Greetings, Mictlan community!
Today we will talk about the macehuales: the base of Mexica society.
Aztec society was strictly hierarchical, divided into clearly defined classes so that individuals would have remained in the social group of their immediate family throughout their lives.
The macehuales were by far the largest section of Aztec society, they were the ones who cultivated the land, those who paid the taxes and reinforced the size of the army.
Aside from the commoner-warriors, the macehual class was further differentiated into class levels. Certain occupations were considered to have higher prestige than others (such as merchants, goldsmiths, and featherworkers). In general, compared with rural farming, all urban occupations were assigned higher status.
Macehuales had a hard and humble life, always working long hours to get by.
In this concept art you can see a young macehual with a mecapal, a container which was widely used in pre-Hispanic times to transport all kinds of goods, goods which would surely be exchanged in the tianguis (open-air market) of Tlatelolco.
We also drew the young boy with a coa, a digging tool that was used for farming and at the time, also as an improvised weapon.
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