THE AZTECSBy Calum

Ball games

Floating gardenAztec engineers created “floating” gardens.  First, they built a series of rafts and anchored each to the lakebed. Vegetation and reeds were piled on top of a raft.  Then, they piled on enough dirt to be able to grow crops.

The Aztecs used the gardens to grow chili peppers, squash, corn, tomatoes, and beans.

Ball games

One of the most highly respected professions in the Aztec world was that of ballplayer. The best players were treated like super stars, similar to the way we treat our best athletes today. 

The Aztecs had huge ball courts. The goal of the game was to get a hard rubber ball over the middle line into your opponent’s court. You got points for that. But the real goal was to get your ball through one of the two hoops that hung down over the centre of the court.  

slaves

The Aztec nobles had slaves. Slaves were not captured people. They were Aztecs. In the Aztec world, there were two ways you could become a slave. You could become a slave as punishment for a crime you had committed. You could be voluntarily sold into slavery to pay family debts. These were the only two ways. 

THE ENDBy Calum