Bachillerato # 33 / 2º H / Química / Mtro.
Mario Alberto Franco Melgar
Knowledge about minerology and metallurgy that they had at the time they
were conquered (Aztecs)
Guion / Proyecto transversal / 2º semestre
Sp 1: Mining in Mesoamerica was focused on precious stones such as obsidian and jade, they
also extracted metals such as gold and silver, the extraction tools were made of stone and no
longer worked resistant metals such as bronze or iron.
Sp 2: It is stated that in pre-Hispanic Mexico around thirty-five non-metalliferous minerals were
used and fourteen so are.
Sp 3: Now with the Aztecs. The Aztecs came from a place in the north of Mexico that they
called Aztlan. They were a nomadic people that sought a territory to settle.
Around the 14th century, the Aztecs relocated to the Mexican Anahuac plateau, which means
"near the water"
Sp 4: The Aztecs developed economic activities such as agriculture, trade, the domestication of
birds and the work of gold and silver (mining) and textile
The merchants moved among the different cities to exchange goods such as blankets, ceramics,
gold, silverware, feathers, cocoa, and jaguar skins.
Sp 5: The Aztecs liked to adorn and protect their bodies with medallions, masks, breastplates
and earrings, as well as using tools and vessels made of precious metals, such as gold and silver,
which were obtained from deposits of
mineral found in "flower of the earth" (on the surface). This confirms the use of mineral
resources in American lands since before the Conquest.
Sp 6: Its main minerals apart from the ones that were included were: calcite, gold, silver and,
above all, obsidian for the construction of weapons and domestic utensils.
Sp 1: In short, the Aztecs did not have mining as one of their main activities, they used these
metals more for ornaments and utensils, yes , mining was used in commerce, but nothing
compared to agriculture.
Sp 2: Hernán Cortés, in the third of the expeditions, in 1519, was reserved for the fortune of
conquering that fabulous treasure. In Veracruz he received the imperial shipment of
Moctezuma (Aztec empire): feathers, ornaments of gold and pieces of mosaic of precious
stones, with which the natives filled the children of the sun that their prophecies had
announced them (if they do not know this theory , here it is: Upon arrival of the Spaniards the
Aztecs believed that Hernan was a very praised god who had sworn to return, so the Aztecs
received him with gold and jewels, but then they realized that it was not like that, when he
attacked them and tried to take all their gold)
Sp 3: Between 1519 and 1526, the gold wealth of the Anahuac was plundered and sent to
Europe: the remission of Grijalva and the almost simultaneous one of Cortés (1522); the third of
this, sent to the Emperor shortly before his trip to the Hibueras in 1524; and the last one, two
years after the aforementioned date, are only known from the inventory made by Cristóbal de
Oñate, in which there are already pieces of colonial goldsmithing such as "a crucifix and some
images of Our Lady and Saint John".
Sp 4: The source that is available for the study of pre-Hispanic mining and metallurgy is the
codices, Anahuac books that were early known in Europe. Cortés sent to Carlos V two copies in
1519 and Pedro Mártir de Anglería, who had them in his hands. He described them in detail
And this is the short history of the metals Aztecs used before they were conquered.
Bibliography:
Breve historia de la minería en México. (2018). Recuperado 2 mayo, 2018, de
http://www.cursosinea.conevyt.org.mx/cursos/riquezas/recursos/revista/revista17.htm
Palacio de minería.unam.mx. (2018). Recuperado 2 mayo, 2018, de
http://www.palaciomineria.unam.mx/historia/prehispanica.php
David Salvador Preciado Márquez / Evelyn Lozano Ramos / Frida Azucena Núñez Martínez /
María Fernanda Richardt Ríos / Alejandra Elizabeth Sánchez Farías / José Luis Mendoza
Medrano
