AZTEC ARCHITECTURE
By: Jessica Renee Holmes
Some people mistake the Mayans for Aztecs. The types of
houses they lived in, the foods they ate, and the ways they
built their buildings were very similar. However, there
were actually some differences in the way they built
things! I will explain how the Aztecs built their holy
temples, houses, and the Emperor's Palace.
The Aztecs were very religious people who believed in
sacrificing people to please the gods. They sacrificed over
20,000 people a year. The emperor thought that a special
temple should be built for the ritual, so the Aztecs built the
Sacrificial Temple. One example of this would be the Great
Temple of Tenochtitlan.
The Aztecs always wanted to make their sacrificial temple
better than temples in other cities. They decided not to
destroy the old temples, so they built over them! They
made temples larger, with more steps, and more
decorations (These temples looked a lot like the Egyptian
pyramids, except they did not have a pointed top. Instead,
they had a flat top with two small compartments where the
sacrifices were held).
The Emperor's Palace was a two-story house with a very
large courtyard. The walls were covered with paintings
and carvings. On the ground floor, the rooms were very
large and each room had its own purpose. There were
columns on this floor to support the second floor. There
were also columns on the second level to support the
roof. There were steps, most likely made of marble, which
led from the first to second level and were located in the
center of the palace.
There were four rooms in the emperor's home. The first
was the reception chamber where the king would come
and meet with travelers and nobles. Next, there was the
emperor's apartment! This room was larger than most
others considering the fact that the king received many
gifts. There was also the main meeting chamber. This was
like the reception chamber but about three times larger.
There was an elevated platform with stairs and a chair for
the king. People from all around would come here to
report news and to give goods. Finally, there was the
Emperor's tribute store. In this room, all of his gifts were
stored tightly.
The houses of peasants and nobles were built using the
same design! The only differences were the sizes and
decorations. Most Aztec families had one home. It was
made of two separate buildings. One building was the main
home, and the other was the steam bath.
The main home had walls made of adobe (dirt and water),
and a thatched roof. There were no separate rooms; just
one big room. It was divided into four separate areas. The
first was the bed area where the whole family slept. The
second area was a little family shrine which contained
dolls of gods. The kitchen area was, of course, the place
where the meal was prepared. There was also an eating
area, like the dining rooms we have today! The whole
family would sit there and discuss what happened each
day.
The second building was a steam bath area. The doctors
thought that steam baths were best, so each house had
one. The heated walls of the stove would heat the walls of
the bathroom. The Aztecs would then pour water on the
heated walls to create steam. The furnace had to be
constantly burning in order for there to be steam.
There were many shrines built all over the Aztec kingdom.
Each one had their own special purpose and were built in
special places. For example, one was built to worship the
knights and the Sun God. Others were built to place
offerings. One shrine was made to honor the God of the
Sun, as well as the Eagle and Jaguar Knights. The shrine
was placed on the top of a cliff and there were two main
buildings.
The building that was built to worship the Jaguar and
Eagle Knights was a very strange building. The entrance
looked like the mouth of a strange creature with many
spots and jewels. But once inside, their temple was a
circle cut from rock. There was a circular table which was
used for offerings. The problem was that this part of the
temple was small, so not many offerings could be placed in
the building.
That is why the second building was built! This part of the
shine was larger than the shrine for honoring their knights
and Sun God. The building had a large rectangular room
which then lead into a circular room. In these two rooms
was a fire in the center which was used to burn offerings.
Inside of the rectangular room, there were tables where
more offerings can be placed. The roof for this part of the
shrine was made of packed earth. The circular parts of the
shrine had thatched roofs.
The Aztecs built buildings with details and decorations to
please the gods and the Emperor. Each building had a
specific purpose. They never knocked down a building
when they needed something larger; they built over the
old one! It is amazing to study the designs of their
buildings, considering that they did not have the tools that
we have today.
