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In [[pre-Columbian]] [[Aztec society]], '''calpulli''' (from [[Classical Nahuatl language|Classical Nahuatl]] ''[[wiktionary:calpolli|calpōlli]]'', {{IPA-nah|kaɬˈpoːlːi}}, meaning "large houses", singular calpul<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/calpulli-core-organization-of-aztec-society-170305|title=Calpulli: The Fundamental Core Organization of Aztec Society|last1=Maestri|first1=Nicole|date=March 10, 2019|website=ThoughtCo|publisher=Dotdash Meredith}}</ref>) were units of commoner housing that had been split into kin-based or other land holding groups within [[Nahua]] city-states or [[altepetl]]s. In Spanish sources, calpulli are termed ''parcialidades'' or ''barrios.''<ref>Carrasco, Pedro. "Calpulli." In [[David Carrasco|Davíd Carrasco]] (ed). ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures''. Vol 1. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. {{ISBN|9780195108156|9780195188431}}</ref> The inhabitants of a calpul were collectively responsible for different organizational and religious tasks in relation to the larger altepetl. A calpul could be created based on an extended family, being part of a similar ethnic or national background, or having similar skills and [[tribute]] demands.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hicks |first1=Frederic |title=Tetzcoco in the Early 16th Century: The State, the City, and the "Calpolli" |journal=American Ethnologist |date=May 1982 |volume= 9 |issue=2 |pages=230–249 |doi=10.1525/ae.1982.9.2.02a00020 |jstor=644674 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/644674 |access-date=7 March 2023}}</ref> The misunderstanding that calpulli were family units can be blamed on the fact that the word "family" refers to blood relations in English, while in Nahuatl it refers to the people whom you live with.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nichols |first1=Deborah L. |last2=Rodríguez-Alegría |first2=Enrique |title=The Oxford Handbook of the Aztecs |date=December 5, 2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199341962}}</ref>
In [[precolumbian]] [[Aztec society]], a '''calpulli''' (from [[Classical Nahuatl language|Classical Nahuatl]] ''[[wiktionary:calpolli|calpōlli]]'', {{IPA-nah|kaɬˈpoːlːi}}, meaning "large house") was the designation of an organizational unit below the level of the [[Altepetl]] "citystate". A Nahua citystate was divided into a number of calpullis that each constituted a unit where the calpulli inhabitants were collectively responsible for different organizational and religious tasks in relation to the larger altepetl. Calpullis controlled land which was available for calpulli members to cultivate and also operated the [[Tēlpochcalli ]] schools for young men of commoner descent. In Aztec culture, as in most other civilizations, the family unit was very important. There were several levels of organization in Aztec family life beginning with the base family unit. The base family unit consisted of two parents and their unmarried children. The main functions of the base family unit were education of the children and food preparation. Many base family units, however, banded together to form extended families. The households of extended families were usually composed of several brothers and their families. The primary functions of the extended families were to coordinate land use and food production (such as growing crops). In most cases, extended families contained just a few base family units. In large cities, however, they often grew to many more.


