Across
- 7. The island connects to the mainland by three ________________ (an earthen land bridge that allows people to walk through water or low land), the longest of which stretched five miles. The _____________ were 25 to 30 feet wide, and all had wooden bridges that could be raised to let boats through or to protect the city in an enemy attack.
- 8. An _________-foot wall that was studded with sculptures of serpents enclosed the ceremonial plaza. The palaces and homes of nobles lined the outside of the wall.
- 10. At the center of the city lay a large ceremonial __________ where the Aztecs gathered for religious rituals, feasts, and festivals.
- 12. A dam ten miles long ran along the east side of the city to hold back ________________.
- 13. The Great Temple had two steep stairways leading to double ________, one of which was dedicated to the chief god, Huitzilopochtli (wee-tsee-loh-POHCH-tlee).
- 14. The city boasted other technological marvels, like the ______________ that carried fresh water for irrigation. Twin pipes ran from the Chapultepec springs, three miles away. While one pipe was being cleaned or repaired, the other could transport water.
- 16. Aztecs even merged Tlatelolco (tlah-TEH-lohl-koh), originally a separate___________, with Tenochtitlán.
- 18. Although Tenochtitlán spread over five square miles, people had an ___________ time getting around.
- 20. Tenochtitlán was larger than any city in Europe during the 1500s, including London, __________, or Venice.
- 21. At night, pine torches lit the way. People also traveled on foot on smaller walkways or by __________ on the canals that crossed the city. Many of the canals were lined with stone and had bridges.
- 23. Merchants also sold gold, silver, turquoise, animal skins, clothing, pottery, chocolate, vanilla, tools, and even ___________.
- 25. Other structures in the plaza included more shrines and temples, the ritual ball court (for a game similar to pok-a-tok), military storehouses, and ___________ for important visitors.
- 27. Aztecs created small islands called____________, or “floating gardens.”
- 28. When Spanish explorers first arrived at Tenochtitlán in 1519, they were _________to see a majestic city crisscrossed by canals and boasting impressive temples and palaces.
- 29. At the royal ___________________ trained staff plucked the valuable feathers from parrots and quetzals.
- 30. The palace was the _________ of the Aztec ruler, but it also had government offices, shrines, courts, storerooms, gardens, and courtyards.
Down
- 1. The capital city of Tenochtitlan had a huge __________ for the time (1500’s) of between 200,000 and 300,000 people.
- 2. Eventually, the Aztecs expanded the city's land surface until it covered over ___________ square miles.
- 3. Four wide ___________ met at the foot of the Great Temple.
- 4. In front of the shrines in the Great Temple stood the stone where priests performed _____________.
- 5. Inside the plaza, a stone pyramid called the ______________ loomed 150 feet into the sky. People could see the pyramid, which was decorated with bright sculptures and murals, from several miles away.
- 6. A _____________ workers swept and washed down the streets each day, keeping them cleaner than streets in European cities.
- 9. Wild animals captured throughout the empire, such as pumas and jaguars, prowled cages in the royal ______________.
- 11. Aztecs ___________ from the lake by sinking timbers into the water to serve as walls. Then, they filled in the area between the timbers with mud, boulders, and reeds.
- 15. In the Great Temple, an altar, called the tzompantli (“_________”), displayed the skulls of thousands of sacrificial victims.
- 17. As the Aztecs' power grew, their capital city of Tenochtitlán developed into one of the _________ cities in the world.
- 19. Goods at the marketplace ranged from luxury items, such as jade and feathers, to necessities, such as food and ___________ sandals.
- 22. Just outside the plaza stood the ________________, which was two stories and functioned like a small town.
- 24. The city's main marketplace was located in the northern section, in Tlatelolco. Each day, as many as ________ thousand people came from all corners of the Aztec Empire to sell their wares.
- 26. The second shrine in the Great Temple was dedicated to Tlaloc (tlah-LOHK), the ________ god.