HST 197 Lecture Notes - Lecture 53: Quetzalcoatl, Calpulli, Nahuatl
Document Summary
Much more information survives about this society than many others in pre-columbian america. Mexica looked upon its males as potential warriors. Individuals of common both could distinguish themselves on the battlefield, this improved their social standings. Military elite came from the mexican aristocracy. Men of noble birth received the most careful instruction and intense military affairs. Mexican showered wealth and honors on military elite. Accomplished warriors received extensive land grants and tributes from commoners. They ate the best food such as turkey, duck, deer, boar, pheasant and rabbit. Sumptuary laws required commoners to wear coarse, burlap like garments made of henequen but permitted aristocrats to drape themselves in cotton. Warriors had the right to wear brightly colored capes and adorn themselves with lip plugs and eagle feathers. Women played almost no role in political affairs of society dominated by military values, but they wielded influence within their families. They did not inherit property or hold official positions.
