MAIZE (Corn)
An Aztec Food Staple
Maize was the food staple of the Aztec world. It was so important to Aztec life that they dedicated the month of May (Uey tocoztli) to the maize goddess Chicomecoatl (Berdan 2005). Rituals were performed to ensure a good harvest.
Maize was usually ground up and pressed into tortillas. A favorite maize dish of the Aztecs were tamales and atolli, a maize gruel (Berdan 2005). Maize made up 73% of the calories consumed each day by adult males (Hassig 1985). Most of the miaze that came into Tenochtitlan had been harvested in the southern chinampas (Hassig 1985). The southern chinampa district contributed 3,335 metric tons of maize in tribute and 16,555 metric tons made its way into the Tenochtitlan market (Berdan 2005). The urban families within Tenochtitlan only produced enough maize to provide 15% of the family's income (Berdan 2005). It was the surplus of maize that came from the families outside Tenochtitlan that supported the 200,000 people living in the city.
Fig. 5: Maize Planting (Sahagun 1979)
Beans, Squash, and More
Beans and squash were also commonly grown on chinampas alongside the maize. Chinamperos would plant these ground hugging plants in between the rows of maize (Werner 1992). Both Beans and Squash were important parts of the Aztec diet. They were usually served as an accompaniment to maize dishes.
Green tomatoes, chia, amaranth, chayote, chiles, flowers, and herbs were also grown on chinampas (Werner 1992). Chia and amaranth are both grains and were also important foods in the Aztec diet. Their seeds were ground up like maize and could also be made into gruel and tamales (Berdan 2005).
