In this lesson, students will learn about the history and culture of the Aztecs and discover why their civilization came to an abrupt end. Tenochtitlan was the hub of a rich civilization that dominated the region of modern-day Mexico at the time the Spanish forces arrived. There were palaces, parks, ball courts, a zoo, a bustling market, and an awe-inspiring temple complex. A network of canals made up the city streets, and farmers grew vegetables on ingeniously constructed “floating gardens” ( chinampas). Stone aqueducts delivered fresh water to the city residents. The island city was built in the middle of Lake Texcoco, connected to the surrounding land by three great causeways. When the Spanish conquistador Hernán de Cortés and his army arrived in Tenochtitlan (ten-ohch-teet-LAHN), capital of the mighty Aztec empire, they were amazed by what they saw. Bernal Díaz del Castillo, Spanish conquistador "All about us we saw cities and villages built in the water, their great towers and buildings of masonry rising out of it…When I beheld the scenes around me I thought within myself, this was the garden of the world."
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