Aztec architecture: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:43, 16 April 2025

Revision as of 21:29, 16 April 2025

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[[File:StaCeciliaAcatitlanNorte.jpg|right|thumb|Aztec pyramid of [[Santa Cecilia Acatitlan]]]]

[[File:Rekonstruktion Tempelbezirk von Tenochtitlan 2 Templo Mayor 3.jpg|thumb|Reconstruction of the temple precinct of Tenochtitlan; the great temple]]

'''Aztec architecture''' is a late form of [[Mesoamerican architecture]] developed by the [[Aztec]] civilization. Much of what is known about this style of architecture comes from the structures that are still standing. These structures have survived for several centuries because of the strong materials used and the skill of the builders.<ref>Correspondence in Hobart, Okla N. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/128405456 "AZTECAztec ARCHITECTUREArchitecture."'' The Construction News''] ''(1897-19161897–1916)'', vol. 21, no. 12, 1906, pp. 220'', American Periodicals''</ref> Most civic architecture was concentrated in the center of Aztec cities. However, many cities had smaller supplemental ceremonial areas.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Michael |title=The Oxford Handbook of the Aztecs |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780190634179 |page=214 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0chjDQAAQBAJ&dq=aztec+temples&pg=PA201 |access-date=7 March 2023}}</ref>

== Influences ==

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== History ==

Some of the most well-known architecture of the Aztec Empire was located in the capital city [[Tenochtitlan]], which was destroyed after the [[Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire|Spanish conquest]] in the 16th century.<ref name=":0" /> Materials taken from the city were then used in the construction of [[Mexico City]].<ref name=":0" /> Because of the construction of Mexico City, not much [[Archaeological record|archaeological evidence]] remains at important Aztec sites such as the Aztec Temple Square.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture. Conference|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/48456547|title=Reinventing the discourse : how digital tools help bridge and transform research, education and practice in architecture : proceedings of the twenty first annual conference of the Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture, October 11-1411–14, 2001, Buffalo, New York|date=2001|publisher=Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture|others=Wassim Jabi, Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture|isbn=1-880250-10-1|___location=[Place of publication not identified]|oclc=48456547}}</ref>

Aztec architectural sites include [[Malinalco (archeological site)|Malinalco]], [[Tenayuca]], conquered by the Aztecs circa 1434. This site is the earliest known example of the typical Aztec double pyramid—joined pyramidal bases supporting two temples—and the [[Templo Mayor]], the biggest building in the Aztec city [[Tenochtitlan]].

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Houses were uniform throughout most of the empire, only varying in size and [[Ornament (art)|ornamentation]].

The Aztecs built [[causeway]]s and [[chinampa]]s in Tenochtitlan due to its ___location in the [[Valley of Mexico|Mexico City basin]]. The agricultural innovation of the [[chinampa]] was a completely unique structure that used small squares of fertile ground that floated on the water as one of the first historical examples of irrigation techniques as well.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Herzog|first=Lawrence A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wbBFO11V0IkC&pg=PR7|title=From Aztec to High Tech: Architecture and Landscape Across the Mexico-UnitedMexico–United States Border|date=2001|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-0-8018-6643-2|language=en}}</ref>

Additionally, ball courts were a very popular construction of architecture used to play the ancient Mesoamerican ball game. Usually the ball court was constructed in a classic "I" shape that was the standard of the game. These courts were called tlachtli or tlachco, and the game itself went by the name of ullamaliztli. Not only were these courts and the game used for the thrill of sport but also held significant religious value as well. Typically, when Aztecs resided in a new settlement construction of a shrine to Huizilopochtli and a ball court directly next to it was among the first things built.<ref name=":0" />

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Aztec culture had class stratification. The highest social rank was that of the priesthood, which permitted access to the temples and more exclusive quarters. Members of the priesthood lived near the temples in the central areas of the city, while people of lower classes lived increasingly further away according to their status. The sizes of domestic structures reflected differences in wealth, power, and status.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Smith|first1=Michael E.|last2=Heath-Smith|first2=Cynthia|last3=Montiel|first3=Lisa|date=1999|title=Excavations of Aztec Urban Houses at Yautepec, Mexico|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/972199|journal=Latin American Antiquity|volume=10|issue=2|pages=133–150|doi=10.2307/972199|jstor=972199|s2cid=163928344 |issn=1045-6635}}</ref>

== Aztec Architecture TodayT"today ==

=== Disappearance ===

In modern times there are few ruins of the [[Aztecs|Aztec]] Empire remaining. There are many theories as to why there are so few ruins left of the Aztec empire. One of these theories is that there is just not enough information on how the Aztec empire ran. It could have been more agriculturally based and less building based. The Aztecs could have been focused on farming rather than building durable structures. We just do not know, there have not been enough archaeological digs to know. Another theory is that there is evidence that it was a looser system of tributaries rather than a tightly connected empire. The Aztecs may have been more worried about what they could get. Not bothering to simulate others to their beliefs. <ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Michael E. |date=1992 |title=Archaeology and the Aztec Empire |url=http://ww.jstor.org/stable/124768 |journal=World Archaeology |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=353-67353–67 |viajstor=JSTOR124768}}</ref>

[[File:Metropolitan_Cathedral_&_Sagrario_-_Mexico_2024_(2).jpg|thumb|The Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral]]

Much of the Aztec infrastructure was also destroyed by the Spanish. The [[Conquistador|Spanish Conquistadors]] would establish Mexico City over top of the remains of Tenochtitlan in 1521. They would raze the city to the ground on their way to taking it back. Only small pockets of the city would survive and subsequently be built over. Such as the Spanish building of the first Cathedral in Latin America called the [[Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City|Metropolitan Cathedral]]. It now resided above an Aztec Temple called [[Templo Mayor]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Croissant |first=Morgane |date=Jun 1, 2023 |title=The Largest and Oldest Cathedral in Latin America is Built on Top of An Aztec Temple |url=https://matadornetwork.com/read/mexico-city-metropolitan-cathedral/ |website=Matador Network}}</ref>