A story wrapped in myth and legend
How did a tribe of wandering nomads
engineer the Americas greatest empire
in just 200 years
they had to devise engineering systems which were extraordinary for their age
Their civilization rivaled Rome in its sophistication
The Aztecs had the best technology that could be produced
in the conditions of which they lived
Acquaducts
Palaces
Pyramids
and temples stood as a tribute to their Gods.
and a testament to the power of human kind
The Aztecs crowning achievement was a gleaming capital city
That astonished European explorers called the Venice of the new world
The city spread out, glittering against its canals
and its lake be that with fine trees and beautiful mansions
their thirst for power and blood set them on a course for destruction
When it finally came
their annihilation would be swifter
and more complete than the world had ever known
1325 A.D.
Central Mexico
Near modern day Mexico City
A young girl, just a teenager
is celebrating her impending wedding
She is the daughter of a tribal king
and she is about to join a new tribe that has been a guest of her kingdom
That tribe is now known as the Aztecs
As part of the ritual, five Aztec noblemen lead her to an ancient temple for the ceremony
But as she reached the top, noblemen suddenly veer her away from the altar
and onto a a slab of stone in front of the temple
one used for sacrifice
each man holds her limbs, while a fifth lifts an obsidian knife high in the air
with one searing move, he slashes it through her chest, and extracts her still beating heart
That evening, the king is invited to a ceremony to celebrate the marriage
Instead, he finds a priest performing a dance
wearing the still glistening skin of his daughter.
As part of the ritual, the Aztecs had flayed her to honor the God of fertility
He saw this and he was absolutely horrified at what he saw.
His dear daughter
He and his forces immediately chased the Aztecs into the lake
and onto this island where they sought refuge
The marshy island was an unwelcoming place
yet it was from here that the Aztecs would beat the odds against them
And forge the most powerful empire of the Americas
Hi. I'm Peter Weller. When I think of the Aztecs I think of an elegant people.
with beautiful skin and flamboyant headresses of many colors
and I think of floating cities and a terrific song by Neil Young.
About Montezuma and Cortez.
But I also think of knives of obsidian glass ripping in the chest cavities
and hands pulling out bleeding hearts and holding them high
Most of the Aztec sacrifices were performed in the temple atop a stone pyramid like this one.
The Aztecs felt that without these offerings the sun would
literally cease to rise and the universe would die.
Now Aztec history is a fusion of fact and myth
but what we do know is that this murder as horrific as it was
not only marked the beginning of the Aztec empire
it also marked the location from where would rise.
The island the Aztecs were banished to after their disastrous sacrifice of the princess was in lake Textcoco.
The largest of five interconnected lakes covering a valley about 40 by 70 miles.
Today, this once vast and open valley
is teaming with what is modern day Mexico City.
One of the largest cities in the world.
But 700 years ago, the island was so swampy no one had laid claim to it
Now as they gazed on the lake.
The Aztec leader Tenoch announced to his followers
that he had seen an eagle, perched on a cactus in the middle of the lake.
A sign from the Gods that they had found their new home.
They would name their city Tenochtitlan.
Life is tough for the Aztecs in the early days of Tenochtitlan.
But they have a vision.
A vision of a powerful city
Modeled on an ancient and legendary city just 25 miles away
They called this city Teotihuacan
or "City of the Gods."
We know very little about Teotihuacan
because all we have is the archaeological remains
we don't have any writing we don't have any documentation
that really flashed out what went on in this big city.
It was in ruins even in Aztec times.
But they believed it to be the stomping grounds of the Gods.
And the literal birthplace of the sun itself.
The place the Aztecs most revered in Teotihuacan
was a pyramid that rose above the tree line.
It was called "The Pyramid of the Sun".
The massive Sun Pyramid contains a million cubic yards of earth and stone
with a base roughly the same as the great pyramid of Giza in Egypt.
The Aztecs believe Teotihuacan
was laid out in the image of the cosmos
created by their Gods.
Now it was this image they would attempt to replicate
in the construction of their new city: Tenochtitlan
Taking on the challenge would be an Aztec leader named Acamoaoichtli.
In 1376, he embarked on an ambitious plan to engineer an advanced city at Tenochtitlan.
But there was a problem.
The swampy islands that they took over needed a lot of work.
When they started to build anything it would begin to subside.
There was simply no foundation on which to build.
The Aztecs' solution would revolutionize the architecture of the Americas.
They began by anchoring their buildings deep in the ground.
Using a system of pylon made from wood.
Workers cut stakes into thirty foot lengths - three to four inches wide.
These were driven into the soft ground to make a foundation.
The pylons were often surrounded with volcanic stone to add strength.
Masons and bricklayers could then build walls on top of this base with confidence.
They have found wooden pilings to hold the foundation of the buildings
the fact that it didn't sink or the fact that is didn't just topple
I think that's a major feat of engineering
Tenochtitlan was an island city
but the lakes surrounding it were very shallow
sometimes only seven feet deep
The whole thing looked like a giant metroplex floating on a pond.
