Educator Resources for Aztec Civilization

At its height, the Aztec Empire was a sight to behold! Its capital city of Tenochtitlan was bigger than Paris—and built on an island in the middle of a lake. The Empire ruled around 30 million people in the central valley of Mexico. In the same period, only around 50 million people lived in all of Europe, combined. In this BrainPOP movie, Tim and Moby give you an up-close look at this powerful Mesoamerican civilization. See how separate city-states in the valley of Mexico came together to build a massive empire. Learn about all sorts of Aztec customs, from the fun (a ballgame called tlachtli) to the frightening (human sacrifice!). And witness how an epidemic left the empire vulnerable to take-over by a Spanish conquistador named Hernán Cortés.