All about the ancient tribes
The Aztecs developed a complex wetland farming system that used raised beds (chinampas) erected in the lake to answer the problem of how to feed food to their island city. This technique involved building the chinampas in the lake (see image below). Chinampas were originally free-floating structures, but over the course of time, they were anchored to the bottom of the lake.
Agriculture, particularly in the form of chinampas, was the primary contributor to the Aztec economy because of the island’s position. Chinampas were mounds of dirt and other waste that were piled up in the shallow and marshy parts of Lake Texcoco that encircled Tenochtitlan. These chinampas were sometimes referred to as ″floating gardens.″
An assortment of domestic items, including as pottery, bone needles, obsidian blades, musical instruments fashioned from human and canine bones, the bone of a carved deer, and the bones of turkeys and dogs that were used as meals, have been discovered in the region. The Aztecs did, in fact, consume dog meat.
Despite the fact that religion was the driving force behind most aspects of Aztec culture, farming was the most important occupation. Agriculture played a significant role in Aztec society and was very essential to the nation’s ability to feed its ever-increasing population.
As the empire expanded, the need for more food sources also increased. This sometimes included the conquest of more territory, while other times it entailed the expansion of the chinampa system. The chinampas system was rather vast, and these water-based gardens were an important part of the Aztecs’ ability to sustain themselves.
This kind of farming, which originated about the year 800 CE, offers a number of benefits, the most notable of which is the efficient utilization of available space. To put it another way, the Aztecs created new land out of the water, which was an accomplishment that was required to feed an urban center like Tenochtitlan, which was constructed in the middle of a vast lake called Texcoco.
The majority of Aztec dwellings were constructed using interlocking logs of wood, in contrast to the massive stone structures that were used for temples. It’s possible that they utilized mud bricks as well (adobe). The ground level of the dwellings was often composed of little more than soil, although it might also have been formed of stone.
During the time that they were in power, the Aztecs farmed vast tracts of land. Corn, beans, and squash were the three most important foods in their diet. They added chiles and tomatoes to these ingredients. They also gathered a species of crayfish-like critter called an acocil, which is common in Lake Texcoco, as well as a type of algae called spirulina, which they baked into cakes.
In general, the vegetables on the list met a significant portion of the Aztec people’s requirements for various nutrients. On the other hand, it was known that the Aztecs consumed a variety of animals, such as ducks, turkeys, dogs, fish, and a variety of other smaller creatures. Maize being gathered by Aztec farmers (corn).
The Aztecs were the first people to domesticate dogs and keep them as pets; one of the most popular breeds was the itzcuintli, which is related to the chihuahua. However, during feasts and other exceptional occasions, they did consume dog. Archaeologists from Mexico have deemed the location in the neighborhood of Aztacapozalco in Mexico City to be ″outstanding.″
In the 2017 Disney/Pixar blockbuster computer-animated film Coco, one of the main characters is a Xolo named Dante. On August 12, 2016, Miguel Angel Mancera, the Mayor of Mexico City, declared the Xoloitzcuintle as a ″cultural heritage and emblem″ of Mexico City. This designation was made official.
It turns out that Dante, the dog that steals the show in Coco, isn’t just a product of someone’s vivid imagination. Xoloitzcuintli is pronounced ″show-low-eats-KWEEN-tlee,″ and Dante is a Xolo, which is short for the language. Even though the Xolo is not quite as well-known as it previously was, the Mexican hairless dog is the name that has stuck with it in recent years.