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A True Book
The Aztec Empire
Explore the Aztec empire, includingTenochtitlâan, daily life, and ruins.
A True Book: Ancient Civilizations series allows readers to experience what makes each ancient civilization distinctive and exceptional as well look at its influence on the some of the practices of the modern world. This series includes an age appropriate (grades 3-5) introduction to curriculum-relevant subjects and a robust resource section that encourages independent study.
A True Book: Ancient Civilizations series allows readers to experience what makes each ancient civilization distinctive and exceptional as well look at its influence on the some of the practices of the modern world. This series includes an age appropriate (grades 3-5) introduction to curriculum-relevant subjects and a robust resource section that encourages independent study.
48 pages, Library Binding
First published September 1, 2009
1 person is currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Sunita Apte
58 books3 followersSunita Apte is a children's book author living in Brooklyn, New York, with fellow writer Michael Sandler and their two children, Laszlo and Asha. When she's not writing books for kids, she likes to cook and travel the world.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 10, 2017
According to Aztec legend, the Aztec people originated in Northern Mexico around 1100 C.E. Around 1250 C.E., they settled in the Valley of Mexico, and when they arrived, lots of powerful groups were already there. In this region, there was a great, ancient, very powerful city called Teotihuacán and it had been there for 1,000's of years before it was overtaken by another group of people called the Toltecs. The Toltecs ruled for about 200 years. In 1325 C.E., the Aztecs built their capital city called Tenochtitlán. They built roads over waterways called "causeways" and this made it easy for people and goods to come from one part of the city to the other.
Aztec foods included: corn tortillas (Aztec women spent time grinding corn for these tortillas), tomatoes, chili peppers, beans, squash, avocados, & turkey. They also had the cacao seed. They made things like hot chocolate with these seeds-which only wealthy Aztecs could drink. The cacao seed was very valuable and was often used as money.
They worshiped several gods and they had supreme rulers called Tlatoani. The Tlatoani had complete and unlimited control over government, army, and ruled for life. The Aztecs used a calendar which had 365 days. Aztec society had different social classes including: working class, traders, nobles & lords. They farmed on sections of fertile islands called Chinampas. They had a writing system and spoke a language called Nahuatl and they played board games!
The end of the Aztec Empire came in 1519 C.E. when it was conquered by Spanish explorer Hernán Cortéz. Spain ruled this area until 1821 when Mexico finally won its independence.
Much of Mexico's Aztec past still remains. About 1 million people still speak Nahuatl and many Aztec sites and ruins can still be found today.
Aztec foods included: corn tortillas (Aztec women spent time grinding corn for these tortillas), tomatoes, chili peppers, beans, squash, avocados, & turkey. They also had the cacao seed. They made things like hot chocolate with these seeds-which only wealthy Aztecs could drink. The cacao seed was very valuable and was often used as money.
They worshiped several gods and they had supreme rulers called Tlatoani. The Tlatoani had complete and unlimited control over government, army, and ruled for life. The Aztecs used a calendar which had 365 days. Aztec society had different social classes including: working class, traders, nobles & lords. They farmed on sections of fertile islands called Chinampas. They had a writing system and spoke a language called Nahuatl and they played board games!
The end of the Aztec Empire came in 1519 C.E. when it was conquered by Spanish explorer Hernán Cortéz. Spain ruled this area until 1821 when Mexico finally won its independence.
Much of Mexico's Aztec past still remains. About 1 million people still speak Nahuatl and many Aztec sites and ruins can still be found today.
March 4, 2019
A good beginner's text on the Aztecs. I appreciate the pronunciation guides and the acknowledgement of the negative affects of colonialism.
Currently reading
May 1, 2016“The Aztec Empire” by Sunita Apte is the book I will be talking about today. The Aztecs, which originated from Northern Mexico, were forced to keep moving around because of their defeats during battles. Until they officially settled in The Valley Of Mexico and started building their army. When the Aztecs arrived along with their ruler, Tlaoni, people were already living there so they had to build their empire in the middle of an island called Lake Texcoo. "A tlatoani had complete and unlimited power over the government and army and ruled for life" (Apte 20). Which was not such a bad thing because they were surrounded by water which protected them from many attacks causing them to become the most powerful city in The Valley Of Mexico. However, since they did not have access to the land anymore, routes were built connecting their island to land, these routes were called Causeways. The Aztecs were polytheistic, they worshiped gods such as the gods of rain, water, corn war, life, nature etc.. but their most important god was the god of the dead, Mictlantecuhtli. They worshiped their gods by praying, playing music and offering gifts.The Aztec Empire contained 10 million people including a very strong army, their capital was Tenochtitlan. Workers such as farmers, artisans and Merchants also known as Macehualtin grew crops on fertile land called chinampas. While men fought battles, the women would stay at home and do things such as cooking and weaving clothes for her family. "Women learned how to weave at young age so that they could make clothes for their families" (Apte 27). The Aztecs ate food such as corn tortillas, Chili Peppers, tomatoes, beans, squash, avocados, and turkey. Back then, cacao seeds were brought from so far away that they were almost sacred, the hot chocolates made from them were only for wealthy people. The Aztec Empire was founded in 1325 C.E and took over by Spain in 1521 C.E.
The Book “The Aztec empire” was a really interesting book full of facts. Today I will be listing 5 of the most important fact I learned. First, the Aztec Empire was one of the only empires to use a 365-day calendar. Another interesting fact from the book was that the Aztec flag symbol was an eagle. In Total, The Aztec Empire had 11 rulers and their language, Nahuatl is still used today in some parts of Mexico. Lastly, the Aztecs played board games that included a dice made out of dried beans and an X-shaped board. My favorite photograph from this book would most definitely be the cover of the book because it is a picture of their god of death which was viewed as their most important god. I know this book is a non- fiction book because it talks about the creation and the ending of The Aztec Empire which was one of the most important empires in history.
