The Aztecs

Long before the Spaniards arrived, the Aztecs, who descended from the Chichimec lineage, migrated from Northern Mexico, following Mexi (the sun). They searched for their new capital city for 260 years after receiving a vision. This vision had nothing to do with the "God of War" telling them to find a new city as many historians have written. Around 1320 they found a massive lake surrounded by nopales and tunas; largely inhabited with serpents (snakes), which eventually became their...
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Long before the Spaniards arrived, the Aztecs, who descended from the Chichimec lineage, migrated from Northern Mexico, following Mexi (the sun). They searched for their new capital city for 260 years after receiving a vision. This vision had nothing to do with the "God of War" telling them to find a new city as many historians have written. Around 1320 they found a massive lake surrounded by nopales and tunas; largely inhabited with serpents (snakes), which eventually became their staple diet. After exploring this region, they decided to construct a city using all their information and knowledge of engineering, architecture and astronomy.After research was carried out to discover the immensity of the lake, the divers later realized it wasn't as profound as it had seemed. They utilized reeds, which were tied together and sealed perfectly, to keep the flow of water out of submerged and exposed areas. By exposing the top and breathing through the mouthpieces, which were found approximately every one meter, the divers' supply of oxygen was made possible. This technique also served as a means of probing. Once they completedtheir research of this section of the lake, they laid out their plans for building the numerous islands, or chinampas. They began by burying giant, thick reeds, into the bottom of the lake. They essentially built small square, watertight fences. The process of landfill was then begun. As skillful engineers, they had previously calculated the use of landfill per meter, partially scheming this over the level of the lake since they had already determined that the density of mud would hold up the forceful weight of the earth. Direction was then given with tree trunks, positioned together with other trunks primed with two additional vertical ones of considerable height and then another crosswise. The positioned trunk was then put into place over one laid across, resulting in one part becoming 75% longer than the other, the remaining 25%. Slight counterweight is applied to this part. In the end, the macehualtin tequiuhtin, in groups of twenty or veintenas, would finish the work by implementing bindings, and tugging them; causing the trunk to elevate, serving as a sort of hammer, hitting the mound of earth, leaving it compacted and surfaced.After building their capital city in the middle of lake Texcoco, they became known as the Mexicahs Tenochas. Modern day Mexico City today is located where the ancient lakes and civilizations were once located. In other words, Mexico City sits on top of the ancient city ruins and dried up lakes. After the conquest, the Spaniards quickly destroyed the ecosystem in the lakes as they did not understand the complex irrigation and dam system that the Aztecs built, including irrigating in fresh water from over 10 km away in order to dam out the bad salty water in Lake Texcoco. This process allowed them to build their islands as well as fish for their food.Once they completed building many islands, they began to construct stonework to erect 18 principal buildings, precisely orientated and dedicated to the cosmos, or astronomy, mathematics and sciences. Over the course of approximately five years, they accomplished this vast undertaking. MŽxiko-Tenochtitlan, which was initiated in the year Ce Calli (1320), was founded in the year Ome Calli (1325).