Aztec Accomplishments

Aztec Accomplishments

• At the height of Aztec civilization, the empire
covered 80,000 miles.

• Over 25 millions people were subject to Aztec
rule.

• The emperor and nobles were fabulously rich
• Through trade, the Aztecs had precious

stones, beautiful feathers and gold

Aqueducts

• Problem: Tenochtitlán needed a steady supply of
clean water for the city.

• Twin pipes ran from the Chapultepec springs,
three miles away.

• While one pipe was being cleaned or repaired,
the other could transport water.

• This provided water for the emperor’s luxurious
bath and botanical garden.

• Compared to the Europeans of this time period,
the Aztecs had excellent hygiene

Dike

• Problem: The city was in constant danger of
flooding.

• The Aztecs created a dike.
• It was a wall that was 10 miles long. It ran

along the east side of the city to hold back
floodwaters.

Chinampas

• Problem: The Aztecs needed more
farming land to feed the growing
population.

• They created Chinampas, small
floating islands they constructed from
mud and plants.

• Eventually the Aztecs expanded the
city’s land surface until it covered over
five square miles.

• They even merged Tlatelolco,
originally a separate island, with
Tenochtitlan.

Causeways

• Problem: The city was surrounded by water,
which made entering and exiting the city
challenging.

• Three causeways linked the island to the
mainland. The longest of them stretched five
miles.

• The causeways were 25 to 30 feet wide.
• They all had wooden bridges that could be raised

to let boats through or to protect the city in an
enemy attack

Relay System

• Relay runners were posted every few miles to
transport messages and packages.

• A message could go from the Gulf Coast to
Tenochtitlan in 24 hours.

• The system was faster than today’s postal
service!