| Facts about the Aztec Civilization - Economy |
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Facts about the Aztec Empire -Economy In ancient Mexico there existed not one, but several interchange economic systems making one large macro-structure quite complex, each and every one of these methods are worth studying , as they show us a lot of methods modern economy has passed by. One of these systems consisted in the use of several coins that balanced each other, even these coins competed among each other. We will talk about this in the following months, which are cacao (first edible currency, now we can say money is useful for SOMETHING), dust gold in translucent tube, the cotton covers also disserve a special analysis as the small copper axes in shape of a "T", such methods were kept current even in colonial times, as it presented a practical and healthy economic practice, al alternative to the one coin ruled system. In this article about the Aztec civilization, however, for starters, we must talk about the existence of a method that consisted in the interchange of one product for another. This method allowed anyone who had a skill or any kind of good to swap it for any other good or service that was needed at the moment. This way, people could participate in the economic cycle without any money. Great Markets were creates for economic activity, there everything was rigorously regimented so transactions preformed were fair; in the case of controversy, there was a judge in the marketplace, that listened to both parts and determined a verdict. The largest market, possibly on the whole world in those days, was the market in Tlatelolco. Within the market all merchandises that existed were sold, from food, to exotic birds from far away lands, pricey blankets and material for construction. Everything had a determined place, the hygiene and order were zealously preformed. The spirit that guides and takes care of the merchants is Yacatecuhutli, goes along hostile lands and if he sees fit, allows the traveler to return well and with plenty of merchandises. The pochtecas, had their own social and legal order and took care of sending the kingdom's merchandise to far away places and look for products that were not available at Tenochtitlan, their caravans could be constantly seen coming and going to infinite adventures. They were the experts who determined the worth of each product when exchanged for something else, in a constant equilibrium according to supply and demand. In our next issue… we will compare the pros and contras of the ancient economy with the one used today.           |
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