Chapter 3: The Aztec, Empire Builders

About three hundred years after the Maya abandoned their cities, another great civilization arose. They were ___________.

One day, the god of the sun spoke to the people. The god told the Aztec people to look for a sign—an eagle with a snake in its beak perched on a ____________.

. The Aztec people called their new home __________________ which means “the place of the prickly pear.”

A group of countries or territories under the control of one government or one ruler

The ruler of an empire is called ___________.

Tenochtitlán alone probably had between 150,000 and 200,000 residents, making it one of the largest cities in the world at this time.

The Aztec were well-known warriors. By conquering other people, they were able to gain _____________.

The captured soldiers sometimes were used in an important religious ritual of the Aztec people:__________.

The Aztec of Tenochtitlán believed they were living under the ____________ sun.

The Aztec preferred to sacrifice someone other than their own friends and family. Most of their victims were foreign soldiers captured in war. Aztec priests believed that the _________ was the most important thing to sacrifice.

The Aztec believed human sacrifices were necessary to keep the sun rising and moving across the sky.

The Aztec people believed there was greater honor than to die in battle.