In less than 200 years, it evolved from a small settlement on an island in the western swamps of Lake Texcoco into the powerful political, economic, and religious center of the greatest empire of Precolumbian Mexico. Tenochtitlan was a city of great wealth, obtained through the spoils of tribute from conquered regions.

The Aztecs created many forms of art, including jewelry, knives, pottery, statues and mosaics. Mosaics are pictures, or patterns, created from small pieces of materials. The Aztecs used a sacred mineral called turquoise to make their mosaics.

Paintings. Teotihuacan was a heavily painted site, with murals found throughout the city. For example, on the walls of the apartment complex in the Tepantitla district, we find an elaborate mural showing a figure often identified as the Great Goddess and, more recently, as a mountain-tree.

The structures in the city of Tenochtitlan included temples, palaces, and platforms. The temples were terraced pyramids with steep stairs leading up to the main temple. Domestic structures reflected the social and financial status of inhabitants. Elites lived in palaces, which were called tecpans.