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Chinampas

Building Chinampa

Construction

Masters of design...

    Building a chinampa that is 8x200 m took about 8 days for four to six men (Hassig 1985). First, posts were driven into the lake bottom. Between the posts branches were woven together to create an enclosure. The enclosure was then filled with soil from the lake bottom. Willow trees were planted along the edges to anchor the chinampa more securely (Nichols 2005).

 Chinampa plots and Residents   Chinampas require two things that are not naturally found in the Basin of Mexico. Chinampas need a constant supply of fresh water as well as stable water level (Hassig 1985). King Itzcotle petitioned a system of dikes, canals, and aquaducts to be built (Hassig 1985). The large undertaking leads Hassig (1985) to believe that the development must have been a part of a "highly centralized political entity." The regularity of the chinampa organization seems to be evidence that supports Hassig's conclusion (Hodge and Smith 1994). King Montezuma I employed 20,000 men to build a stone dike ten miles long. It stopped Tenochtitlan's flooding and lowered the lake's salinity (Werner 1992).

Fig 4: Chinampa Plots behind residential areas (Berdan 2005)