The Eagle Has Landed: Aztecs Find a Home
All about us we saw cities and villages built in the water, their
great towers and buildings of masonry rising out of it. . . . When I beheld the
scenes around me I thought within myself, this was the garden of the world.
— Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Spanish conquistador IntroductionIt
is said that the Aztecs chose the site of their capital, Tenochtitlan, because
of the presence of a bird perched on a cactus and eating a snake. In this lesson,
students will learn about that ancient Aztec legend and about how Tenochtitlan
became the site of modern-day Mexico City. Guiding Questions:According
to legend, how did the Aztecs choose a site for their capital city? What were
life and culture like for the Aztec people in their capital city, Tenochtitlan?
Learning ObjectivesAfter completing
this lesson, students will be able to: - Identify the Aztecs as the builders
of a city and civilization in what is now Mexico
- Locate the Aztec Empire
on a map
- Explain the Aztec legend about the founding of the city of Tenochtitlan
- State
that the modern flag of Mexico has a symbol of an eagle, a cactus, and a snake
- Interpret
the symbolism contained in other Mexican flags
Preparing
to Teach this LessonThis lesson plan consists of
four learning activities that build upon one another and should, therefore, be
used sequentially. Before beginning the lesson,
review the suggested activities, then download and duplicate any online materials
you will need. If desired, you can bookmark specific web pages so that students
can access relevant online materials directly; print out required pages and duplicate
copies as necessary for student viewing. (See Selected EDSITEment
websites for a guide to locating online materials.) Print
out enough blackline maps for the map exercise. Go to National Geographic's Xpeditions
map site, click on North America, enlarge the map, then print copies. Click
on Mexico, enlarge the map, then print out enough copies of this map. The
lesson considers the history of the Aztec people of Mexico and their capital,
Tenochtitlan. Once a nomadic people, the Aztecs began to build permanent settlements
about A.D. 1325. According to legend, they were told by one of their gods to settle
where they saw an eagle perched on a cactus, eating a snake. After a hundred years
of wandering, they finally found this sign. They saw the eagle, the cactus, and
the snake on a small reed-covered island in the shallow waters of Lake Texcoco.
In obedience to the god's instruction, they started to build there the city of
Tenochtitlan. Tenochtitlan was an island city
in Lake Texcoco, connected to the surrounding land by three great causeways. Just
as in Venice, the city's canals were used as streets. The city boasted palaces,
temple-topped, pyramids, gardens, fountains, aqueducts, a zoo, and a bustling
market—a city more advanced than any in Europe. Religion
was important to the daily life in Tenochtitlan, and in the middle of the city
there rose great temples and pyramids to the Aztec gods. Warfare was important,
too, for the Aztecs were mighty warriors; soon they dominated the other peoples
of central Mexico and built a mighty empire. The same warriors who were so fierce
in battle were also peaceable, hard-working farmers, toiling on land dredged from
Lake Texcoco. The staple of the Aztec diet was corn flour made into porridge or
baked into tortillas. Other foods included sweet potatoes, beans, avocados, and
chili peppers. Tenochtitlan and the Aztec Empire
lasted for about 200 years, until their conquest by the Spanish in the year 1521.
Mexico City—one of the largest cities in the modern world, with a population
of about 10 million people—was built on the site of the Aztec capital. (See
the EDSITEment-reviewed Conquistadors
and the Encarta pages on the Aztec
Empire and the History
of Mexico City.) Suggested Activities
1. Meet the Aztecs 2.
A Tale of Three Cities 3. The
Eagle Has Landed 4. What's In
a Flag? Extending the Lesson:
Flags Around the World 1.
Meet the Aztecs Have the students carry
out Web research to find out about the ancient Aztecs and answer the questions
on the Student Version of the
Meet the Aztecs chart, provided in pdf format. A Teacher
Version of the chart has also been provided. They should visit the Conquistadors
site and the Encarta pages on the Aztec
Empire. Now let's put the Aztecs on the map! Have
the students go to National Geographic's Xpeditions
map site to find the geographical context of the Aztec realm. On the world
map, click on North America, then click on the modern-day country of Mexico. Locate
Mexico City, the country's capital—built on the site of the old Aztec capital.
Distribute blackline printouts of the North
America map and have the students color in the country of Mexico. Distribute blackline
printouts of the Mexico map and ask the students to draw a circle around Mexico
City. 2. A Tale of
Three Cities This ancient city has undergone
huge changes over the years. Have the students examine the images below, available
through the EDSITEment-reviewed Internet Public
Library. Then ask them to answer the questions on the Informative
Architecture chart, available in pdf format. 3.
