The Aztecs were tremendously creative. When they drained the marshy land of Lake Texcoco, they expanded the land available by creating artificial islands on the water; these were used for decoration as well as for planting food. They had a system of aqueducts that let in clean water from the mainland, which is unique for civilization this early in time, and massive temples honoring the gods.
CHOCOLATE
One of the most famous Aztec inventions was chocolate, a popular and delightful sweet that is now eaten worldwide. However, they did not eat it in a solid form; it was consumed as a fermented beverage with other ingredients such as vanilla or chili. The cacao seeds were so valuable that they were even used as currency.
WATER SYSTEM
The empire had a water system, which very few early civilizations had. Archaeologists have found a system with two channels that brought clean water to the floating city, with one being cleaned routinely and the second to ensure that water would always be flowing. This water was used for drinking, bathing, and irrigation for the floating gardens used for decoration and planting crops.
CALENDAR
They invented the calendar. They had two calendar systems: a ritual calendar with 260 days that had a system of bloodletting and sacrifices, and a 365 day solar calendar similar to the one we use today. The calendar had 18 months with 20 units (or days) in each, with 5 days left over at the end of the year for the celebration.
The Aztecs built many temples throughout the Valley of Mexico; in many of their territories, an entire area of the city was given over to religious activity. Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan is one such temple, a double temple honoring the two principal deities: the sun and war god Huitzilopochtli, and the rain and fertility god Tlaloc. The people needed to constantly rebuild the temple because it was built on soft ground which caused it to sink. Unfortunately, the great Templo Mayor is now lost. When the Empire fell, Mexico City was built over Tenochtitlan. Archaeologists were able to find traces of the temple and deduce the average size of the temple based on numerous other standing temples throughout Mexico.
Sacrifices took place at these temples to keep the peace and balance in their civilizations; they would take people from neighboring city-states as prisoners to sacrifice. This was a flaw in their society: the outright cruelty and gruesome rituals that they participated in.
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