Book contents
- A Concise History of the Aztecs
- Cambridge Concise Histories
- A Concise History of the Aztecs
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Preface
- Key Periods and Dates
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Living in the Aztecs’ Cosmos
- 3 Communities, Kingdoms, “Empires”
- 4 Creating Value
- 5 Sex and the Altepetl
- 6 Resilience
- 7 Resilience
- Glossary
- Bibliographic Essay
- Index
5 - Sex and the Altepetl
Gender, Sexuality, and Aztec Family Values
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 February 2024
- A Concise History of the Aztecs
- Cambridge Concise Histories
- A Concise History of the Aztecs
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Preface
- Key Periods and Dates
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Living in the Aztecs’ Cosmos
- 3 Communities, Kingdoms, “Empires”
- 4 Creating Value
- 5 Sex and the Altepetl
- 6 Resilience
- 7 Resilience
- Glossary
- Bibliographic Essay
- Index
Summary
Women and men contributed substance and socialization to bringing children into being and raising them into their eventual Aztec adult roles. Young men experienced a wider range of sexual activity than did young women, but flexibility in gender roles existed. Aztecs raised their children to work hard and create value, obey the rules for proper behavior, and practice moderation in all areas of family and social life. For both children and adults, transgressions in interpersonal relations, work, or spirituality had harsh repercussions. After having been dedicated to either the calmecac or telpochcalli as infants, all boys and many girls would begin their training to contribute to the war-making capacity, political organization, or ritual life of the altepetl. Marriage was an important stage in the life cycle. This new partnership represented the gender complementarity embedded in family life, expressing the gendered aspect of balance found in daily life across the Aztec world. Respected, even revered, Aztecs, nevertheless, also saw the elderly as decrepit and childlike as they approached death. Despite tensions that could exist among family members, the complementary partnership that marriage represented provided a foundation upon which Aztec ways of living survived, however transformed, after the Spanish arrived.
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- A Concise History of the Aztecs , pp. 158 - 201Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024