Reading about The Aztec Empire was really interesting however there were some parts of the book that I did not enjoy. My favorite part of the book was when they talked about their religion’s polytheism because I find that really interesting. The fact that they believed in many gods even gods such as the god of corn is really fascinating. However, my least favorite part of the book was when Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821 because suddenly all of the Aztec cultures vanished. I would recommend this book to middle schoolers who like social studies and would enjoy a good history book.
The Book “The Aztec empire” was a really interesting book full of facts. Today I will be listing 5 of the most important fact I learned. First, the Aztec Empire was one of the only empires to use a 365-day calendar. Another interesting fact from the book was that the Aztec flag symbol was an eagle. In Total, The Aztec Empire had 11 rulers and their language, Nahuatl is still used today in some parts of Mexico. Lastly, the Aztecs played board games that included a dice made out of dried beans and an X-shaped board. My favorite photograph from this book would most definitely be the cover of the book because it is a picture of their god of death which was viewed as their most important god. I know this book is a non- fiction book because it talks about the creation and the ending of The Aztec Empire which was one of the most important empires in history.
Reading about The Aztec Empire was really interesting however there were some parts of the book that I did not enjoy. My favorite part of the book was when they talked about their religion’s polytheism because I find that really interesting. The fact that they believed in many gods even gods such as the god of corn is really fascinating. However, my least favorite part of the book was when Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821 because suddenly all of the Aztec cultures vanished. I would recommend this book to middle schoolers who like social studies and would enjoy a good history book.
April 1, 2016
The Aztec Empire was written by Sunita Apte. This book talks about the life if the Aztec Empire. The Aztec Empire originated from the northern part of Mexico, they were able to build a strong army, develop a written language, create art, and poetry. The Aztecs build their own city on a island in a swampy lake called Lake Texcoco, they were protected by the water when other groups wanted to attack them, and soon it became the most powerful city in the Valley of Mexico. They would eat chili peppers, beans, squash, avocados, and turkey. Religion was very important to them, they worshipped many gods for example the main god was Huitzilopochtli who was the god of war and sun, Chicomecoatl who was the goddess of corn, and Quetzalcoatl the god of life and nature, there was a temple dedicated to each god. The Aztecs spoke Nahuatl, which is still a language that is used in Mexico. In 1519 C.E, the Spanish conqueror Hernan Cortes, was searching for new lands that Spain could conqueror and brought 500 soldiers and three ships to attack the Aztecs. Cortes started to march his army to the Aztecs and he learned that some people were unhappy about Moctezuma II, which was a great opportunity to conqueror the Aztec Empire. Since the Aztecs hated paying the taxes, Cortes invited them to join him and his soldiers to attack Moctezuma II. When Cortes started to invade the Aztec Empire, Moctezuma II, did nothing to stipe Cortes, instead he treated him like a king. When Moctezuma II, got killed in a battle, Cortes decided to go back to his city, and once he came back he saw the city to have Smallpox, which was a disease and made a lot of people to die. Cortes decided to take control of the Aztec Empire and it became a Spanish Colony. Thus, the Aztec empire went through so much, and finally was taken control by a Spanish Colony.
Five facts that I learned in this book are:
1. Aztecs used a 365-day calendar like we do today.
2. Aztecs would draw themselves as animals like an eagle and a jaguar.
3. Aztecs believed that Cortes was the god Quetzalcoatl.
4. The eagle and serpent on the Mexican flag represent the country’s Aztec roots.
5. There was about 10 million people living in the Aztec Empire.
This topic of this book is important because this makes us learn for history all about the Aztecs. If the reader is learning about this in history class and the teacher asks to make a project about this topic, it would be good to read this book since it has every detailed possible about the Aztec Empire and how they lived. Another title I would give this book “Remember the Aztec Empire?” I would give this book this title since this book gives a lot of detailed about this topic then, we will want to learn about this topic even more. Thus, this book gives a lot of facts about the Aztec Empire.
I would recommend this book to anyone because it is a very easy book, and every one can read it. I would recommend it when a person has a test about this topic because most of the important facts there can be about the Aztec Empire is on this book. This book could be for 5-9th graders who want to learn about the Aztec Empire. Thus, this book could be for anyone who would like to read about the Aztec Empire.
Five facts that I learned in this book are:
1. Aztecs used a 365-day calendar like we do today.
2. Aztecs would draw themselves as animals like an eagle and a jaguar.
3. Aztecs believed that Cortes was the god Quetzalcoatl.
4. The eagle and serpent on the Mexican flag represent the country’s Aztec roots.
5. There was about 10 million people living in the Aztec Empire.
This topic of this book is important because this makes us learn for history all about the Aztecs. If the reader is learning about this in history class and the teacher asks to make a project about this topic, it would be good to read this book since it has every detailed possible about the Aztec Empire and how they lived. Another title I would give this book “Remember the Aztec Empire?” I would give this book this title since this book gives a lot of detailed about this topic then, we will want to learn about this topic even more. Thus, this book gives a lot of facts about the Aztec Empire.
I would recommend this book to anyone because it is a very easy book, and every one can read it. I would recommend it when a person has a test about this topic because most of the important facts there can be about the Aztec Empire is on this book. This book could be for 5-9th graders who want to learn about the Aztec Empire. Thus, this book could be for anyone who would like to read about the Aztec Empire.
September 26, 2016
The was a nice addition to both our World History and Art History sections on Aztec culture. The layout is done with with numerous interesting and memorable facts displayed throughout the books lovely photographs. Perfect for any elementary or middle school classroom/library.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews