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Quachtli
The quachtli was a standardized cotton cloth used as commodity money in Post-Classic Mesoamerica, most notably within the Aztec tributary empire. Etymology A Nahuatl word, it is sometimes written as cuachtli or cuāchtli. Usage The cloth was white and represented a specific amount of labor time. The length and quality also affected the value. Items such as cacao beans and gold dust in clear quills were used to make small purchases, while the use of quachtli was reserved for larger purchases. Such as for the purchase of slaves. In the Tlapa tribute roll, exchange rates included 1 quachtli for 20 cakes of rubber and 112.5 quachtli for 1 warrior costume. The standard of living has been expressed using quachtli, with an estimate saying an individual could live for a year on 20 quachtli. There is little evidence that this cloth was worn. Its monetary usage continued into the early Spanish colonial period See also *Axe-monies *Tilmàtli A ''tilmàtli'' (or ''tilma''; nc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aztec
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl, Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica from the 14th to the 16th centuries. Aztec culture was organized into city-states (''altepetl''), some of which joined to form alliances, political confederations, or empires. The Aztec Empire was a confederation of three city-states established in 1427: Tenochtitlan, city-state of the Mexica or Tenochca; Texcoco (altepetl), Texcoco; and Tlacopan, previously part of the Tepanec empire, whose dominant power was Azcapotzalco (altepetl), Azcapotzalco. Although the term Aztecs is often narrowly restricted to the Mexica of Tenochtitlan, it is also broadly used to refer to Nahuas, Nahua polities or peoples of central Pre-Columbian Mexico, Mexico in the preh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aztec Slavery
Slavery in the Aztec Empire and surrounding Mexica societies was widespread, with slaves known by the Nahuatl word, ''tlacotin.'' Slaves did not inherit their status; people were enslaved as a form of punishment, after capture in war, or voluntarily in order to pay off debts. Within Mexica society, slaves constituted an important class. Description Slavery was not a station one was born into, but a state entered into as a form of punishment, out of financial desperation, or as a captive. The practice consisted of two systems: * Slavery, in the strictest sense of the term * indentured servitude. Aztecs as slave owners Slave owners were required to provide food, water, and shelter for their slaves. Women slave owners exerted much in the way of choice, in regard to slaves. For example, if a woman was widowed, it was not uncommon for her to either remarry one of her husband's slaves, or make one of his slaves her personal steward. The richest merchants in Mexica society were slave ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia are three of the leading rubber producers. Types of polyisoprene that are used as natural rubbers are classified as elastomers. Currently, rubber is harvested mainly in the form of the latex from the rubber tree (''Hevea brasiliensis'') or others. The latex is a sticky, milky and white colloid drawn off by making incisions in the bark and collecting the fluid in vessels in a process called "tapping". The latex then is refined into the rubber that is ready for commercial processing. In major areas, latex is allowed to coagulate in the collection cup. The coagulated lumps are collected and processed into dry forms for sale. Natural rubber is used extensively in many applications and products, either alone or in combination wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tilmàtli
A ''tilmàtli'' (or ''tilma''; nci, tilmahtli, ) was a type of outer garment worn by men as a cloak/cape, documented from the late Postclassic and early Colonial eras among the Aztec and other peoples of central Mexico. Styling The garment was to be worn at the front like a long apron, or alternatively draped across the shoulders as a cloak. It was also frequently used as a carry-all. Significance Several different types of the garment were in use, designed for the various classes in society. Upper classes wore a tilmàtli of cotton cloth knotted over the right shoulder, while the middle class used a tilmàtli made of ayate fibre, a coarse fabric derived from the threads of the maguey agave. It was knotted over the left shoulder. The lower classes knotted the garment behind the neck, where it could serve for carrying. Miraculous image A very famous tilmàtli was that worn by Juan Diego in 1531; according to tradition, an image of the Virgin Mary appeared on it in the p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Axe-monies
Axe-monies (Spanish: ''Tajaderos'') refer to bronze artifacts found in both western Mesoamerica and the northern Andes. Based on ethnohistorical, archaeological, chemical, and metallurgical analyses, the scholars Hosler, Lechtman and Holm have argued for their use in both regions (which are separated by thousands of miles) through trade. In contrast to ''naipes'', bow-tie- or card-shaped metal objects which appear in the archaeological record only in the northern Andean coastal region, axe-monies are found in both Mesoamerican and Andean cultural zones. More specifically, it is argued that the system of money first arose on the north coast of Peru and Ecuador in the early second millennium CE. In both regions, bronze was smelted, likely by family units, and hammered into thin, axe-shaped forms and bundled in multiples of five, usually twenty. As they are often found in burials, it is likely that in addition to their presumed economic use, they also had ceremonial value. Metallur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Americas and having its capital in Mexico City. Its jurisdiction comprised a huge area that included what is now Mexico, the Western and Southwestern United States (from California to Louisiana and parts of Wyoming, but also Florida) in North America; Central America, the Caribbean, very northern parts of South America, and several territorial Pacific Ocean archipelagos. After the 1521 Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire, conqueror Hernán Cortés named the territory New Spain, and established the new capital, Mexico City, on the site of the Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Mexica (Aztec) Empire. Central Mexico became the base of expeditions of exploration and conquest, expanding the territory claimed by the Spanish Empire. With the polit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Standard Of Living
Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available, generally applied to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it is considered to contribute to an individual's quality of life. Standard of living is generally concerned with objective metrics outside an individual's personal control, such as economic, societal, political and environmental matters – such things that an individual might consider when evaluating where to live in the world, or when assessing the success of economic policy. In international law, an "adequate standard of living" was first described in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and further described in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. To evaluate the impact of policy for sustainable development, different disciplines have defined Decent Living Standards in order to evaluate or compare relative living experience. During much of its use in e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aztec Clothing
Aztec clothing is the fiber of clothing that was worn by the Aztecs people during their time that varied based on aspects such as social standing and gender. The garments worn by Aztec peoples were also worn by other pre-Columbian peoples of central Mexico who shared similar cultural characteristics. The strict sumptuary laws present in an Aztec society dictated the type of fiber and ornamentation present in clothing, as well as how that clothing was worn based on class. Clothing and cloth were immensely significant in the culture. Importance of cloth Cloth and clothing were of utmost importance to the Aztec people during the height of the empire. This importance is seen when noting the processes of making the garments and how these fibers were a key part of the social structure of the Aztecs. These assets were paramount in the culture as they served as both an essential market good and a significant tribute item. As discussed by scholar Ross Hassig, the ''Codex Mendoza'' denote ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mexican Cotton
''Gossypium hirsutum'', also known as upland cotton or Mexican cotton, is the most widely planted species of cotton in the world. Globally, about 90% of all cotton production is of cultivars derived from this species. In the United States, the world's largest exporter of cotton, it constitutes approximately 95% of all cotton production. It is native to Mexico, the West Indies, northern South America, Central America and possibly tropical Florida. Archeological evidence from the Tehuacan Valley in Mexico shows the cultivation of this species as long ago as 3,500 BC, although there is as yet no evidence as to exactly where it may have been first domesticated. This is the earliest evidence of cotton cultivation in the Americas found thus far. ''Gossypium hirsutum'' includes a number of varieties or cross-bred cultivars with varying fiber lengths and tolerances to a number of growing conditions. The longer length varieties are called "long staple upland" and the shorter length varie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exchange Rate
In finance, an exchange rate is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another currency. Currencies are most commonly national currencies, but may be sub-national as in the case of Hong Kong or supra-national as in the case of the euro. The exchange rate is also regarded as the value of one country's currency in relation to another currency. For example, an interbank exchange rate of 114 Japanese yen to the United States dollar means that ¥114 will be exchanged for or that will be exchanged for ¥114. In this case it is said that the price of a dollar in relation to yen is ¥114, or equivalently that the price of a yen in relation to dollars is $1/114. Each country determines the exchange rate regime that will apply to its currency. For example, a currency may be floating, pegged (fixed), or a hybrid. Governments can impose certain limits and controls on exchange rates. Countries can also have a strong or weak currency. There is no agreement in the econ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commodity Money
Commodity money is money whose value comes from a commodity of which it is made. Commodity money consists of objects having value or use in themselves (intrinsic value) as well as their value in buying goods. This is in contrast to representative money, which has no intrinsic value but represents something of value such as gold or silver, in which it can be exchanged, and fiat money, which derives its value from having been established as money by government regulation. Examples of commodities that have been used as media of exchange include gold, silver, copper, salt, peppercorns, tea, decorated belts, shells, alcohol, cigarettes, silk, candy, nails, cocoa beans, cowries and barley. Several types of commodity money were sometimes used together, with fixed relative values, in various commodity valuation or price system economies. Aspects Commodity money is to be distinguished from representative money, which is a certificate or token which can be exchanged for the un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quill
A quill is a writing tool made from a moulted flight feather (preferably a primary wing-feather) of a large bird. Quills were used for writing with ink before the invention of the dip pen, the metal- nibbed pen, the fountain pen, and, eventually, the ballpoint pen. As with the earlier reed pen (and later dip pen), a quill has no internal ink reservoir and therefore needs to periodically be dipped into an inkwell during writing. The hand-cut goose quill is rarely used as a calligraphy tool anymore because many papers are now derived from wood pulp and would quickly wear a quill down. However, it is still the tool of choice for a few scribes who have noted that quills provide an unmatched sharp stroke as well as greater flexibility than a steel pen. Description The shaft of a flight feather is long and hollow, making it an obvious candidate for being crafted into a pen. The process of making a quill from a feather involves curing the shaft to harden it, then fashioning its tip ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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