The primary functions of the calpulli were to coordinate land use for growing crops, food production, and manufacturing tribute. Tribute was owed by each tributary unity, typically determined as a group of course{{clarification needed|date=July 2023}} and co-residents. Tribute was paid in goods or in labor based on lists of tributaries.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gutiérrez |first1=Gerardo |title=Mexico-Tenochtitlan: origin and transformations of th last Mesoamerican imperial city |chapter=Mexico-Tenochtitlan: Origin and transformations of the last Mesoamerican imperial city |date=2015 |pages=491–512 |chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-world-history/mexicotenochtitlan-origin-and-transformations-of-the-last-mesoamerican-imperial-city/6EA92629C3027CBBA24BEF538BDC82DC |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/CHO9781139035606.031 |isbn=9781139035606 |access-date=March 7, 2023}}</ref> The most typical forms of agriculture in Aztec society were [[chinampas]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hicks |first1=Frederic |title=Tetzcoco in the Early 16th Century: The State, the City, and the "Calpolli" |journal=American Ethnologist |date=May 1982 |volume= 9 |issue=2 |pages=230–249 |doi=10.1525/ae.1982.9.2.02a00020 |jstor=644674 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/644674 |access-date=7 March 2023}}</ref> and [[check dam]] terrace farming.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Michael E. |title=Life in the Provinces of the Aztec Empire |journal=Scientific American |date=September 1997 |volume= 277 |issue=3 |pages=76–83 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0997-76 |jstor=24995914 |bibcode=1997SciAm.277c..76S |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24995914 |access-date=8 March 2023}}</ref> Chinampas' effective built-in drainage systems allowed for the flow of water and sediment, which was then stored as mud and used for fertilizer.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Holt |first1=Emily |title=Water and Power in Past Societies |date=May 1, 2018 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=9781438468754}}</ref>
Although extended families farmed the land, they usually did not own it. They were allowed to use it by the calpulli to which they belonged. Calpulli were groups of families that controlled the use of the land and performed other territorial functions, as well as social ones. The majority of calpulli had a telpuchcalli, a school for young men. Another function of the calpulli was a taxation unit. The empire collected taxes from each calpulli, which in turn collected taxes from its member families.


Tribute was a large part of Aztec society and supported the nobility. Tributes were expected from commoners around four times a year, the most common item being cotton textiles.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Michael E. |title=Life in the Provinces of the Aztec Empire |journal=Scientific American |date=September 1997 |volume= 277 |issue=3 |pages=76–83 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0997-76 |jstor=24995914 |bibcode=1997SciAm.277c..76S |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24995914 |access-date=8 March 2023}}</ref> Calpulli were also places for education. Women were taught to cook, sew, care for children, and work with textiles. The calpul also operated as the [[Tēlpochcalli]] schools for young men to learn to be warriors. [[Aztec warfare]] was extremely important and men were expected to go to battle beginning at the age of 15. Aztec warfare was organized so that men would go to fight for their calpul, so they were fighting for their familial pride.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Alcock |first1=Susan E. |last2=D'Altroy |first2=Terence N. |last3=Morrison |first3=Kathleen D. |last4=Sinopoli |first4=Carla M. |title=Empires: Perspectives from Archaeology and History |date=June 2009 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521112345}}</ref>
Most rural calpulli were based on lineage. In other words, the members of a rural calpulli believed that they were descended from a common ancestor. In the cities, the calpulli were based more on geographical, political, and occupational similarities than lineage. In both cases, calpulli were tightly knit and sometimes were even somewhat isolated from other calpulli, both politically and physically.
The nature of the interrelatedness between the members of the calpulli is a matter of debate. Traditionally it has been argued that the calpulli was firstly a family unit in which the inhabitants were related through blood and intermarriage. Other scholars such as Van Zantwijk (1985) deny that this was necessarily the case. Van Zantwijk demonstrates that at least in some altepetl the family-based nature of the calpulli was replaced with a hierarchical structure based on wealth and prestige. Newcomers from other altepetl were allowed to settle down and become part of the calpulli. Michael Smith (2003) shows that in some Nahua cities, notably Otumba, each calpulli specialised in a trade and took almost the form of a trade guild.


==See also==
==Calpullis of Tenochtitlan==
* [[Ejido]]

* [[Georgism]]
The wards of [[Tenochtitlan]], the Aztec capital, were also known as ''calpulli''. The exact number of calpullis within the city is not known but Van Zantwijk (1985) based his calculations on a wide array of ethnohistorical sources. Van Zantwijk reached a number of 20 calpullis, 7 of which represented the original founding groups of Tenochtitlan and the remaining 13 being composed by groups coming to the city at later points in its development. Van Zantwijk assumed that each calpulli was ritually connected to one of the twenty day names. Below is a list of the twenty calpullis of Tenochtitlan based on the data from Van Zantwijk (1985):
* [[Land value tax]]

* [[Community land trust]]
'''Founding calpullis'''
*Tlacatecpan
*Tlacochcalco
*Huitznahuac
*Yopico
*Chalman
*Izquitlan
*Cihuatecpan

