo Mayor. Atop the single complex were two temples, one for Tlaloc, the god of rain, and one for Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and war. The Spanish conquistador s, aided by an alliance of indigenous peoples, laid siege to the Aztec capital for 93 days, until the Mexica surrendered on August 13, A great deal of Tenochtitlan was destroyed in the fighting, or was looted, burned, or destroyed after the surrender.
Lake Texcoco was ultimately drained, and much of Mexico City rests in the lake basin. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.
Tyson Brown, National Geographic Society. National Geographic Society. Gina Borgia, National Geographic Society. Colorful, busy markets with a bewildering array of foods and luxuries impressed native visitors and conquering Spaniards alike. Most of the construction in Tenochtitlan took place during the reigns of four Aztec kings beginning in the s.
Built largely upon land reclaimed from Lake Texcoco, the city was laid out on a grid, inspired by the still visible ruins of the ancient city of Teotihuacan of a thousand years earlier. Its network of streets and canals teemed with canoes that transported people and goods within the city and across the lake to towns on the shore, to which it was linked by three raised causeways.
Two aqueducts supplied fresh water. At the heart of Tenochtitlan was the Sacred Precinct, the religious and ceremonial center not just of the city, but of the empire as well.
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