THE 10 CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MEXICA - HISTORY - 2025

The contributions of the Mexica focused on various areas such as education, architecture, gastronomy, agriculture and many more. To understand the origins and stimuli of this civilization, it is necessary to know its evolution.

The Mexica was an indigenous people that dominated the Aztec Empire. Right in the heart of Tenochtitlan, in the Valley of Mexico, they developed between persecutions, wars, sacrifices, advances and ambitions for power.

Tenochtitlan, founded by the Mexica.

The Mexica ethnic group dominated the Aztec Empire and determined the flourishing of civilization. But not always everything was glory. Before, they lived in their native place, a region northwest of the valley known as Aztlán (Place of the Herons), which they had to abandon for offending Huitzilopochtli, their god, by cutting down a sacred tree.

The Aztec term refers to the groups that inhabited Aztlán. You have to know that the Aztecs were not an ethnic group, but included about 20 ethnic groups, which shared the Nahuatl language, as well as history and culture.

Among them were the Mexica, whose name means people of Mexico. The word "Aztec" has been used to refer to the empire and all its ethnic groups.

While the Mexica waited for the direction of the god Huitzilopochtli to receive a new territory, their wait cost them liters and liters of blood given in sacrifices to appease the dire climatic conditions that were presented to them while they wandered, subject to a promise of habitable land.

On a small island, the Mexica found the land they were promised by noticing a cactus blooming out of a stone with an eagle perched on top.

Tenochtitlan, means "place of the cactus fruit", a city built on water with many channels, which helped them to develop their engineering, transportation and trade skills; a kind of Postclassic Mexican Venice.

Main contributions of the Mexica

Obligatory education

Compulsory education has not been common in the rest of the world historically speaking, but the Mexica were at the forefront, not only presenting an imposed but free educational model, without distinction of gender or social class.

At the same time, other countries had education but it was directed only at the upper classes. The individuals of the Aztec civilization were well educated, although boys received more instruction than girls.

They were taught to run the home and manage finances, as well as arts and crafts. Instead they were led into fighting, medicine, religion, and leadership. Its social structure was so planned that it astonished the Spanish.

Herbology and Medicine

The Aztecs started out as physicians and observers of the human body, became herbalists, and carried out research in large gardens financed by the nobility.

A legacy of the empire on its herbal practices is the Badianus manuscript, an illustrated manuscript containing more than 180 plants and trees to treat pain.

They contributed to modern society with antispasmodic medicine to treat muscle spasms and relax, which also helps insomnia. All through a plant that is called: passion flower.

Popcorn and hot chocolate

The popcorn that we know today was introduced through the Aztecs. Although it already existed, it was through the arrival of the Spaniards that it spread throughout the world, noting that they used it in ornaments and headdresses to worship the god of corn and fertility.

An approach to hot chocolate is due to the Aztecs, who also used cocoa beans as currency. The upper class people prepared a drink of hot chocolate, chili and corn flour.

When the Spanish arrived, they added sugar and in this way the drink became the chocolates and mocachinos that we know today.

High level jewelry

Aztec jewelry was made by artisans fully dedicated to their work, their designs were oriented to religious symbolism, as well as birds and reptiles.

The garments were worn by the upper classes mostly. Emperors used to wear necklaces and earrings. Mosaics with various materials were very common, mixing metals such as gold, copper and silver, which are abundant in Mexico; shells, clay, wood, rock, and feathers.

Sometimes they used stones like jade, quartz, opal or turquoise. They hammered the metals with great care and their finishes were impeccable. They also made bells that were hung on necklaces.

farming

In Lake Texcoco, noticing the Aztecs that they did not have enough land for their sowing, they created the chinampas, which are nothing more than terraces or artificial floating islands, free of drought. They could grow corn, beans, and squash there.

The chinampas system was really efficient, since they managed to obtain up to seven crops per year to supply their population.

At the same time, they harvested seaweed and consumed maguey, and supplemented their diet with insects, animals that they managed to hunt and also had domestic animals such as turkeys, ducks and dogs, which they used to eat on special dates. Mexican cuisine continues to use agricultural products contributed by the Mexica.

The poetry

In times of peace, the Aztec warriors gave themselves to inspiration and the muse through poetry.

Aztec captains used to have intellectual evenings that included smoking cigars, drinking hot chocolate, sharing, and reciting poetry that was accompanied by musical instruments, mostly percussion.

The themes of the texts questioned the reality of life or if they lived in a dream, life after death and if there can be an approach to the giver of life.

The calendar

The Aztecs measured time using a calendar wheel. They used various types of calendars, but one of them coincided with the system that is used worldwide today.

The calendar was called xiuhpohualli, and it consisted of 365 days in a year, which was divided into several months of 18 days each, with 5 days to spare at the end of the year.

Aztec style football

Although it is not exactly the football that is practiced today, it is very likely that it was a precursor, since it was played on a field called tlachtli in the presence of the public, and consisted of hitting a small rubber ball with the knees, hips or elbows.

The objective of the game was to make the ball enter some stone rings that represented sunrise and sunset. This game is known as ollama and it could be an extremely violent game.

The red dye

From the advances of the Mayans and with the Spanish conquest, the European world was able to know a deep red tissue color never seen before.

The dyes that the Spaniards used barely made them reach a pale red tone, but when they discovered the secret of the Aztecs when using cochineal beetles, which inhabit cacti.

The Spanish did their best to keep it secret, and began to market the dye in such a way that it became a key element of their economy for three centuries.

The dye was used for the red shields of the British Army and for the robes of Catholic cardinals. To achieve a pound of dye, 70 thousand insects were required.

Architecture

Monumental structures, such as palaces, great pyramids, and temples; they are one of the architectural legacies left to future generations.

Its four-sided structures, stable enough to withstand earthquakes in the area, had stairways on one side, and sanctuaries were usually found on their tops. Many buildings were built for religious activities or specific celebrations.

Among some 80 buildings that included pyramids, meeting rooms, shops, and bath rooms, is the Templo Mayor, a sacred area in ancient Tenochtitlan.

The Great Pyramid of Cholula is the largest ever built in the world, it has approximately 8 kilometers of expansion and about 5,000 tunnels.

Mexico City was built on the remains of Tenochtitlan, making it one of the oldest active cities on the continent.

References

1. New World Encyclopedia. Aztec Civilization, 2016. Source: newworldencyclopedia.org
2. Nicoletta Maestri. The Origins of the Aztec Name. Recovered from: thoughtco.com.
3. John P. Schmal. The rise of the Aztec Empire, 2004. Recovered from: org
4. Jaime Cóttrill C. (2006-2017). Aztec culture. Source: aztec-history.com
5. Lin Donn & Don Donn. Aztec Achievements & Inventions. Source: aztecs.mrdonn.org
6. Aztec Civilization - The Aztecs and Their Region. Extracted from: allabouthistory.org.