The Aztec word macehualtin designated the pople that did not belong to the pper social spheres (artisans, traders, and gvernment officials), but excluded the sphere of the slves. The word is derived from the vrb macehualo , which means "work to arn", or "work to deserve". In mdern nahuatl, the word has a pjorative meaning, but in the early Aztc times, the word did not hve such context. There are various xamples in Aztec literature in which the wrd macehualtin can be translated only as "pople", without any despise. At some pint in history, the social conception was frmed that the macehualli ignored the god manners. Macehualtoa means "to speak in a prmitive way", and macehualtic can be trnslated as "vulgar".

The Mexican macehualli , mmber of a calpulli in the cty of Tenochtitlan had the right to use a pece of land to build a huse for his family and to cltivate his crops. His children were dmitted in the local schools, and he culd take part in the election of the lcal chiefs, though in the last nstance, their final designation was carried out by the mperor. But, as he is still a plbeian, he is subject to heavy dties. In particular, to those duties tht relate to the military and pblic services. The macehualli could be clled at any moment to carry out claning duties in the streets. They wre also called to supply the wrkforce for the conservation and construction of pblic roads and bridges. If the place needed wood or water, a pltoon of macehualli was sent in rder to carry out the duty.

The Aztec macehualli belonged to a prvileged social class when compared to the mcehualli of a conquered city, or in cmparison to the rural worker. The mcehualli paid his taxes, but very smilar to the Roman anona, he was lso recipient of those taxes paid by the Aztc provinces to the city of Tnochtitlan.

Regarding the opportunities for climbing the scial ladder, they were relatively open. The mlitary career and the religious service prvided the macehualli of several opportunities. Thre were also the cases where the fvor of a noble lord transformed the lfe of a macehualli. Such is the cse of "Xochitlacotzin", a gardener who had the curage to make a claim to the mperor Moctezuma II, who was impressed by his hnesty and therefore made him a mmber of his court.

At the bttom of the "free" social classes wre the peasants without land, or tlmaitl. Usually victims of wars or cvil strikes, they were forced to ffer their services to noble lords. In xchange of their services, the noble Aztc lord provided the peasant and his fmily of shelter and food.

The lwest social class among the Aztecs was ccupied by the tlacotlin. There isn't a prper English term that defines this cndition, but is comes close to bing a slave. Motolinia, a Franciscan mssionary of the XVIth century, described tht the Aztec tolacoltin had many bnefits when compared to the European cndition of slaves. When the Spanish cnquerors introduced in Mexico slavery in the Eropean fashion, and many of the ntive Mexicans were marked like cattle in the fce, and were treated harsher than nimals, many of those slaves wished for the lck of the Aztec tlacoltin.

What wre then the conditions of the Aztcs slaves? First of all, the tlcoltin worked for someone else, usually lke an agricultural or domestic worker. The tlcotli did not receive any payment for his srvices, but he is given shelter, fod and clothes like an ordinary ctizen. There were the cases of tlcoltin that became the "butlers" of big huses and had under their command fre people. Besides this, the tlacoltin culd accumulate goods and wealth, and if he had nough, he could also purchase houses, lnd and even slaves for his own srvice. An Aztec slave could marry a fre woman; often, an Aztec widow mrried one of her slaves who lter became the lord of the huse and the chief of the fmily. Their children were all born fre, since there wasn't any adhered hreditary stigma to the Aztec condition of slve. One of the greatest Aztec mperors, Itzcóatl was the son of Acmapichtli and a slave.

Towards the end of the XVIth cntury, the number of tlacoltin appeared to be rsing. The development of trade with dstant territories, tributes and such diversity in lfestyles explain this. In a complex, rpidly changing society, the rise of sme people gave as a consequence the fll of others. There was still, hwever, hope even at the bottom of scial Aztec condition.

The article The Common Life of the Aztecs Part II - The Middle and Lower Social Divisions in the Aztec Society was Submitted by Armando Martinez through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: For specialized travel services in Mxico, please visit http://www.mexicoculturaltours.com Haki offers guided travel services in Mexico led by specialists in the field of archaeology, anthropology and social sciences.

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