'''New calpullis'''
*Chililico
*Coatlan
*Apanteuctlan
*Acatliacapan
*Tzonmolco
*Tezcacoac
*Tlamatzinco
*Molonco Itlillan
*Tecpantzinco
*Xochicalco
*Coatlxoxouhcan
*Cuauhquiahuac
*Atempan


==Notes==
==Notes==
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==References==
==References==
{{refbegin|indent=yes}}<!--BEGIN biblio format. If indent param. is used, Pls use a colon (:) instead of asterisk (*) for bullet markers in the references list -->
{{refbegin|indent=yes}}<!--BEGIN biblio format. -->
* {{cite book |last=Carrasco |first=Pedro |chapter= "Calpulli" |editor= Davíd Carrasco| title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures |volume=1 |location=New York |year=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195108156|oclc=1169898498 }}
*{{cite book |author=Smith, Michael E. |authorlink=Michael E. Smith|year=2003 |title=The Aztecs |edition=2nd |publisher=[[Blackwell Publishing]] |location=Malden, MA |isbn=0-631-23015-7 |oclc=48579073}}
*{{cite book |author=Townsend, Richard F. |year=2000 |title=The Aztecs |edition=2nd revised |publisher=[[Thames & Hudson]] |location=London |isbn=0-500-28132-7 |oclc=43337963}}
* {{cite book |author=Smith, Michael E. |author-link=Michael E. Smith (archaeologist)|year=2003 |title=The Aztecs |edition=2nd |publisher=[[Blackwell Publishing]] |location=Malden, MA |isbn=0-631-23015-7 |oclc=48579073}}
*{{cite book |author=Zantwijk,Rudolph van |year=1985|title=The Aztec Arrangement: The Social History of Pre-Spanish Mexico |location=Norman |publisher=[[University of Oklahoma Press]] |isbn=0-8061-1677-3 |oclc=11261299 }}
* {{cite book |author=Townsend, Richard F. |year=2000 |title=The Aztecs |edition=2nd revised |publisher=[[Thames & Hudson]] |location=London |isbn=0-500-28132-7 |oclc=43337963}}
* {{cite book |author=Zantwijk, Rudolph van |year=1985 |title=The Aztec Arrangement: The Social History of Pre-Spanish Mexico |location=Norman |publisher=[[University of Oklahoma Press]] |isbn=0-8061-1677-3 |oclc=11261299 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/aztecarrangement0000zant }}
* {{cite book |last1=Nichols |first1=Deborah L. |last2=Rodríguez-Alegría |first2=Enrique |title=The Oxford Handbook of the Aztecs |date=December 5, 2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199341962}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Hicks |first1=Frederic |title=Tetzcoco in the Early 16th Century: The State, the City, and the "Calpolli" |journal=American Ethnologist |date=May 1982 |volume= 9 |issue=2 |pages=230–249 |doi=10.1525/ae.1982.9.2.02a00020 |jstor=644674 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/644674 |access-date=7 March 2023}}
* {{cite book |last1=Holt |first1=Emily |title=Water and Power in Past Societies |date=May 1, 2018 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=9781438468754}}
* {{cite book |last1=Alcock |first1=Susan E. |last2=D'Altroy |first2=Terence N. |last3=Morrison |first3=Kathleen D. |last4=Sinopoli |first4=Carla M. |title=Empires: Perspectives from Archaeology and History |date=June 2009 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521112345}}
*{{cite book |last1=Gutiérrez |first1=Gerardo |title=Mexico-Tenochtitlan: origin and transformations of th last Mesoamerican imperial city |chapter=Mexico-Tenochtitlan: Origin and transformations of the last Mesoamerican imperial city |date=2015 |pages=491–512 |chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-world-history/mexicotenochtitlan-origin-and-transformations-of-the-last-mesoamerican-imperial-city/6EA92629C3027CBBA24BEF538BDC82DC |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/CHO9781139035606.031 |isbn=9781139035606 |access-date=March 7, 2023}}