Originally, the only way to get from this floating city the mainland was by boat
But the Aztecs eventually devised
a series of causeways sometimes 45 feet wide
that would connect their floating city to the mainland provinces.
The causeways were supported by strong wooden pilings
the same pilings that supported their temples and other buildings
thousands of these pilings had to be driven deep into the lake bed
and this presented a logistical challenge
that can only be met by a strong skilled labor force
and the best of Mesoamerica's engineers.
To build a causeway, two lines of steaks were laid out.
Then the space between them was filled with stones and earth
until it reached several feet above the water level.
This allowed the road to support enormous weight.
These causeways were built very straight.
They were very wide with bridges that would open up.
That connected the city to the north to the west
and to the south.
The roads enabled the Aztecs to transport larger heavier materials for building.
But this presented a new challenge
there were no beasts of burden in Mesoamerica so
everything had to be done with humans
no carts, no wheel
Small loads would be carried on the back with a rope hung from the forehead.
Large items like stone blocks or sculptures for a temple
would be dragged by huge numbers of men
pulling ropes, possibly using logs as rollers
Legend has it one stone bound for a temple required the force of 50 thousand men
To drag it from the mountains on the mainland, across the causeway and into the city
The causeways would also present the Aztecs with a new way to get fresh water to Tenochtitlan.
In the past, the Aztecs had transported water in canoes from the shore.
But a huge boom in the city's population meant they needed a higher tech solution
to keep up with demand.
They wanted to use water from the springs on the mainland.
And so they wanted to build an acquaduct.
But the springs were under control of the dominant tribe in the region:
the ruthless Tapaneks.
The Tapaneks were the controllers or the dominators of all the valley.
They had a very strong empire.
So they were the lords of the valley.
So the Aztecs were tributary subjects to them.
As the Aztec population grew, tensions with the Tapaneks began to simmer.
Now the Aztecs decided to issue an ultimatum
that could change the balance of power in the region.
The people of Tenochtitlan not only demanded that the Tapaneks give them the water
but also demanded that they help construct the acquaduct.
The Tapaneks' answer was swift and brutal.
The Tapanek king Makstala sent assassins who murdered the reigning Aztec leader in cold blood.
This was the final straw.
After decades of domination, the Aztecs would finally make their move
and wage war against their ruthless overlords.
And they would launch a series of wildly ambitious building projects
around their growing island city
that would earn them a reputation as the greatest engineers of the Americas.
It is 1428, and the Aztecs have declared war on their overlords
a tribe calles the Tapaneks.
But to defeat the Tapaneks, they would need a little help from their neighbors.
The Aztecs approached the nearby city state of Texcoco.
There, a decisive leader was on the rise.
His name was Nezahualcóyotl
and his domineering leadership would be instrumental in forging the Aztec empire.
With Nezahualcóyotl at their side, the Aztec underdogs woud go for the jugular.
They launched an all-out attack on the Tapanek capital.
After a siege of more than 100 days,
they broke through Tapanek defenses and slaughtered their oppressors.
After capturing the Tapanek king, Makstala, king Nezahualcóyotl personally cut out his heart
and sprinkled his blood into the waters of lake Texcoco.
Suddenly, the tables had turned.
That is the exact moment of the beginning of the empire.
And the Aztecs became the leaders of the valley of Mexico.
After conquering the valley of Mexico,
the Aztecs could now turn their attention to bringing clean water to their growing city.
Remarkably, the Aztecs would independently design and build
something a few world empires would master:
the aquaduct.
The aqueduct actually had two channels each about five feet high and three feet wide.
One would be cleaned and maintained while the other was being used
so the water flow was never interrupted.
The twin tube aqueduct ran for three miles from the mainland
to the center of the island city.
In town, water streamed into public fountains and reservoirs.
and was distributed to the public in large clay jars or by canoe.
In comparison to the Europeans, the Aztecs were a very clean people.
We know that the Aztec emperor bathed twice a day.
So, in terms of higiene, the Aztec people was much more advanced than the Europens.
While the Aztec nobles were bathing in luxury, at this time in Europe, plague
caused by unsanitary conditions was killing millions.
King Nezahualcóyotl's own bath was one of the most unique in the Americas.
In was fed by a sophisticated aqueduct system that also brought running water to his palace grounds.
Behind me is the hill of Texcotzingo, and on this hill Nezahualcóyotl built a fantastic treasure palace.
and around this palace a virtual botanical garden, filled with all
the exotic flowers of Mesoamerica.
Nezahualcóyotl brought water from the Sierra Nevada mountains
all the way down to here into this hill, to his palace just to water his plants.
To install an aqueduct there,
Nezahualcóyotl had to fill a huge gorge between Texcotzingo and the next will.
As the water arrived at the first hill, it gathered in small pools
build to control the speed of the flow before it reached the aqueduct.
After crossing the aqueduct, the water ran in a circuit around Texcotzingo hill
Spilling off over the sides in rock-cut waterfalls
to water the gardens.
it ended up in a nearly perfectly round rock cut pool called the king's bath