Aztec society Aztec society Pre-Columbian Aztec society was a highly complex and stratified society that developed among the Aztecs of central Mexico in the centuries prior to the Spanish conquest of Mexico, and which was built on the cultural foundations of the larger region of Mesoamerica. Politically, the society was organized into independent city-states, called altepetls, composed of smaller divisions (calpulli), which were again usually composed of one or more extended kinship groups. Socially, the society depended on a rather strict division between nobles and free commoners, both of which were themselves divided into elaborate hierarchies of social status, responsibilities, and power.
Goblet (17th - 16th centuries BC, Vanadzor) with tangled edges. Delicate patterns accent the claws, muscles, teeth, eyes, and contoured ears. The line of lions on top and bottom are surrounded by zig-zag delicate engraved belts. The vessel has a handle, as demonstrated by two holes drilled on the stem. Goblet (17th - 16th centuries BC, Vanadzor) The Goblet from the 17th-16th centuries BC was discovered in Vanadzor, Armenia. It is kept in the History Museum of Armenia's collection under the number 1861-1. The goblet is prepared by a gold tin engraving method. It is spherical, with a hollow stem and wide mouth opening. The center of