The Mendoza Codex Nano toka hello taya'ankechivo My name is - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The Mendoza Codex

Nano toka hello taya'ankechivo My name is… Nahuatl Tomato Chili Coyote Avocado

• Until the 1500’s, the Aztecs spoke Nahuatl • Pictography – drawing that looks similar to the real object • Aztec writing is not considered a true writing system because it represents ideas, places and sounds, rather than words • Deer ‐ skin and barks of trees to write the pictographs

• The Spanish conquistadores destroyed all Aztec books. No Aztecs book has survived. • All books and documents about Nahuatl writing were composed after the Spanish Conquest and contained a mixture of Aztec glyphs and Spanish notes (words). • These new books are called Codex (Códice)

The Mendoza Codex • In 1541, Antonio de Mendoza, Viceroy of New Spain (Mexico), asked to be written by Aztec scribes for Charles V, King of Spain. • Three Parts – 1. History of the Aztec rulers and their conquests – 2. List of tributes to be paid – 3. Every day Aztec life. • French pirates took the Codex to France. Now it’s at the Bodleian Library at Oxford University .

+ Stone/rock Prickly ‐ pear Cactus fruit (tetl) (nõchtli) "At the Place Near Rock ‐ cactus ‐ Fruit"

• How old are the children? • What do they eat every day? • Who is talking? • What is the boy making? • What is the girl doing?

A Warrior’s Life Colhuacan Tenayucan • To show that a city has been conquered, the city's name is written next to a temple (pyramid) in smoke and flames with its top toppling over. Also, Aztec warriors are shown with captives.

What do you think this picture represents?

AZTEC NUMBERS • Record all the tributes their received from the provinces (cities and towns) they conquered. • They used the dot system for counting up to 19. • But, as the Empire grew, so did the tributes.

Aztec Numbers The Aztecs used glyphs or pictures to show different numbers: • From 1 to 19 they used the dot system • For the number 20, they used a Flag • For the number 400 they used a Feather • For the number 8000 they used a bag of incense

400 bundles of red 100 loads of cacao beans feathers 80 pelts of birds of this color

PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE EMPIRE How many jaguar skins? How many bags of cacao beans? How many bundles of light blue feathers?

Saying Goodbye Ma moyolicatzin Goodbye! Zan nikan See you later! City of Cuauhnahuac (now Cuernavaca)

Let’s Play a Game! http://www.hyperstaffs.info/work/history/abbott/aztecs.html