20). At the bottom of the heap were slaves and serfs, or the Tlacotli, who worked the private lands of the nobility. Next came the Macehualtin, ‘the fortunate,’ as they were called because they were equally free of the heavy responsibility of the nobility and of the slave’s liability to being basely used. They were the merchants, shopkeepers and artisans that made up the bulk of the population. The Macehualtin belonged to localized kin groups known as calpulli or ‘big houses,’ each of which had it’s own lands, clan leaders, and temple”(Jennings, Aztec, Pg. 354).The high status is obvious by the in-clusion of more elaborate and ornamental objects and frequently frescos adorned the walls. Monumental Architecture of public and private buildings is one of the best indi-cators of the size and importance of a site. The size of the structure has direct corrolation to the power held by the leader, in his ability to conduct peasants to construct the building.Temples and plazas were the main objects of monumental construction and often rival the pyramids of Egypt in quality and size. Temples were often pyramid like struc-tures that were built, facing east, over the cremated remains of a priest or ruler. With each acceding ruler the temple was made larger by building over the previous, thus the layering effect so often uncovered. Different styles of decoration and construction were used by each culture during different periods. In contrast to earlier Mesoamerican pyramids with a single temple built on top and a single stairway up the side, the pyramids built by the Early Aztec peoples had twin temples and double stairways (Smith, 43). There are several complexes of Esperanza architecture at Kaminaljuyu…these are stepped temple platforms with the typical Teotihuacan talud-tablero motif. (Coe, 84). Then in less than three hundred years there was a completely different style of architecture in the area....
