Aztec Farming

F A R M E R S 21
▲ The Codex Fejervary-Mayer, painted on deerskin before the 1521
conquest, illustrates the effects of weather on the Aztec’s corn crop over
a two-year period. In the first year (top right), a goddess pours rain
down over a healthy plant. In the second year (top left), the plant
withers during a drought. The Aztec believed that a single god, Tlaloc
(TLAH lohk), was responsible for both plentiful rain and drought.
Beans, corn, squash, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes were the
main crops grown by the Aztec. On the drier lowlands,
farmers grew cotton, cactus, and maguey (MAG way or mah
GAY), a term for certain types of agave (uh GAH vee) plants.
Maguey was a very useful plant. The Aztec made cloth from
the leaves, sewing needles from the sharp spines, and
medicines and an alcoholic drink from the juice.
WHERE WERE THE ANIMALS?
During the time that the Aztec
ruled, there were no horses,
cattle, hogs, or sheep in the
Western Hemisphere. They
arrived with the Europeans.
Therefore, the Aztec had no
milk or wool and no draft
animals, that is, strong animals
used to pull plows or carry
heavy loads. Livestock on
Aztec farms was primarily
turkeys, ducks, and rabbits.