The Aztec Empire — how climate shaped it
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Question
What kind of basin was the Valley of Mexico?
Answer
A high-altitude (c.2,200m), enclosed basin ringed by mountains with no river outlet to the sea, so water collected in lakes at its centre.
Question
Which lake did Tenochtitlán sit on?
Answer
Lake Texcoco — the largest of the valley's five connected lakes, partly saline in its centre and east.
Question
What is a chinampa?
Answer
A rectangular garden plot built from mud and lake vegetation, anchored by willow trees, used to farm on the shallow lake itself.
Question
What was the Albarradón de Nezahualcóyotl and when was it built?
Answer
A c.16km stone-and-timber dyke built c.1449 that separated salty from fresh lake water and blocked floods.
Question
Where did Tenochtitlán's fresh drinking water come from?
Answer
An aqueduct carried fresh spring water from Chapultepec into the city along raised causeways.
Question
What was the famine of One Rabbit and when did it occur?
Answer
A severe famine in 1454 (the Aztec calendar year One Rabbit), caused by drought following a damaging frost and poor harvests.
Question
What were two social effects of the One Rabbit famine?
Answer
Rising food prices and reported sale of children into servitude, plus expanded tribute demands on conquered regions.
Question
How might the One Rabbit famine link to the Flower Wars?
Answer
Some historians argue the famine pushed the state to intensify Flower Wars to secure captives and resources.
Question
Chinampas vs. rain-fed fields — which is the better comparison for reliability in drought?
Answer
Chinampas were more productive in normal years, but in the 1454 drought even they could not fully offset the shortfall since rainfall itself was scarce.
Question
Why should you check WHEN a source about One Rabbit was written?
Answer
Most surviving accounts were recorded after the 1521 Spanish conquest, decades after 1454 — the gap affects accuracy and may reflect later purposes.
Question
What is the Paper 1 Q1 command term testing?
Answer
Explain how the CONTENT of two sources can be used to answer the inquiry question (6 marks).
Question
What is the Paper 1 Q2 command term testing?
Answer
Analyse how a source's CONTEXT — origin, purpose, time, place — shapes how it can be used (6 marks).
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Full study notes for The Aztec Empire — how climate shaped it
Topic 1.2 hub
The Aztec Empire (c.1428–1469)
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