It's the 16th century, people are getting richer, they're living more connected lives, and all I can do is whine about how much better the old days were. What am I, your grandpa? Let's get festive! Woo! Ha! Intro So the Aztecs weren't the first impressive polity in Mesoamerica, that honor would go to the Olmecs or the Mayans, but they were probably the greatest. The Aztecs formed out of an alliance of three major cities in modern day Mexico in about 1430, just 89 years before Cortes and his conquistadors showed up.