Aztec warriors

When most people think of the Aztecs, they probably conjure up images of human sacrifice. Yet much of Aztec society was sophisticated, including their social order.

At the bottom of the Aztec social hierarchy were slaves. How did people become slaves? A person might be captured in a foreign land, or slavery might be a sentence for a crime. Anyone regardless of their class could become a slave. Even people with a lot of money sometimes ended up as slaves because of gambling debts they owed.

Surprisingly, slaves did have some rights. They could own money and get time off. They also had their own families. Children of slaves were born free. Nobles often acquired slaves as servants for their households. While these rights don’t make the life of a slave seem so hard, unlucky slaves could be sold to priests for human sacrifices. And despite the fact that slavery wasn’t hereditary, some parents sold their children into slavery in order to support the rest of the family.

Like most societies, the Aztecs had an abundance of commoners who worked as farmers or craftsmen. Farmers tended land that belonged to nobles, and craftsmen did woodwork or made pottery. The men had to serve in the Aztec army. Women also had tasks, which included cleaning, cooking, weaving, and going to the marketplace. Some women also sold textiles at market. Female commoners spent most of their time at home.

For a commoner, home was a one room house made of reed walls and a thatched roof. Commoners lived in districts of four or five families, often all relatives. Each district had a temazcal or sweat bath where children were often born. Male children of commoners attended a free school that taught them how to be warriors. Commoners could not become merchants or nobles, but they could move up in society by becoming brave warriors or priests.

Aztec warriors pictured in the Codex Mendoza

Whereas many ancient societies only had poor and rich classes, the Aztec had a middle class or pochteca made up of traveling merchants. They traded goods as well as serving as spies for the king. During their travels, merchants assessed which lands the king might conquer. Since their missions were dangerous, merchants were also trained warriors who carried weapons. They could become wealthy but couldn’t display their wealth by wearing expensive clothes or jewels.

Wearing fine capes and jewelry were privileges reserved for the noble class. Nobles ruled over a number of commoners. They assigned labor in neighborhoods called calpullis. They lived near their workers either in a nice home with stone walls or a small palace. Children of nobles attended a special school called the calmecac. Unlike the schools for commoners, these schools taught poetry, public speaking and the Aztec calendar as well as warfare. Children of nobles grew up to be government officials, high priests, and military captains.

For all their privileges, the Aztecs expected a great deal from the nobility. They were expected to be model citizens. If a noble committed a crime, the punishment was more severe than for a commoner who committed the same crime.

Although Aztec children didn’t go to school as quickly as most kids today, they learned a lot from their parents as they grew. By the young age of five, boys carried firewood and accompanied their fathers to the marketplace. The boys watched their parents exchange goods in the market. The market was also a place for boys to meet new people and learn how to behave around both adults and other children. At the age of five, their mothers taught girls how to weave cotton. In their preteen years, boys learned to fish while girls perfected their spinning and cooking skills.

Aztec parents valued hard work and humility. As their children’s first teachers, they tried to pass on these values. The Codex Mendoza, which was painted few years after the Spaniards arrived, says that parents “instructed and engaged them [children] in personal services…this was so that…they did not spend their time in idleness, and to avoid the bad vices that idleness tends to bring.”

The lessons of their parents helped boys endure their formal schooling, which for wealthy sons began at fifteen. They entered a school run by Aztec priests called the calmecac. Most of the boys who attended this school would become priests, though they occasionally chose other professions. Government jobs, for example, required an elite education. Physical work was part of the curriculum. In the mornings, boys swept the temple, collected firewood, and worked in the fields. They fasted and went on pilgrimages to satisfy their gods. Afternoons were devoted to the study of history, astrology, writing, and the law. They also learned some fighting techniques because priests often accompanied soldiers into battle.

Most Aztec boys, including commoners, attended the telpochcalli where they learned military skills. These boys also spent time doing physical work so they would be able to endure battles. One popular task was increasing the load of firewood a boy carried on his back to see if he would be able to carry the shield and other items he needed during a battle. Martial arts were also taught.

Teenage girls continued their education at home, though some had a public role as priestesses, called cihuatlamacazqui. Young priestesses were taught their temple duties and presided over religious ceremonies. Women were essential to certain Aztec religious festivals. During the ceremony of Quecholli, priestesses dedicated to the goddess of corn dressed in feathers and painted their faces. They sang and paraded through the streets, tossing handfuls of corn into the crowds. The seeds were signs of a good harvest in the coming year. Most girls, however, were married around the age of fifteen. They married young men who had finished their formal education.

Heather on History

Making History Matter

The Education of Aztec children

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