Aztec Agriculture
What did they do:
Crops grew well in the fertile soil,but there was hardly any flat
land for farming so forests were forced to cover the slopes of the valley.Aztec
farmers also farmed on the lake,creating fields called chinampas(as shown in the
picture on the left)also known as floating fields which didn't really float.The
fields were actually made of land from the bottom of the lake arranged into rows
with canals inbetween each row.The farmers hammered wooden stakes around the
edge of the chinampas.The wooden stakes prevented the soil from washing
away.After a couple of days,the stakes grew into willow trees which sheltered
crops and livestock like turkeys.The trees' tangled roots helped to bind the
chinampa together.On the chinampas,farmers grew
pumpkins,peppers,chillies,tomatoes,avocadoes,beans,peanuts and maize.Maize also
known as sweetcorn,was the Aztecs' most popular crop.They used maize in all
their food including dumplings and thin pancakes called tortillas.
What did they eat:
The Aztecs ate stuff that were very different to what you and I would eat.All their food included the main ingredient maize(sweetcorn).Rich Aztec people sometimes drank hot chocolate made from rainforest cacao-tree beans that was carried out to the Aztecs' lands by traders.Moctezuma the emperor of all Aztecs,drank bitter chocolate.A drink made from cocoa beans and flavoured with cinnamon,vanilla and chillies.Only nobles could afford this drink because cocoa beans were very valuable to the Aztecs.Unfortunately,the Aztecs who were poor mostly ate corn flower cooked as porridge or baked into thin pancakes called tortillas.Other things that poor Aztecs ate included slugs,tadpoles,flies and worms.The Aztecs enjoyed eating sweet potatoes,beans and avocadoes.Chillies,onions and tomatoes were used to add flavour to the food.
Meat was known as special treat,but at festivals,Aztecs ate turkey washed down with pulque.Pulque was a juice fermented into alcohol.
The lake provided food that people today would find very strange.Floating algae could be made into some kind of cheesecake,and eggs from water insects were known as a delicious delicacy.Migrating ducks and geese were an important source of protein so Aztecs caught them in nets.Aztec men hunted wild animals for food including deer,rabbits,ducks and geese.They caught fish in nets and hooks from the lake.Boys searched for lizards,grubs,mushrooms and cactus leaves to eat.They also collected blue algae that grew on shallow water.The Aztecs thought it tasted like cheese.Aztec families ate 2 meals a day.1 in the afternoon,and 1 in the evening.Most Aztecs were vegetarian as meat was very expensive.All meals had maize in them.Maize inspired dumplings and tortillas were both served with stewed vegetables that were often spiced with hot chillies.
A common meal for the Aztecs were tamales.Tamales were made from maize dough mixed with beans and chillies which were wrapped in maize husks and steamed strongly.
What they used:
Aztec farmers worked hard to grow maize(sweetcorn).They used digging sticks called victli to cultivate the land.Amaranth was used when the maize ripened before it was ready.For their chinampas,the Aztec farmers wove giant reed mats and placed them over the top of the water.They made a fence around the mat and then placed mud,silt and rotton vegetables on he mat.Then the farmers hammered wooden stakes around the edge of the chinampa
Interesting facts:
The Aztecs lived a life that most of us don't know about.Here are a couple of facts you probably didn't know about the agriculture of the Aztecs:
By Nataylia
Crops grew well in the fertile soil,but there was hardly any flat
land for farming so forests were forced to cover the slopes of the valley.Aztec
farmers also farmed on the lake,creating fields called chinampas(as shown in the
picture on the left)also known as floating fields which didn't really float.The
fields were actually made of land from the bottom of the lake arranged into rows
with canals inbetween each row.The farmers hammered wooden stakes around the
edge of the chinampas.The wooden stakes prevented the soil from washing
away.After a couple of days,the stakes grew into willow trees which sheltered
crops and livestock like turkeys.The trees' tangled roots helped to bind the
chinampa together.On the chinampas,farmers grew
pumpkins,peppers,chillies,tomatoes,avocadoes,beans,peanuts and maize.Maize also
known as sweetcorn,was the Aztecs' most popular crop.They used maize in all
their food including dumplings and thin pancakes called tortillas.
