The Aztecs Empire

by Nicholas J. Saunders, Tony Allan

Taking readers on a trip through time, Historic Civilizations explores the development and daily life of distant cultures. Original source material, specific case studies, and colorful photographs of artifacts and sites make these ancient civilizations come alive. Readers will explore the creation of written languages, along with the politics, religious practices, art and architecture, and daily life of the times. Historical accounts of Roman gladiators, Egyptian pharaohs and their mysterious pyramids, the Greek Olympic Games, and other events from these earliest civilizations will fascinate young readers.

Hardcover

First published July 1, 2004

About the author

Nicholas J. Saunders is the world’s leading authority on the anthropological archaeology of the First world war. A lecturer in the department of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Bristol, he undertook the first-ever study of Great war material culture as a British Academy Senior Research Fellow at University College London between 1998 and 2004. His exhibition of trench art from the war was for five years a centrepiece of the In Flanders Fields Museum in Ypres, Belgium. He has published more than twenty-five books, including Trench Art, Killing Time, Alexander’s Tomb and Matters of Conflict, and has appeared in documentaries for the BBC, the National Geographic Channel and the History Channel. He co-directs two major Great war archaeological projects, in Jordan and Slovenia, and lives in west Sussex.

Reviews

[Sereen Gallichio]

The non-fiction book, The Aztec Empire written by Dr Nicholas Saunders is an informative book about the formation of the Aztec Empire. The book discusses religion and sacrifice, the Aztec gods and society, Aztec time and many other topics which makes this book particularly fascinating to read. The Aztecs controlled much of what is Mexico today and ruled over 15 million people. The capital city of the Aztec Empire was known as Tenochtitlan, a huge city, known for its system of canals and roads. People from the Aztec Empire were very creative and artistic although some people viewed them as savages. Most people living there were craftspeople, artisans, traders, and priests. Men in the Aztec Empire were mostly involved in farming while others trained to become, soldiers, priests, and merchants. Aztec society was composed of different social classes, made up of Nobles, Merchants, Commoners who were usually farmers and lastly the slaves. Slaves in the Aztec Empire had different rights then slaves in other countries as slaves in the Aztec Empire could buy their own freedom. Through time in the Aztec Empire many temples and palaces have been destroyed from the Spanish conquerors who conquered the Aztecs between 1519 and 1521. The Aztecs used brutal force in order to defend themselves. Life in the Aztec Empire was very different. Girls were married at around the age of fifteen and were educated at home while boys, entered school when they turned fifteen. These many topics are what form the Aztec Empire and make it unique compared to other empires in history.

The book has many interesting parts that introduce the history of the Aztec Empire. As a reader, the most interesting part of this book is learning about farming, food and country life. The farming villages had about 20 houses while people from the village were usually not poor. Another fascinating part as a reader is learning about the Aztec Gods and spirit of ancestors. Aztec Gods were different as each God represented different features of life. An example of Gods were war Gods, some of the Gods represented water, while other Gods represented human sacrifice. The reader gains knowledge from the book as its detail is important. Five fascinating facts in this book are:
1.Nobles, Commoners, Merchants and Slaves each belonged to different social classes.
2. Aztecs had different calendar systems. The one used daily was divided into 18 months.
3. Soon after birth, boys were given symbols about their future adult life.
4. Most girls were married at age 15 while Boys attended school.
5. Montezuma was one of the Aztecs who lived the longest. He led the army to victories.
People may enjoy this book because its facts are clear and detailed. The book tells about the Gods, the people, the warriors and life in the Aztec Empire. Furthermore, this book tells about everyday Aztec life and how people lived long ago in the past.

I would recommend this book to any grade level and to people who would like to learn
about the Aztec Empire. There are many interesting parts in this book especially reading about the Gods in the Empire. This book could be enjoyed by Lower school students, Middle or High School students. Many details are fascinating and enjoyable to learn about. This book is based on a specific topic of history that many people could be interested in. The Aztecs were eventually destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors. Although, the empire was destroyed much of it has been left and its culture has marked an important influence in history. As a reader, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning history especially about the Aztecs.

[Aria]

Had lots of info about Aztecs.