mes it had its own garrison. In the Aztec society there were no closed societies. Anyone could get to be a member of the Council of Wise Men. Though, only the men belonging to the nobility could be Great Speakers. There is an Aztec story that narrates how a Tlaxcalteca, Najahuatzin- called the same way as the god who gave life to the Fifth Sun-, was caught by Moctezuma stealing wood from his private forest. When Nanahuatzin answered honestly, Moctezuma awarded him by naming him Main Voice. This story shows how even the poorest people could reach the highest levels in the Aztec society. This was the reason why the Aztecs were able to control and dominate the largest empire in all of North America and one of the largest worldwide. Agriculture formed the backbone of the Aztec economy. Corn was the most important crop alone with beans, avocados, squashes, potatoes, and tomatoes. The lowlands provided crops such as cotton, papayas, rubber, and cacao. In the tropical jungle the Aztecs used the slash and burn agriculture which is still used today. They chopped down the trees and burns them along with the shrubs and the ashes fertilized the soil. Terraces were cut in the mountains up in the highlands to increase the amount of farmland. Huge irrigation systems were made and the farmers used the mud from the bottom of the irrigation systems to help their crops. As a result the Aztecs yielded huge crops which is the main reason why their civilization was so successful (Hodge & Smith 1994).The Aztecs' main food was corn. The corn was generally ground into flour and then made into masa or dough, which they made into tortillas, drinks, tamales, among other foods. Other foods in the Aztecs' diet were the seeds from the sage plant which were used as cereal; spicy peppers, eggs, turkey, rabbit, dog, lizards, locusts, snails, fish eggs, and as a delicacy, green slime which was scooped off the top of lake Texcoco. That was said to taste like cheese. For d...
