Tenochtitlan
The Aztecs
were a tribe that wandered from place to place. They tried to settle on
the shores of Lake Texcoco but were fought off the land by the people who
lived there. They decided to take refuge in the swamps. Their god Huitzilopochtli
told them to look for a place where there was an eagle perched on a cactus,
holding a snake and to build a city there. the Aztecs found this sign on
a small reed covered island in the middle of a shallow lake. This was a
good site for a city which they called Tenochtitlan, the "Place
of the Fruit of the Prickly Pear Cactus".
There
was no stone or wood on the island so they built the first homes from reeds.
As the city grew, the Aztecs wanted proper materials for buildings,tools,
weapons and utensils that were not found on the island. They fought to
conquer other lands , which would supply these.
Over
100 years later, Tenochtitlan had become a vast city ( much bigger than
any city in Europe at the time).Nearly half a million people lived there.
Right
in the heart of the city was a walled precinct with great temples.
This
is a model of the Great Temple in the heart of the Aztec city Tenochtitlan.
It was the physical and symbolic centre of the Aztec world. 
The temple area was at the centre of the city and contained a number of
religious buildings. It was sheltered from the rest of the city by a high
wall.
Next to this was the
enormous royal palace, built on two levels. The ruler and his servants
and family used the upper level and government officials worked in rooms
ob the lower level. The palace also had a jail, a court, counting houses,
workshops and stores.
There
was a huge market where food, pots, precious stones, cloths, fuel, tools
and animal skins were sold.
There
were rules about buildings and were they could be built. Only nobles were
allowed to build their large stone houses near to the palace.
Ordinary
families lived in one-roomed mud brick houses. These were part of a walled
compound of houses, where their relatives lived. Most families had a chinampa
on which they grew maixe and beans.
The
city was built in a grid pattern, separated by canals. People mainly travelled
about in flat bottomed canoes. 
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