9781422283387

CHAPTER 1

THE AZTECS MOVE IN A round 1200 ad , small European nations were struggling to survive during the Middle Ages. But in Mesoamerica , the Aztecs were poised to take over the entire region—more than 80,000 sq. mi. (130,000 sq. km). Originally, the Aztec people lived in North America in Aztlan, or theWhite Land. They were farmers and warriors. But, mysteriously, they left their homeland. This may have been because of climate change. Probably, the Aztecs ran short of

water, and their crops died. So, led by priests carrying a statue of their tribal god Huitzilopochtli (say “hweet-sil-oh-pok-tlee”), they headed south, looking for a new home. They were on the move for about 200 years. When the Aztecs arrived in Mesoamerica, they found it was already very full! For more than 2,000 years, the region had been home to many splendid civilizations , including the Olmecs, the Maya, and the

Examine the Aztecs’ impressive system of aqueducts that supplied water for irrigation and bathing.

Chapter 1: THE AZTECS MOVE IN 7