What did they eat:
The Aztecs ate stuff that were very different to what you and I would eat.All their food included the main ingredient maize(sweetcorn).Rich Aztec people sometimes drank hot chocolate made from rainforest cacao-tree beans that was carried out to the Aztecs' lands by traders.Moctezuma the emperor of all Aztecs,drank bitter chocolate.A drink made from cocoa beans and flavoured with cinnamon,vanilla and chillies.Only nobles could afford this drink because cocoa beans were very valuable to the Aztecs.Unfortunately,the Aztecs who were poor mostly ate corn flower cooked as porridge or baked into thin pancakes called tortillas.Other things that poor Aztecs ate included slugs,tadpoles,flies and worms.The Aztecs enjoyed eating sweet potatoes,beans and avocadoes.Chillies,onions and tomatoes were used to add flavour to the food.
Meat was known as special treat,but at festivals,Aztecs ate turkey washed down with pulque.Pulque was a juice fermented into alcohol.
The lake provided food that people today would find very strange.Floating algae could be made into some kind of cheesecake,and eggs from water insects were known as a delicious delicacy.Migrating ducks and geese were an important source of protein so Aztecs caught them in nets.Aztec men hunted wild animals for food including deer,rabbits,ducks and geese.They caught fish in nets and hooks from the lake.Boys searched for lizards,grubs,mushrooms and cactus leaves to eat.They also collected blue algae that grew on shallow water.The Aztecs thought it tasted like cheese.Aztec families ate 2 meals a day.1 in the afternoon,and 1 in the evening.Most Aztecs were vegetarian as meat was very expensive.All meals had maize in them.Maize inspired dumplings and tortillas were both served with stewed vegetables that were often spiced with hot chillies.
A common meal for the Aztecs were tamales.Tamales were made from maize dough mixed with beans and chillies which were wrapped in maize husks and steamed strongly.
What they used:
Aztec farmers worked hard to grow maize(sweetcorn).They used digging sticks called victli to cultivate the land.Amaranth was used when the maize ripened before it was ready.For their chinampas,the Aztec farmers wove giant reed mats and placed them over the top of the water.They made a fence around the mat and then placed mud,silt and rotton vegetables on he mat.Then the farmers hammered wooden stakes around the edge of the chinampa
Interesting facts:
The Aztecs lived a life that most of us don't know about.Here are a couple of facts you probably didn't know about the agriculture of the Aztecs:
- Girls learnt crafting skills from their mothers
- Tlaloc was the ancient god of rain and fertility.Moctezuma believed that if the Aztecs(including himself)didn't worship the god as he wanted,the food supplies would be wiped out almost instantly.
- The weather wasn't often too hot or too cold.
- Aztec farming methods were a whole lot more harder to understand than the methods the Spaniards used.
- Paper was made out of the bark of fig trees
- When huge swarms of locusts descended onto the Aztec crops,havoc corrupted.Food supplies were wiped out almost immedietly and people starved to death.
- Grinding chillies in a bowl made a fine paste.
- An Aztec's home could also be a workplace for the person.Farmers who knew how to craft things like pottery could make goods for their own use or to sell in the enormous city markets.
- Aztecs oftenly drank water but on special occasions,beer made from the sap of cactuses might be served.
- Aztec farming families lived in communities of 10-20 households.Each family own land where they could grow their own food or grow food for the tribute.When Aztec farming parents passed away,the land that the parents used to own gets passed down to their children.
- Farmers not only grew crops but also grew flowers on their chinampas.These flowers were used in Aztec festivals throughout the year.
By Nataylia