Bibliography:
1. Odijk, Pamela, The Ancient World: The Aztec, Denglewood
Cliffs, Silver Burdett, 1989
2. Wood, Tim, See Through History: The Aztecs, New York,
Viking, 1992
houses they lived in, the foods they ate, and the ways they
built their buildings were very similar. However, there
were actually some differences in the way they built
things! I will explain how the Aztecs built their holy
temples, houses, and the Emperor's Palace.
The Aztecs were very religious people who believed in
sacrificing people to please the gods. They sacrificed over
20,000 people a year. The emperor thought that a special
temple should be built for the ritual, so the Aztecs built the
Sacrificial Temple. One example of this would be the Great
Temple of Tenochtitlan.
The Aztecs always wanted to make their sacrificial temple
better than temples in other cities. They decided not to
destroy the old temples, so they built over them! They
made temples larger, with more steps, and more
decorations (These temples looked a lot like the Egyptian
pyramids, except they did not have a pointed top. Instead,
they had a flat top with two small compartments where the
sacrifices were held).
The Emperor's Palace was a two-story house with a very
large courtyard. The walls were covered with paintings
and carvings. On the ground floor, the rooms were very
large and each room had its own purpose. There were
columns on this floor to support the second floor. There
were also columns on the second level to support the
roof. There were steps, most likely made of marble, which
led from the first to second level and were located in the
center of the palace.
There were four rooms in the emperor's home. The first
was the reception chamber where the king would come
and meet with travelers and nobles. Next, there was the
emperor's apartment! This room was larger than most
others considering the fact that the king received many
gifts. There was also the main meeting chamber. This was
like the reception chamber but about three times larger.
There was an elevated platform with stairs and a chair for
the king. People from all around would come here to
report news and to give goods. Finally, there was the
Emperor's tribute store. In this room, all of his gifts were
stored tightly.
The houses of peasants and nobles were built using the
same design! The only differences were the sizes and
decorations. Most Aztec families had one home. It was
made of two separate buildings. One building was the main
home, and the other was the steam bath.
The main home had walls made of adobe (dirt and water),
and a thatched roof. There were no separate rooms; just
one big room. It was divided into four separate areas. The
first was the bed area where the whole family slept. The
second area was a little family shrine which contained
dolls of gods. The kitchen area was, of course, the place
where the meal was prepared. There was also an eating
area, like the dining rooms we have today! The whole
family would sit there and discuss what happened each
day.
The second building was a steam bath area. The doctors
thought that steam baths were best, so each house had
one. The heated walls of the stove would heat the walls of
the bathroom. The Aztecs would then pour water on the
heated walls to create steam. The furnace had to be
constantly burning in order for there to be steam.
There were many shrines built all over the Aztec kingdom.
Each one had their own special purpose and were built in
special places. For example, one was built to worship the
knights and the Sun God. Others were built to place
offerings. One shrine was made to honor the God of the
Sun, as well as the Eagle and Jaguar Knights. The shrine
was placed on the top of a cliff and there were two main
buildings.
The building that was built to worship the Jaguar and
Eagle Knights was a very strange building. The entrance
looked like the mouth of a strange creature with many
spots and jewels. But once inside, their temple was a
circle cut from rock. There was a circular table which was
used for offerings. The problem was that this part of the
temple was small, so not many offerings could be placed in
the building.
That is why the second building was built! This part of the
shine was larger than the shrine for honoring their knights
and Sun God. The building had a large rectangular room
which then lead into a circular room. In these two rooms
was a fire in the center which was used to burn offerings.
Inside of the rectangular room, there were tables where
more offerings can be placed. The roof for this part of the
shrine was made of packed earth. The circular parts of the
shrine had thatched roofs.
The Aztecs built buildings with details and decorations to
please the gods and the Emperor. Each building had a
specific purpose. They never knocked down a building
when they needed something larger; they built over the
old one! It is amazing to study the designs of their
buildings, considering that they did not have the tools that
we have today.
Bibliography:
1. Odijk, Pamela, The Ancient World: The Aztec, Denglewood
Cliffs, Silver Burdett, 1989
2. Wood, Tim, See Through History: The Aztecs, New York,
Viking, 1992
Avenue of the Dead
Great Temple of Tenochtitlan