The Eagle Has Landed We've learned that
when the Spanish conquerors were looking for their own Mexico City, they decided
to build it on top of the old Aztec capital. But why was Tenochtitlan there in
the first place? Why did the Aztecs choose this site? How does anybody choose
a site? Share with the students some rationales
for selecting a site for a capital city: - Washington,
DC, was chosen as the capital of the United States by first president George Washington
because of its strategic location between the South and the North. Click on the
Xpeditions map site,
then on North America and the United States; locate Washington, DC.
- Brasilia
was chosen as the capital of Brazil rather than the large coastal cities of Rio
de Janeiro or Sao Paulo as a way of developing the country's huge and under-populated
Amazon region. Click on the Xpeditions
map site, then on South America and Brazil; locate Rio, Sao Paulo, and Brasilia.
- Many
capitals are built on the coast or, like London
and Paris,
along major rivers that provide access to the sea, transport, and trade.
But
Mexico City? Let's look at it again on the map.
Mexico City is (and Tenochtitlan was) right in the middle of the country. It's
not near the coast and it's not on a major river. Review
with the students the advantages of the Tenochtitlan site — its defensibility,
abundance of food, and waterways. But according to tradition, the Aztecs chose
their capital's site for other reasons. On
the Conquistadors
and Encarta
sites, have the students research the legend of the eagle, the snake, and the
cactus. Then ask them to write a brief account of the story. Explain
to the students that the eagle, cactus, and snake are symbols of Mexico today.
Click on the Symbol of Mexico icon on page one of "Aztec Life and Times" of the
Conquistadors.
Show the students the Mexican
flag, which is available through the EDSITEment-reviewed Internet
Public Library (click on Geography, then Flags, Flags of All Countries, Mexico).
4. What's In a Flag? Show
the students a selection of Mexican state flags and have them consider what messages
the flags contain and what they tell us about their states. (When necessary, point
out to the students key elements of the flags.) Then have the students find the
states on the map of Mexico.
The flags and map are available from the EDSITEment-reviewed
Internet Public Library; click on "coat of arms"
and then click on the image to enlarge. - Distrito
Federal—ten green cactus leaves surround a castle with a bridge across
water, standing for the lake on which Mexico City was founded.
- Guerrero—the
flag of this state, which was once controlled by the Aztecs, shows a high-ranking
Aztec warrior wearing a traditional battle suit of jaguar skin. In his left hand
he holds an Aztec shield and in his right a club.
- Nayarit—shows
a stalk of corn, bow and arrow, snow-covered mountains; the blue, green, and gold
represent the colors of the landscape.
- Baja
California Sur—the gold and red stand for richness and nobility, the
shell and the fish (tunas) for plenty and the wealth of the sea.
- Chihuahua—features
mountains, the head of a Spaniard and the head of a Native American, and the cathedral
of Chihuahua city.
- Quintana Roo—shows
the state's main geographical features: the red sun for a warm climate, the star
on a blue field for cloudless skies, and the thick vegetation.
Extending the LessonExplain
to the students that, like Mexico, many other countries have national animal symbols,
such as the British lion, the Canadian beaver, the French rooster, and the Russian
bear. The United States, of course, has the bald eagle. Founding father Benjamin
Franklin once suggested a different national symbol for his young nation. What
if his suggestion had been accepted? How would you feel about the turkey being
the symbol of the United States? Show the
students a selection of national, provincial, and city flags with animal symbols.
All are available from the Internet Public Library: Show
them the flag of Kiribati,
one of the Gilbert Islands in the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Hawaii and Australia.
Have the students write, in two to three paragraphs, a legend explaining the elements
in the Kiribati flag. Selected EDSITEment WebsitesNational
Geographic's Xpeditions map site [http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/]
Conquistadors On-line
Learning Adventure [http://www.pbs.org/opb/conquistadors/home.htm] - Mexico
[http://www.pbs.org/opb/conquistadors/mexico/mexico.htm] Internet
Public Library [http://www.ipl.org/]- Geography
[http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/ref42.00.00/]
- Flags
[http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/ref42.30.00/]
- Flags
of All Countries
[http://www.wave.net/upg/immigration/flags.html] - Mexico
[http://www.theodora.com/flags/mexico_flags.html]
Internet
Public Library [http://www.ipl.org/] - Geography
[http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/ref42.00.00/] Internet
Public Library [http://www.ipl.org/]- Encyclopedias
[http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/ref32.00.00/]- Microsoft Encarta
Concise Encyclopedia
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