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Chinampas
The chinampas were an ingeniously practical and
creative system which makes clear the high technological and agricultural
development achieved by the Mexicas. A variant of the chinampa consisted
of an armature on which layers of mud were accumulated to have arable land
and to provide themselves with food. To secure the chinampa to the subsoil,
stakes or tree trunks called huejotes were set in the ground, and once
they took root, they gave stability to the land. Between the chinampas
there were canals in which water flowed. As we have seen, by way of this
system, the Mexicas won land from the lake. In the zone of Xochimilco these
chinampas may still be seen today.
Last Modified: January 14, 1998.
Museo del Templo Mayor, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e História,
México.
Seminario #8, Centro Histórico. Cuauhtémoc,
México, D.F. 06060
©Copyright
1997
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