Meztil - #4

Dear whoever is reading this,

In Aztec society, men were above women and the father was the master of the house. Married women could own property and sell goods. As a profession, some older women practiced matchmaking and midwifery. 

The houses were built by men and men worked as farmers or at a craft. Women looked after the livestock,tended the garden, and wove beautiful cloth of many colors. Cloaks had patterns of sun designs or images of shells, fish,cacti,snakes,or butterflies. Women traded these things at the market. 

An important job for women was to have and take care of children because the Aztecs believed that bring children into the world was the purpose of marriage. All boys attended school and commoners started school at the age of six, but they only attended part-time. At the telpochcalli,the "house of youth" at the time boys were trained to be soldiers. the son's of nobles went to a different school. They went to the calmecac, where they learned the skills to become government officials, military commanders, or priests.

  http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/ask-experts/what-did-aztec-children-learn-in-school

That is what family life is like here.

Sincerely,
Meztil

Izel - #4

Hello, I hope that you enjoy reading these entries that me and Meztil make. 

Today, I am going to be talking about Tenochtitlan - an Aztec island city.

Tenochtitlan was a very small city, but Aztecs had came up with a way to solve this problem. Since the city was small, Aztecs were able to enlarge Tenochtitlan by creating chinampas (artificial islands). 

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120130004151/althistory/images/3/36/Tlatelolco.jpg

Another problem with Tenochtitlan was that it was difficult to access - a way that Aztecs solved this problem was that they built three causeways that lead Tenochtitlan to the mainland. 


http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/images-2/268_01_2.jpg

A last problem that Aztecs faced was that the water in their lake was very salty, so they used aqueducts. Aqueducts helped provide fresh water for the city. 

http://www.sewerhistory.org/images/bm/bme/1570_bme26.jpg

I hope that you liked learning about our island city - Tenochtitlan! 

Sincerely,
Izel

Meztil - #3

Dear whoever is reading this,

Today I will be dancing to the music of my people. music, dance, Poetry, Sculpture, Glyph, Pictographs are all a huge part of the Aztec culture. I love doing all these things in Aztec. my Mother always told me that I was very talented. I love to listen to the music and dance to the beat of the instruments.

My family loves to go to celebration/ceremonies. Earlier, I was sharpening My knife. My father always taught me how to sculpt, paint, and many other things. One day, me and Izel were at my home in Aztec and my little sister was playing a drum so Izel and I started to dance to the beat. My mother taught me how to dance to the beat of the music and play the instruments here in Aztec. 

I always loved to write and tell stories to people. I can be shy, but I love to tell stories about people and things that are going on in Aztec. I have been teaching my two little sisters how to write. I always knew that I was smart. I am always scared to show people my stories because they might think otherwise. 
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&docid=0c6KmZYacHG8PM&tbnid=Uko2V_9ZV1vNHM:&ved=0CAYQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fforum.dreamtattoo.com%2Fdovme-resimleri-tattoo-designs%2Faztek-inka-maya-dovme-dovmesi-dovmeleri-tattoo-desenleri-aztec-mayan-tattoos-80.html&ei=4HQsU46nHYuQiQe1xYBg&bvm=bv.62922401,d.dGI&psig=AFQjCNEI0rFuOgh-u-Z3oN8Pobq1sfItCQ&ust=1395508796307220

Sincerely,
Meztil

Izel - #3

Hello! It's Izel again.

Today's post is going to be talking about the weapons Aztecs use.

The best known Aztec weapon is Macuahuitl. Macuahuitl is made from wood (usually oak) and the size of it is 3-4" long wide and 3-4' long. They came one-handed or two-handed. Two-handed versions may be a little wider and as tall as a person.
 
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Florentine_Codex_IX_Aztec_Warriors.jpg

Another weapon used was the bow and arrow. The bows were about five feet long and the arrows were either pointed with obsidian, flint, or bone, and kept in a quiver. Many believe that the arrows could fly around 450 feet away or more.


http://s127722.edublogs.org/files/2011/10/aztecs_21904_lg-109xl5r.gif

The last weapon that I'm going to be talking about in this entry is the spear. Spears are usually more than 7 feet long and are extremely sharp. They had a blade a foot wide which was made of smaller blades made from stone. Fun fact - these spears are so sharp that warriors could actually use them to shave!

http://associations.missouristate.edu/mas/macquest/desk/useatlatl.jpg

Aztecs use way more weapons than these, but I'm only talking about these three weapons in this post.

Sincerely,
Izel

Meztil - #2

Dear whoever is reading this,

This is Meztil again, I am at a rain ceremony. A rain ceremony is where we sacrifice a human. I think it is cool because it is serving the god. The Aztecs do it because that scares the enemies away. It is what me and my people do. The rain ceremony is very scary and exciting at the same time. I always know that I have to be brave when this day comes.

I am so scared for the next rain ceremony because one of my little sisters might be sacrificed. I will be heartbroken if one of my little sisters were to be sacrificed. They also sacrifice animals for their fur and they give the animal's blood to the rain gods.






















https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&docid=kxLpezhu6bKqtM&tbnid=-crGtyZUzVbVfM:&ved=0CAYQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.windows2universe.org%2Fmythology%2Ftlaloc_rain.html&ei=9G0sU5e-JcjqiAee-oD4AQ&bvm=bv.62922401,d.dGI&psig=AFQjCNGSsvZI4NL9LJOjFZCz-th_hy3miw&ust=1395507030826866

Izel - #2

Hello, it's Izel again. I hope that you enjoyed reading my last post, which was about Aztec society. Now, I am going to be talking about what had happened today at the Aztec rain ceremony, and it's not good news. 

In my first post, I said that I live with my two brothers, my father, and my mother. Well, now I don't have two brothers anymore. Yes, I'm saying that he died (obviously...). 

My brother was sacrificed to the rain gods. There was a sacrifice to honor the rain gods with blood, and also for a good crop yield and/or good weather. At every rain ceremony, something/someone is sacrificed. Most of the time it'd be humans, but sometimes other animals were sacrificed. Aztecs valued the sacrifice of warriors captured in battle because they thought that their blood was nourishing to Huitzilopotchli (an Aztec god).

Here's a picture of what an Aztec rain ceremony is like:


http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/aztec-human-sacrifice-codex-photo-researchers.jpg

So, now you know what an Aztec rain ceremony is like.

I'm still crying about my brother being sacrificed.

Sincerely,
Izel

Meztil - #1

Dear whoever is reading this,

Hello, my name is Meztil (which means moon). I am sixteen years 
And I live in Aztec. I am writing about my life in here and my family and my best friend Izel. I have a mother and a 
Father and a two little sisters.

Let me tell you how the food is here in Aztec. The food here is very simple. We grow beans, squash, chilies, tomatoes, limes, sweet potatoes, chocolate. The food is good to eat. 

 I have to eat the food that we grow here and it gets old. I am getting tired of the food here in the Aztec -I want to try something new. The food we eat in Aztec is good though, because we grow it fresh. My favorite food to eat is the chocolate. 

I will be making more entries so you can see what I see, feel, and do.


Sincerely,
Meztil