The Aztecs for Kids

The Aztec people were a civilization of Native Americans that came from northern Mexico. The tribe settled along the Valley of Mexico where Mexico City is now located. The Aztec tribe is believed to have been one of the last great Native American tribes of Mexico. The word Aztec came from Aztlan, a place close to the United States border. The Aztec people also called themselves the Meshika or Mexica. This is where the name "Mexico" originated.

Legends have been told that the Aztecs left Aztlan in 1100 in search of a new home. They believed that the gods would give a sign to them when they had come to the right area to settle. The sign would be an eagle fighting a serpent on a cactus plant. The tribe wandered around the country for 100 years until they saw an eagle with a serpent in his mouth. Small towns of tribes were formed and in 1325, all of the Native Americans began building a temple. After the temple was built, it was named Tenochtitlan.

There was no medicine thousands of years ago and the Aztec doctors used herbal mixtures to treat illness. Much of the advice given to patients was to help chase away evil spirits. They felt that evil could invade a body and poison it. A doctor might tell you to put drops of the morning dew in each nostril to cure a cold. A steam bath could be ordered to sweat away a fever and angry, evil spirits.

The Aztecs left many signs for us to know how they lived thousands of years ago. Ruins of buildings, pieces of pottery and homemade sticks and knives have been found buried close to Mexico City. Farming was the way that these Native Americans made a living. They also hunted for birds and fish. They made their own clothes and grew their own vegetables.

Religion was very important to the Aztecs. They believed that there was a god for almost everything. A god of rain, a god of fire, a prince of flowers, a god of dawn, dance and love plus many others. Music and dance were a way of showing thanks to gods so these celebrations were held frequently. A rattle, whistles, flutes, trumpets, shells and drums were made by hand and played. Kids between 12 and 15 were taught to perform for hundreds of members that attended.

The first ruler of Tenochtitlan was Acamapichtli. It was tradition that after a ruler died, one of his sons would be the next ruler. This continued through 1525 when the Spanish destroyed Tenochtitlan and made the Aztecs leave. There were not many Aztecs left by now because the diseases brought by the white man killed most of them.

This is an original news article © The Kids Window

One in a series of articles of articles about history, see our range of kids historical dress up costumes.  

Homework Help Pages Art: Claude Monet Art: Leonardo da Vinci Art: Pablo Picasso Art: Vincent van Gogh Geography: Antarctica Geography: Earthquakes Geography: Rainforests Geography: Rivers Geography: Volcanoes History: Ancient Egypt History: Ancient Rome History: Anglo Saxons in Britain History: Britain in WWII History: Captain Scott History: Castles History: Charles II and The Restoration History: Children in Victorian Times History: Children in World War II History: Christopher Columbus History: Duke of Marlborough History: English Civil Wars History: Florence Nightingale History: Henry VIII History: Isambard Kingdom Brunel History: James Cook History: King Charles I History: King Henry II and Thomas Becket History: Knights History: Mary Queen of Scots History: Napoleon Bonaparte History: Nelson And Wellington History: Oliver Cromwell History: Olympic Games & Ancient Olympics History: Pocahontas History: Queen Elizabeth I History: Sir Francis Drake

Homework Help Pages History: Sir Walter Raleigh History: The Aztecs for Kids History: The Battle of Blenheim History: The Battle of Trafalgar History: The Berlin Wall History: The Blitz History: The Gunpowder Plot History: The Russian Revolution History: The Spanish Armada History: The Tudors History: The Tudors, part 2 History: The Vikings History: The Vikings In England History: Thomas More History: Victorian Era in England Religion: Buddhism Religion: Christianity Religion: Hinduism Religion: Islam Religion: Judaism Religion: Sikhism Science: Saturn Science: The Moon Science: The Solar System Science: Water Cycle The Kids Pages