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Tenochtitlán
Tenochtitlán,
pre-Columbian city in central Mexico
and capital of the Aztecs, on the site of present-day
Mexico City (see Aztec Empire).
Founded in 1325, originally on an island in what was Lake
Texcoco, it was a flourishing city, protected against
floods by well-built dams and connected with the mainland
by three causeways. The Spanish conqueror Hernán Cortés
occupied the city in 1521 and razed it. Upon its ruins
he founded Mexico City.
Recent
excavations by Mexican archaeologists at the Aztec Templo
Mayor yielded the most spectacular findings of this century
in Mexico.
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The
Templo Mayor (Great Temple) of the Aztecs formed the
heart of the sacred precinct in their capital city,
Tenochtitlán (now in Mexico City). Only the base remains
of what was once a massive double pyramid, which represented
the hill where Huitzilopochtli,
the god of Aztec origin
myth, was born. The Aztec Empire was the last
pre-Columbian civilization in Mesoamerica.
It lasted from AD 1427 to 1521, when the Spanish conquered
the region.
Charles and Josette Lenars/Corbis
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This
museum model shows the pyramids and religious buildings
at the heart of Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztec
Empire. The Aztec founded the city in 1325, and it
was built on an island in Lake Texcoco, the site of
present-day Mexico City.
SuperStock
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"Tenochtitlán,"
Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000 http://encarta.msn.com
© 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved..
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