The city of Tenochtitlan was one of the largest cities of the world. This city was thought to be indestructible. It was thought to be the foundation of heaven.
Tenochtitlan
Proud of itself
Is the city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan.
Here no one fears to die in war.
This is our glory.
This is Your Command,
Oh Giver of life!
Have this is mind, oh princes,
Do not forget it.
Who could conquer Tenochtitlan?
Who could shake the foundations of heaven?
Aztec Poem (Smith, 196)
The building of Tenochtitlan is a large undertaking that could be done when planned well in advance and attended to on a regular basis. It is said that this city had about 60,000 public buildings. It is always advised to take a portion of the city to depict the grandeur of its palaces and monuments. The temenos is the sacred plaza that actually depicts its greatness. The presence of the Templo Mayor and the convergence of all the roads of the empire in it give an idea of the complexity of the Aztec world. This pyramid has two temples on top, one for Tlaloc, the god of rain, and the other for Huizilopochtli, the sun god and the god of war. Tlaloc points to the north and Huizilopochtli to the south. The temples faced west. Tenochtitlan is the center of the universe and the temple the center of Tenochtitlan. Further, the city itself could not have any meaning without the construction of the chinampas, or floating gardens, because they give its people an agricultural base. The fact that a prophesy is fulfilled when they settled on the island gives the ruling class the power to build and conquer. The Aztecs become the most powerful nation in the area. “Their destiny was fulfilled when various signs were miraculously displayed in the reed beds of the lake. The Mexica Knew that their god had at last unequivocally spoken when he commanded them to found their city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan where an eagle was seen perched on
a cactus”(Brundage, 137).
Task
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Students are to construct a model of the city of Tenochtitlan using manageable scale and archeological information extracted from books about the subject.
Materials
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Glue
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Construction paper
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Balsa wood
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Water paints
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Brushes
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Cardboard
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Cotton
Audience
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School and the community.
Purpose
To understand relationships between cultural values of Tenochtitlan by reconstructing part of the city in a model. To create the opportunity for writing and research. To value our culture and the cultures of other people.
Procedure
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Give students an assessment list about a model. And follow this through the task.
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Cut wood and cardboard in accordance to the scale determined. We used the scale 10 by 11 by 1 when building the sacred precinct and the main pyramid. Cut it in small squares and rectangles. Glue these shapes to build pyramids and little buildings. Glue them to the surface of the construction paper making sure that the surface is the configuration of water and land and plazas. Make these configurations with color and texture. Use sand or dirt for this effect. Paint the little buildings and make sure that they obey the format of the archeological texts. Make sure that students enjoy this task.