{{refend}}<!-- END biblio format style -->
{{refend}}<!-- END biblio format style -->

Latest revision as of 00:56, 21 May 2024

In pre-Columbian Aztec society, calpulli (from Classical Nahuatl calpōlli, Nahuatl pronunciation: [kaɬˈpoːlːi], meaning "large houses", singular calpul[1]) were units of commoner housing that had been split into kin-based or other land holding groups within Nahua city-states or altepetls. In Spanish sources, calpulli are termed parcialidades or barrios.[2] The inhabitants of a calpul were collectively responsible for different organizational and religious tasks in relation to the larger altepetl. A calpul could be created based on an extended family, being part of a similar ethnic or national background, or having similar skills and tribute demands.[3] The misunderstanding that calpulli were family units can be blamed on the fact that the word "family" refers to blood relations in English, while in Nahuatl it refers to the people whom you live with.[4]

The primary functions of the calpulli were to coordinate land use for growing crops, food production, and manufacturing tribute. Tribute was owed by each tributary unity, typically determined as a group of course[clarification needed] and co-residents. Tribute was paid in goods or in labor based on lists of tributaries.[5] The most typical forms of agriculture in Aztec society were chinampas[6] and check dam terrace farming.[7] Chinampas' effective built-in drainage systems allowed for the flow of water and sediment, which was then stored as mud and used for fertilizer.[8]

Tribute was a large part of Aztec society and supported the nobility. Tributes were expected from commoners around four times a year, the most common item being cotton textiles.[9] Calpulli were also places for education. Women were taught to cook, sew, care for children, and work with textiles. The calpul also operated as the Tēlpochcalli schools for young men to learn to be warriors. Aztec warfare was extremely important and men were expected to go to battle beginning at the age of 15. Aztec warfare was organized so that men would go to fight for their calpul, so they were fighting for their familial pride.[10]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Maestri, Nicole (March 10, 2019). "Calpulli: The Fundamental Core Organization of Aztec Society". ThoughtCo. Dotdash Meredith.
  2. ^ Carrasco, Pedro. "Calpulli." In Davíd Carrasco (ed). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures. Vol 1. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN 9780195108156, 9780195188431
  3. ^ Hicks, Frederic (May 1982). "Tetzcoco in the Early 16th Century: The State, the City, and the "Calpolli"". American Ethnologist. 9 (2): 230–249. doi:10.1525/ae.1982.9.2.02a00020. JSTOR 644674. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  4. ^ Nichols, Deborah L.; Rodríguez-Alegría, Enrique (December 5, 2016). The Oxford Handbook of the Aztecs. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199341962.
  5. ^ Gutiérrez, Gerardo (2015). "Mexico-Tenochtitlan: Origin and transformations of the last Mesoamerican imperial city". Mexico-Tenochtitlan: origin and transformations of th last Mesoamerican imperial city. Cambridge University Press. pp. 491–512. doi:10.1017/CHO9781139035606.031. ISBN 9781139035606. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  6. ^ Hicks, Frederic (May 1982). "Tetzcoco in the Early 16th Century: The State, the City, and the "Calpolli"". American Ethnologist. 9 (2): 230–249. doi:10.1525/ae.1982.9.2.02a00020. JSTOR 644674. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  7. ^ Smith, Michael E. (September 1997). "Life in the Provinces of the Aztec Empire". Scientific American. 277 (3): 76–83. Bibcode:1997SciAm.277c..76S. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0997-76. JSTOR 24995914. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  8. ^ Holt, Emily (May 1, 2018). Water and Power in Past Societies. SUNY Press. ISBN 9781438468754.
  9. ^ Smith, Michael E. (September 1997). "Life in the Provinces of the Aztec Empire". Scientific American. 277 (3): 76–83. Bibcode:1997SciAm.277c..76S. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0997-76. JSTOR 24995914. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  10. ^ Alcock, Susan E.; D'Altroy, Terence N.; Morrison, Kathleen D.; Sinopoli, Carla M. (June 2009). Empires: Perspectives from Archaeology and History. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521112345.

References

[edit]
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