Aztec floating gardens in Mexico City (chinampas)

Did you know that the Aztecs created floating gardens called chinampas because they lived on an island in the middle of a lake? The Aztec capital city, Tenochtitlan, had a large population, so to help feed the people in it, the Aztecs used these island gardens to cultivate crops. This form of gardening was important for helping to sustain the Aztec Empire. The Aztecs built canals between the chinampas to navigate between them.

This video looks at the process of building chinampas and growing crops, and the legacy of chinampas today. Chinampas are a great example of Aztec engineering because they transformed an unlikely environment (a lake!) into artificial islands capable of feeding an empire.

Did you know that axolotls were found among the canals too? (See our companion video to learn more about them!    • Aztec culture and axolotls in the can...  )

Want to see chinampas in person? Today, visitors to Mexico City can still experience these floating gardens by visiting Xochimilco. Aboard a traditional trajinera, visitors can see canals and floating gardens. Xochimilco is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its importance.

Speaker: Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank

CHAPTERS
0:00 Introduction to chinampas or floating gardens
0:42 Chinampas, Lake Texcoco, and Tenochtitlan
1:24 Building artificial gardens
1:58 Growing crops
2:16 Natural filters for the environment and axolotls
2:47 Sustainability and food independence
3:26 The legacy of chinampas and modern gardening techniques
3:50 Visiting Xochimilco
4:06 Learning from Chinampas

LEARN MORE
Aztec art playlist:    • Aztec art and history  
Aztec art shorts:    • Aztec art and architecture shorts  
Mexican art playlist:    • Mexican art  
AP Art History Playlist:    • AP Art History List of 250 / AP Review  
Read about Xochimilco as a UNESCO World Heritage location: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/412/

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