Aztec architecture refers to pre-Columbian architecture of the Aztec civilization. Much of the information that is known about Aztec architecture comes from the structures that are still standing. These structures have survived through several centuries because of the strong materials used, and the skill of the builders.
Aztec cities often competed to construct the greatest temples in the Aztec empire and in the world. While doing so, instead of demolishing an old temple and building a new one at the site, they simply built over the old structure. Often, the temples were immense and were very proportioned. Some temples have been found to have at least four or five layers. Houses were uniform throughout most of the empire, only varying in size and ornamentation. Houses were built with logs and were not separated, thus resulting in one large room.
The Aztecs would view craftsmanship and extraordinary work as something very valuable. The Aztecs would build their houses similar to mountains. They did this because they believed the mountains protected the rain from coming in and hitting their buildings. The great city Tenochtitlan is a great example of Aztec Architecture. It is split into four sides, each side having an architectural value. Tenochtitlan was riddled (full) with houses and architectural values. The city had a grid surrounding the four sides. Each side having a platform with stairs.
The Great Temple (Templo Mayor) was a huge temple with a wash basin at the top. The temple was 100-80m and was the biggest building in the Aztec city Tenochtitlan.
The Aztecs dominated central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. Their capital was Tenochtitlan on the shore of Lake Texcoco – the site of modern-day Mexico City.
Aztec architectural sites include:
Malinalco
Tenayuca, (conquered by the Aztec circa 1434; the earliest known example of the typical Aztec double pyramid, which consists of joined pyramidal bases supporting two temples)
Templo Mayor
Materials
For the construction of the land used, honey (unburnt brick, brick, dried in the sun), burned brick, stone, sand, lime, wood (cedar, cypress, palm, pine, especially in the processing of palace and temple buildings, for huts, used simply poles and hillocks), straw, agave stems. In the construction and decoration of many houses and palaces used expensive materials: jasper, porphyry.
Workers
Construction professions were stonecutters, masons, carpenters, ovens. Masons and stonemasons together with carpenters were the main categories of construction masters. The cities of Chimaluacan, Coatepec, Tepetlaostok, Takubaya, and Coyoacan are especially renowned for professional builders.
In the construction work, some of them were busy with the extraction of stone or the production of bricks, while others supplied wood material for wooden constructions of buildings. However, such a specialization existed only in the large – state, temple – construction, in particular, in the construction of the main temple Tenochtitlan. Then, when serving a labor duty, representatives of different peoples and regions of the Tripartite Union performed various functions: some supplied building materials (sand, lime, etc.), others engaged in construction themselves; for each of the units, certain parts, structural elements, and the sides of the pyramid were fixed.
For construction, there were special officials (calmimilocatl). These officials were required to comply with the basic building regulations. Yes, they were obliged to ensure that during the construction of a new building, it did not fall out of the general plan or did not endanger other neighboring buildings.
Types of structures
There were two main types: civil and temple. Civilians are also diverse depending on the level of interest and the level of wealth. Civil construction is, first of all, the construction of houses. The housing of the poor was modest, in the rich and noble, it differed in quality and prosperity, it was often built of stone (limestone). Stone construction began in Tenochtitlan for the first tlatoan – Akamapichtli.
The lower class house was usually a single-chamber rectangular cottage with a small open doorway. In Tenochtitlan some buildings could have two exits – one on the street and the other on the duct. Similarly, houses were built in other island cities, especially in the south of the lakes of the Mexican valley. The roof was low and flat, often covered with leaves of agave, like tiles. In the inner regions of the empire, the houses were both stone and adobe, at the same time in the coastal and forest areas – more often from the adobe or the tree with a straw roof. The houses did not have ventilation openings, so the room had a specific smell of stagnant air. The walls were plastered or plastered with a mixture of clay (Tezontli) and lime. The floor was made from crushed volcanic rocks (Tepetlatl). Houses were whitened, painted and even painted.
The Tlatanani Palace (Tecpan) has considerably surpassed its home-grown home size. Aztec palaces are highly standardized in shape. They had a central courtyard with a single entrance. The yard was surrounded by raised platforms, which contained rooms, halls, altars and other structures. This standard plan was followed by all the palaces, from the magnificent royal palaces of Tenochtitlan and Tezcoco to the provincial nobility’s dwellings.
