Beginning in around 2500 BC, during the Mesoamerican Pre-classic period, there was a group of farming peoples living around Lake Texcoco. Until the Aztecs began to move into this land, it was still occupied by these peoples. For 3,800 years these people had lived on and cultivated the land the Aztecs would now call their home. (Serrato-Combe 13)

History shows that around 1000 AD the Aztecs left a place called Aztlan, their island, and moved into the Valley of Mexico. Most likely Aztlan was one of the farthest outposts of the Toltec empire. To this day nobody can be sure where Aztlan really is, the best guesses have included some of the northern states of Mexico. The A

The excavation of the Templo Mayor and the surrounding plaza took place over five years from 1978 to 1982. There were many problems in the excavation of the Templo Mayor, considering its location in the downtown area of Mexico City. Also it was figured that the temple had been built in seven stages, and that the seventh stage was almost completely destroyed by the Spanish leaving it with almost only it's foundation. The other six stages, however, had been mostly saved by the seventh stage and were found almost completely intact. The seven stages of construction occurred over a period of almost two hundred years. The first stage was the original sanctuary built by the Aztecs when they reached Tenochtitlan in 1325 AD. This stage has not actually been excavated but is known from Aztec historical sources. Stage two was most likely was built during the period before Aztec independence from Azcapotzalco, during the reigns of Acamapichtli, Huitzilihuitl, or perhaps Chimalpopoca. There is one glyph, which represents the date "2 Rabbit" which would most likely correspond to the year 1390 AD. In stage two the splitting into two shrines, one for Huitzilopochtli and the other for Tlaloc, occurred. There is not much information about stage three, because almost none of the original structures have survived. Some things such as eight statues possibly representing the brothers of Huitzilopochtli have been found. This stage has been associated to the reign of Itzcoatl around 1431 AD. Stage four contains some of the most well-known and amazing sculptures from the Templo Mayor. The pyramidal structure was enlarged and there are serpent heads on all four corners. Stage four actually contains two stages in one. Stage four b is labeled as such because it turned the original two stairways into one vast stairway with serpents winding up the sides. Also in this stage there were the remains of many offerings found. One chamber contains the skulls and bones of around forty children. All of these offerings seem to be dedicated to Tlaloc. Stage four was constructed between 1454 AD during the reign of Motecuhzoma I and 1469 AD during the initiation of Axayacatl. The construction of stage five is almost completely unknown. Not much remains of this stage and all that does serves little importance. The only real discovery was the floor of the ceremonial precinct. During stage six most of the other small temples were built, such as the Eagle warriors. Also the four small temples to the north labeled as temples A, B, C, and D were built at this time. Stage seven was the final stage seen by the Spaniards. Most of it has been destroyed, but our representations of it are taken from the Spanish accounts. (Matos 60-83)

The Templo Mayor was the most spacious area in Tenochtitlan. It was, however, smaller than most other Mesoamerican ritual centers. This is because of the small amount of land the Aztecs had to work with, and therefore they made a smaller precinct with more compact buildings.

Fray Bernardino de Sahagún stated that there were seventy-eight buildings in the Templo Mayor area, however many of his counterparts counted differently. Some of the men county ten, twenty, or even forty buildings. There is a limited amount of evidence for such a large amount of buildings now. It could be that some of the men counted only the large buildings, while others also counted the small shrines and altars in the area. Also this area was bound to change during the Aztec fifty-two year cycles, so therefore many buildings could have been raised at different times during the Spanish occupation.

In 1363 AD, Tenoch, the tlatoani of Tenochtitlan died. It was decided he would be replaced by Acamapichtli, who although had the required Toltec blood to inherit the position, was also of Aztec blood. The Tepanecs ran the Aztecs. They gave them Acamapichtli, and also demanded tribute from them. When the Tepanec leader Tezozomoc found tha

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Approximate Pages = 14 (250 words per page double spaced)