Aztec Artisans

Most of the material objects produced by the Aztec people of central Mexico during the Late Postclassic period (1350-1521) were manufactured in household settings by household members. Craft skills and knowledge, from weaving to metalwork, were passed from parent to child. Some objects were produced in small amounts strictly for household consumption, but many goods were produced in larger quantities and destined for market exchange. Specialization in the production of goods reached a high level of diversity and intensity during these times. In part, this was possible because of the food surpluses created by increasingly intense systems of agriculture, complemented by an abundance of nonagricultural resources. These surpluses released some persons, either partially or fully, from food-getting activities, allowing them to concentrate their time and energy in pursuing other production activities. High levels of craft production were also related somewhat to the population surge in the Late Postclassic period, providing large groups of producers and consumers of goods.And also in part,these specializations were stimulated and maintained by the increasing commercialization of the Late Postclassic period, facilitating relatively efficient and effective flows of raw materials and finished goods on local, regional, and extraregional levels.

Where artisans produced their crafts reflected, to some extent, their organization and sociopolitical context. Artisans were either “attached ” or “independent.” The former were situated in or near palaces, suggesting elite economic, social, and/or political relationships. This particularly applied to some luxury artisans who enjoyed the patronage(support) of the local ruler. These artisans were assured access to raw materials as well as guaranteed consumer. For instance, the Tenochtitlan-Tlate featherworkers attached to the Tenochtitlan ruler’s palace enjoyed access to the ruler’s aviary and stored tributes, and were specifically employed to produce ornate featherwork for the ruler’s fine attire, for exquisite gifts for the ruler’s diplomatic guests, and to adorn the god Huitzilopochtli. It appears that these highly esteemed artisans were resettled in or near the palace, yet it also seems that the household structure of production was maintained. That is, it is likely that entire households were relocated, allowing for the household’s division of labor to be maintained Other artisans attached to the royal palace in Tenochtitlan included goldworkers and silversmiths, coppersmiths, painters, cutters of stones, greenstone mosaic workers, and woodcarvers, all of whom worked at or near the totocalli, or bird house.

Artisans continued to be attached to native nobles even after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire. Don Juan de Guzman, a native governor of Coyoacan (an area near Tenochtitlan) who was appointed by the Spanish in the mid-sixteenth century, enjoyed the privilege of having”all the artisans and craftsmen… be attached to the royal house to do what is needed.” Ten carpenters and ten stonemasons were also attached to Don Juan, but we know little about them beyond that he was having a house built, and”they are to do what is needed. “Prior to the Spanish conquest, when the king Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin employed sculptors to carve a statue of him, he paid them handsomely for their work. Perhaps these were independent artisans, although the payment could as well represent compensation to attached artisans. While royal or elite sponsorship provided attached artisans with a predictable livelihood, it perhaps offered them less opportunity for creativity than the independent luxury artisans working beyond the reach of the palace and selling their finery in the markets.

Some of these independent artisans, producing both luxury and utilitarian goods, were concentrated in specific neighborhoods, or calpolli. Independent artisans could not necessarily depend on the generosity of the state in obtaining raw materials for their crafts. They relied on merchants and markets for access to raw materials and as outlets for their finished products. The Tlatelolco featherworkers maintained especially close relations with their equally exclusive neighbors, the entrepreneurial pochteca (professional merchants), who provided them with the shimmering tropical feathers essential in their craft. While undocumented, it is likely that similarly close relations existed between luxury artisans and merchants in other city-states.

Whether attached to elite palaces or living in exclusive neighborhoods, specialized artisans required enduring and predictable links to several other areas of Aztec life: they gained status through participation in society-wide ceremonies, served royal and other noble palaces, dealt with long-distance merchants, and were consistent fixtures in any major marketplace.?

1.Most of the material objects produced by the Aztec people of central Mexico during the Late Postclassic period (1350-1521) were manufactured in household settings by household members. Craft skills and knowledge, from weaving to metalwork, were passed from parent to child. Some objects were produced in small amounts strictly for household consumption, but many goods were produced in larger quantities and destined for market exchange. Specialization in the production of goods reached a high level of diversity and intensity during these times. In part, this was possible because of the food surpluses created by increasingly intense systems of agriculture, complemented by an abundance of nonagricultural resources. These surpluses released some persons, either partially or fully, from food-getting activities, allowing them to concentrate their time and energy in pursuing other production activities. High levels of craft production were also related somewhat to the population surge in the Late Postclassic period, providing large groups of producers and consumers of goods.And also in part,these specializations were stimulated and maintained by the increasing commercialization of the Late Postclassic period, facilitating relatively efficient and effective flows of raw materials and finished goods on local, regional, and extraregional levels.?