Mexica

Wrongfully referredas Aztec,Mexica wereNative American people who dominated central México attime ofSpanish conquest led by Hernan Cortés inearly 16th century. Accordingtheir own legends,originated fromplace called Aztlan, somewherenorth or northwest Mexico, probablymythical place. At that timeMexica (who referredthemselves asMexica or Tenochca, not Aztec) weresmall, nomadic, Nahuatl-speaking aggregationtribal peoples living onmarginscivilized Mesoamerica. Sometime in12th centuryembarked onperiodwanderingin13th century settled incentral basinMéxico. Continually dislodged bysmall city-states that fought one anothershifting alliances,Mexica finally found refuge on small isletsLake Texcoco where,1325,foundedtownTenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico City). The term Aztec, was createdmodern times meaning "peoples from Aztlan"is todaycollective term, appliedallpeoples linked by trade, custom, religion,languagethese founders. For more information about this ancientonce powerful people, linkAztec. See also OriginAztec termrefer toMexica

External links

• http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anth3618/maaztec.html