About the palace of Motekusum II, destroyed when taking the Tenochtitlan conquistadors, wrote that, without knowing the location of the premises in it, one could even get lost . The fact that the Spaniards called the palace was, in essence, a complex of internal and external courtyards and yards, as well as premises of various purposes. Thus, according to one description, the palace Motekusoma II had 20 entrances (actively the main door), which allowed to go beyond the palace complex on the adjacent palace buildings of the territories. It was a rule to be constructed in such a way that all rooms are connected in one way or another to the exits of one large patio (courtyard, open space). There were several such patios in the Motekousom II palace, and one of them was the exit of the water supply, from there the water came from the hidden channels to the rest of the house. Various decor in the palaces included images of zoomorphic creatures.
Nesaualkoyotl, Tlatoyani Teskoko, had a palace complex, where there were more than 300 different rooms – halls for judges, military council, financial council, guard of the ruler, ambassadors, weapons warehouses, for dancing and music, and women’s half.
In addition to the palace of the ruler in large cities, there were many other houses of the Aztec, as well as provincial nobility (the representatives of the latter were obliged to live for some time in the capital). In the capitals of the Tripartite Union, there were various public buildings in the city, where the affairs of the inhabitants of certain quarters, which repeated the architectural principles characteristic of residential buildings, were solved.
Separate steam baths – temascal (Temazcal). They were so common everywhere in the empire. In Mexico, such baths are still being built, they differ little from the Aztecs. They differ in shape and details, depending on the region and the social status of its owner. The main principles of their construction were: it was low (it could not even get up in full height) with a small door and a fire; , it was heated to such an extent that the walls were heated; Then they closed the door and poured water into the wall, causing intense evaporation. Frowned using bundles of corn leaves or other specific plants. In some cases, steaming, poured cold water. Famous and rich people had special bathers.
Another type of architecture was the stadiums for playing ball. These were a special form of stone construction, which was repeated in the main principles of planning modern stadiums.
The temples were called Teocalli (Teocalli – “the house of God”). All of them were built in almost the same plan and differed only in size. In addition to the temples there were separate “chapels”, where travelers could carry out religious ceremonies.
Features
In the architecture of Aztecs used a system of arches, stairs, including wooden. In order to avoid dampness, the Aztec architects and builders raised the first floors to the level of the balcony. However, it was a typical body for the architecture of cities on and around the islands, such as Tezcoco, Tenochtitlan, Tlatelolco. Around the cities, or quarters in large cities, was built a powerful wall-tsampatli from a solution of lime, sand and volcanic gravel. The practice of their construction begins at the end of the XV century.
In cold weather, the premises of the palaces were heated with the help of a frying pan where coal from a bark of a special tree burned without smoke and with a very pleasant smell.
The walls of the most important residential premises of the palace, halls of receptions, etc. were trimmed like wallpaper or carpets with rich fabrics, ornaments using products made of feathers. The room was illuminated by means of fixtures in the form of a pine knot or cod (Ocotl).
The temple area was usually a rectangular courtyard, the size of which depended on the scale of the temple and the size of the settlement where it was erected. In large cities, the distance from one corner of the temple to another corresponded to the length of the arrow of an arrow when shot from the crossbow, and in small settlements – the length of the arrow of an arrow released from the bow, or even less. The temple area was surrounded by a wall to protect the space of the deity and that the churches were revered even more.
In the center of this area, a square platform was built, surrounded by a stone foundation (mostly limestone), the space inside which was filled with earth and gravel. On this basis, the next platform was erected in smaller sizes, on it another platform, etc., while the ladder, erected on one of the sides of the stepped pyramid, as a result reached a length of 120-140 degrees (on the pyramid of Tesco – at 5-6 degrees and above). At the very upper platform, the altar was built. In small churches devoted to some particular deity, they built one building; in large cities there were several large temples. The height of such rooms for altars has reached 10-12 human growth.
Urban Planning
The Aztecs have borrowed several historical traditions in choosing the principles of urban planning for their cities, primarily the Mesoamerican (the presence of a city center with a public square, astronomical orientation, unplanned resident zones), the Thetiouakan (rectangular city planning, major main temples) and the Tolansky-Tol’teksky (formalization of the city center , the location of the largest temple in the east). To them were added purely Aztec innovations (pyramids with 2 temples, numerous altars, wall-tsampatli).
The city was divided into 4 large parts. Each of them was focused on a certain side of the light. Aztec town planning was traditional: the main church and market were the center. Obligatory were present also palaces of the tlatoans, stadiums for playing the ball, halls of councils, temaskali. Most of the city’s settlements were located outside the city center.
Source From Wikipedia