The Aztecs liked bright colors and they found ways to add color to their clothing. They used vegetables and animals to create dyes for their thread and cloth. Brilliant scarlet came from certain insects that lived on prickly pear cacti. Dyes from shellfish produced rich purples, while indigo from plants dyed cloth dark blue. Depending on how they were used, dyes from brazilwood trees produced red, pink, or coral. Logwood could be used to dye cloth pink, blue, or green. Annatto seeds, from a tropical tree, turned cloth yellow, and iron oxide could be used to create blacks and rusty reds.
The cloth itself was made from agave fiber or cotton. Women spun the fiber into yarn or thread, then wove the cloth into fabric. All women were expected to know how to weave, but skilled weavers and dyers were in high demand.
Aztec commoners and slaves wore very few clothes. Cloth made from agave fiber was cheap, white, and long-wearing. Male slaves might only wear a cloth wrapped around their waist and between their legs, called a loincloth. If a man was a merchant or trader, the loincloth might have colorful embroidery.
Men also wore sleeveless cloaks made from agave for commoners or cotton for the nobility. These cloaks were usually rectangular,
And were sometimes worn by women as well. The cloak was called a tilmatli. Cloaks were dyed an array of different colors.
Hot Chocolate
The word chocolate is probably derived from the Nahuatl word chocolatl. cocoa comes from the aztec word caca-huatl. the original aztec hot cocoa recipe was a mixture of ground cacao beans, water, and chili peppers. it was spicy, not sweet. and it was not always served hot.
The spanish removed the peppers, heated the drink, and sweetened it with sugar. the British made another change—milk replaced the water.
Many garments featured patterns or symbols woven into the fabric. Common symbols included the sun, seashells, fish, feathers, cacti, rabbits, and butterflies.
Women wore skirts (cueitl) that wrapped around their bodies. Loose blouses fell over the skirts. The blouses were sleeveless tunics, called huipilli. Wealthy women wore fancier clothes than poor women. They also had more clothing. Poor people rarely had more than one change of clothing.
Members of the noble class and religious leaders wore clothing that was heavily decorated, though similar in style to the clothes worn by commoners. Symbols of a noble’s position were woven into or embroidered on clothing or in a headdress. Colors symbolized a person’s status, so there were rules about the use of color. Priests wore black or dark green cloth, often embroidered with bones or skulls, symbolizing a priest’s role in human sacrifices. The tlatoani was the only one allowed to wear teal or turquoise (two shades of blue).
Gold, silver, and turquoise were often used to decorate clothing and hair. Nobles wore necklaces, earrings, pendants, and bracelets. The use of feathers, furs, and other forms of decoration was common, but only the highest nobles could wear the brilliant green feathers of the quetzal.
World History
