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The Aztecs [a] (/ ˈ æ z t ɛ k s / AZ-teks) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica from the 14th to the 16th centuries.
In the 21st century, the government of Mexico broadly classifies all Nahuatl-speaking peoples as Nahuas, making the number of Mexica people living in Mexico difficult to estimate. [ 4 ] Since 1810, the name " Aztec ” has been more common when referring to the Mexica and the two names have become largely interchangeable. [ 5 ]
The Aztec Empire was an example of an empire that ruled by indirect means. It was ethnically very diverse like most European empires but was more a system of tributes than a single unitary form of government unlike them.
Examples include the 'Pueblan-Mexica' style in pottery, codex illumination, and goldwork, the flourishing of Nahua poetry, and the botanical institutes established by the Aztec elite. Spain was the first European power to contact Mesoamerica. Its conquistadors, aided by numerous native allies, conquered the Aztecs.
The Spanish described the weapons of war of the Petén Maya as bows and arrows, fire-sharpened poles, flint-headed spears and two-handed swords crafted from strong wood with the blade fashioned from inset obsidian, [76] similar to the Aztec macuahuitl. Maya warriors wore body armour in the form of quilted cotton that had been soaked in salt ...
Maya stele in Copán.. The Mesoamerican Classic Period can be established from around 200 to 900 A. D. However, the chronology varies in each cultural area. The precursors to this period are found in the late Preclassic Period, at around 400 B. C, when an increase in efficiency of agriculture technology led to demographic growth, a greater division of labor and specialization, and the growth ...
The government of Maya states, from the Yucatán to the Guatemalan highlands, was often organised as joint rule by a council. However, in practice one member of the council could act as a supreme ruler, while the other members served him as advisors. [76] Mayapan was an important Postclassic city in the northern Yucatán Peninsula.
The Inca Empire was a federalist system [verification needed] which consisted of a central government with the Inca at its head and four quarters, or suyu: Chinchay Suyu (northwest), Antisuyu (northeast), Kuntisuyu (southwest), and Qullasuyu (southeast). The four corners of these quarters met at the center, Cuzco.