AZTEC

ANCIENT
SOCIETY AND
CALENDAR
 AZTEC SOCIAL
STRUCTURE
The Aztecs followed a strict social hierarchy
in which individuals were identified as:
• Noble class
 Government
 Military leaders
 High level priests
 Lords (tecuhtli).

• Commoner class
 Farmers
 Artisans
 Merchants
 Low-level priests.

• Serfs and slaves.

 THE CALPOLLI

• The most important social

grouping in Aztec society was the
calpolli, which was a collection of
families connected either by blood
or long association.
• Elders, led by the calpolec (a chief
elected for life), controlled the
landholdings of the calpolli
distributing it for members to farm
as their own on the condition that
they paid a regular tribute in
return.
 NOBLES

• The nobility or pipiltin (sing. pilli) were

easily identified by their appearance as they
exclusively wore prized feather garments.
• Owners of private land, they were wealthy
thanks to tribute from their tenants and serfs.
• State administrators were selected from
the pipiltin class, although commoners might
enter this hereditary class by performing
deeds of great valour on the battlefield.
• These social risers were known
as cuauhpipiltin or 'eagle nobles'.
 PRIESTS

• The priestly class not only orchestrated the

state religion and its many festivals and
rituals but also ran the state education
system and, to a significant degree,
controlled Aztec artistic output in all its
forms.
• A male or female from any social class
could become a priest, or tlamacazqui, but
the most powerful ones always came from
the pipiltin class.
 FARMERS

• Farmers, or macehualtin, were by far the

largest section of Aztec society and they
were divided into two further groups.
• First, and lower in status, were the field
workers who did the donkey work of
hoeing, weeding, planting, irrigating etc.
• The higher group was more supervisory
in role and consisted of specialised
horticulturalists who were responsible
for seeding and transplanting.
 ARTISANS &
TRADERS
• The artisan class were known
as tolteca after the earlier Toltec
civilization, which the Aztecs revered,
and so craftsmen were held in high
regard.
• They often worked in specialised large-
scale workshops, and they included
carpenters, potters,
stonemasons, metal workers, weavers,
feather workers, and scribes.
 SLAVES

Aztec society also contained slaves

or tlacohtin ('bought ones') who were
conquered peoples, those guilty of
serious crimes such as theft, or
individuals who had got themselves
into so much debt (most often
through gambling) that they were
forced to sell themselves as a
commodity for a certain period or
even for life.
 CALENDAR

• The Aztecs of ancient Mexico measured time with a

sophisticated and interconnected triple calendar
system which adhered to movements of the celestial
bodies, provided a comprehensive list of important
religious festivals and sacred dates, and gave each
day a unique combination of a name and a number.
• Time was to be kept, measured, and recorded. It is
significant that most major Aztec monuments and
artworks conspicuously carry a date of some kind.
• The Sacred Calendar
• The Aztecs used two systems for counting time. The
Xiuhpohualli was the natural solar 365-day calendar used to
count the years; it followed the agricultural seasons. The
year was separated into 18 months of 20 days each. The 5
extra days at the end of the year were set aside as a period
of mourning and waiting. The second system was the ritual
calendar, a 260-day cycle used for divination. Every 52 years
the two calendars would align, giving occasion for the great
New Fire Ceremony before a new cycle started.
 TONALPOHUALLI –
‘COUNTING OF THE
DAYS’
• The Aztecs used a sacred calendar
known as the tonalpohualli or ‘counting
of the days’.
• It formed a 260-day cycle, in all
probability originally based on
astronomical observations.

• The calendar was broken down into

units (sometimes referred to
as trecenas) of 20 days with each day
having its own name, symbol, patron
deity and augury:
1. cipactli - crocodile - Tonacatecuhtli - 11. ozomatli - monkey - Xochipilli - neutral
good
12. malinalli - dead grass - Patecatl - evil
2. ehecatl - wind - Quetzalcoatl - evil
13. acatl - reed - Tezcatlipoca /
3. calli - house - Tepeyolohtli - good Itztlacoliuhqui - evil
4. cuetzpallin - lizard - Huehuecoyotl - good 14. ocelotl - ocelot / jaguar - Tlazolteotl - evil
5. coatl - snake - Chalchiutlicue - good 15. quauhtli - eagle - Xipe Totec - evil
6. miquiztli - death - Tecciztecatl / Meztli - 16. cozcaquauhtli - vulture - Itzpapalotl -
evil good
7. mazatl - deer - Tlaloc - good 17. ollin - earthquake - Xolotl - neutral
8. tochtli - rabbit - Mayahuel - good 18. tecpatl - flint knife - Tezcatlipoca /
Chalchiuhtotolin - good
9. atl - water - Xiuhtecuhtli - evil
19. quiahuitl - rain - Tonatiuh / Chantico -
10. itzcuintli - dog - Mictlantecuhtli - good
evil
20. xochitl - flower - Xochiquetzal - neutral
 XIUHPOHUALLI – ‘COUNTING
OF THE YEARS’

• The second Aztec calendar was the xiuhpohualli or ‘counting of the years’ which was
based on a 365-day solar cycle.
• It was this calendar which signified when particular religious ceremonies and
festivals should be held. This calendar was divided into 18 groups of 20 days (each
with its own festival).
1. Atlcahualo – stopping of the water 13.Tepeilhuitl – feast of the mountains
2. Tlacaxipeualiztli – flaying of men 14.Quecholli – a bird
3. Tozoztontli – lesser vigil 15.Panquetzaliztli – raising of the quetzal-
4. Hueytozoztli – great vigil feather banners

5. Toxcatl – drought 16.Atemoztli – falling of water

17.Tititl – unknown significance
6. Etzalqualiztli – eating maize and beans
7. Tecuilhuitontli – lesser feast of the lords 18.Izcalli - growth
8. Hueytecuilhuitl – great feast of the lords
9. Tlaxochimaco – offering of flowers
10.Xocotlhuetzi – the fruit falls
11.Ochpaniztli – sweeping
12.Teotleco – return of the gods