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The Aztecs [a] (/ ˈ æ z t ɛ k s / AZ-teks) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica from the 14th to the 16th centuries.
The earliest, and most basic, form of agriculture implemented by the Aztecs is known as " rainfall cultivation." The Aztecs implemented terrace agriculture in hilly areas, typically in the highlands of the Aztec Empire. Terracing allowed for an increased soil depth and impeded soil erosion. Terraces were built by piling a wall of stones ...
The Aztecs were conquered by Spain in 1521 after a long siege of the capital, Tenochtitlan, where much of the population died from hunger and smallpox. Cortés, with 508 Spaniards, did not fight alone but with as many as 150,000 or 200,000 allies from Tlaxcala , and eventually other Aztec tributary states.
In order to trade "primitive coins" were used such as cacao seeds and Quetzal feathers. The Aztec economic system based on this simple way of trading was highly efficient and maintained great stability and ensured the welfare of the majority of the population of the empire. [4]
The word Aztec in modern usage would not have been used by the people themselves. It has variously been used to refer to the Aztecs or Triple Alliance, the Nahuatl-speaking people of central Mexico prior to the Spanish conquest, or specifically the Mexica ethnicity of the Nahuatl-speaking tribes (from tlaca). [7]
The area would be conquered by the Aztecs in 1458. [7] In 1486, the Aztec would establish a fort on the hill of Huaxyácac (now called El Fortín), which would use to enforce the collection of tribute payments in Oaxaca. [7] The last battle between the Aztecs and the Zapotecs occurred between 1497–1502, under the Aztec ruler Ahuizotl.
In the 2020 census there were 23,232,391 people who were identified as indigenous based on self-identification (19.41%). [1] This is a significant increase from the 2010 census, in which indigenous Mexicans accounted for 14.9% of the population, and numbered 15,700,000, [81] but smaller than the 2015 census estimate of 25,694,928 (21.5%).
The Totonacs were one of the peoples that were politically subjugated by the Aztecs and word was immediately sent to the Aztec Emperor (in Nahuatl, Tlatoani) of Tenochtitlan Motecuhzoma II. Going inland the Spaniards encountered and fought with Totonac forces and Nahua forces from the independent Altepetl of Tlaxcallan .