The Aztec Empire, its rulers, Tenochtitlan, society, and encounters with European powers.
Test your knowledge with these top questions!
How many day signs form a ring on the Aztec Calendar Stone?
The Aztec ritual calendar paired 20 day signs with 13 numbers to create a 260-day cycle.
Which staple grain did Aztec farmers grow on chinampas?
Farmers also grew beans and squash on chinampas, supplying foods that complemented maize in the Aztec diet.
Aztec chinampas are called "floating gardens," but which description is accurate?
Willow trees planted along the edges helped hold the plots together with their roots.
Workers rediscovered the Aztec Calendar Stone in 1790 in which city?
The stone lay buried beneath the city's main square until workers uncovered it during paving work.
Which seeds circulated as money in Aztec markets?
Cacao's value encouraged counterfeiters to make fake beans from dough, wax or avocado pits.
Aztec farmers renewed chinampa soil by adding mud gathered from where?
The mud supplied nutrients that helped keep the same plots productive through repeated planting.
How did Aztec cacao makers produce foam in their drinks?
The foam was a prized part of the drink, so makers poured cacao from a height to trap air.
Aztec cacao drinks could get a spicy kick from which ingredient?
Aztec drink makers could also flavor cacao with vanilla, which comes from an orchid native to Mesoamerica.
What separated many of the Aztecs' chinampa farming plots?
Canoes carried harvested crops through the canals, saving farmers from hauling heavy loads overland.
The Aztec Calendar Stone is also known by what name?
The carvings combine calendar signs with Aztec beliefs about the creation and destruction of worlds.