30 May 2025 / 10 House
Article suitable for Top Juniors and above
Find out moreWhat did Aztec children wear?
An Aztec (Mexica) boy and girl, from the Codex Mendoza
ORIGINAL QUESTION received from - and thanks to - Cara Nichols: I am learning all about Aztecs at school and my question is what sort of clothes did Aztec children wear? Thank you. (Answered/compiled by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore)
There’s a great source of information to answer this question: it’s the Codex Mendoza, painted by Aztec scribes just after the Spanish Conquest (it has Spanish commentaries written on it), which now lives in the Bodleian LIbrary in Oxford. Its drawings of Aztec/Mexica children at different ages tell us much about their clothing - and about how little these changed as kids grew up! This codex page (see pic 1) shows Aztec (Mexica) children being trained by their parents, from the ages of three to six. Before the age of three, it’s pretty safe to assume that children ran around naked (or at least the boys!). The father teaches his son on the left side of the page, the mother her daughter on the right. You can tell the children are getting older (as you go down the page) thanks to the blue dots representing their ages. it’s interesting to see at the same time the increasing rations given to children according to their age - shown by the tortillas or maize pancakes (these weren’t eaten on their own, BTW, but always with other foods such as beans, chiles and squash).
Already by the age of three the children’s clothing looks like their mum and dad’s. At this point we let Frances Berdan and Patricia Rieff Anawalt - who wrote a splendid commentary on the Codex Mendoza - take over the story:-
’The little boy wears a cape, tied on the same shoulder as his father, but he does not wear a loincloth; the little girl has a ‘huipilli’ [blouse] identical to her mother’s, but wears no skirt. Both the boy and the girl have cropped hair, believed by the Aztecs to be necessary for young children’s health.’
By the age of four -
’although the son is still without a loincloth, the daughter now modestly wears a short skirt in addition to her unbordered ‘huipilli’. Both children are being trained to contribute to the daily work of the household...’
At five -
’the daughter, now wearing a longer, unhemmed skirt, is receiving instruction on the use of the spindle: she crouches down to ground level, where so much of an [Aztec] woman’s work takes place...
Meanwhile, two boys, each clad only in a cape, are sent outside the family home to bring back light loads of needed materials... Here the boys are using their capes to carry the burdens...’
At six the children have even more jobs to do, reflecting their future way of life -
’The daughter, who has now assumed the same posture and ‘huipilli’ as her mother, is beginning to practice the art of spinning... The boys, however, are already being sent out into the busy marketplace to glean whatever the buyers and sellers may have unwittingly dropped or left behind...’
Although some writers suggest sooner, most sources indicate that boys only started to wear a loincloth from the age of 13, entering into adolescence. A short cape tied at the shoulder, however, was definitely the most common piece of clothing for a young Aztec boy.
Girls, on the other hand, wore the usual blouse (huipilli) from a very young age; soon they would add a skirt - though it started short, it quickly dropped down to the ankles as the years sped by.
Learn more about Aztec (Mexica) clothing by looking at our other articles (links below...)
Quotes from:-
The Essential Codex Mendoza by Frances F. Berdan and Patricia Rieff Anawalt, University of California Press, 1997.
Picture sources:-
• Images from the Codex Mendoza (original in the Bodleian Library, Oxford) scanned from our own copy of the James Cooper Clark 1938 (London) facsimile edition
• Pic 2: from Jade precioso pluma de Quetzal by Doris Heyden and Mariana Yampolsky with illustrations by Alberto Beltrán -
http://bibliotecadigital.ilce.edu.mx/sites/colibri/cuentos/mayas/htm/sec_3.htm
• Pic 3: Photo by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore
• Pic 4: Illustration by Alberto Beltrán scanned from The Sun Kingdom of the Aztecs by Victor W. von Hagen (1960)
• Pic 5: photo by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore.
Comments (0)
An Aztec (Mexica) boy and girl, from the Codex Mendoza
More Ask Us Entries
- The colours of maizeDid the Aztecs and Maya believe in predestination?What did the Europeans make of the Aztecs brought to Spain?Is the Templo Mayor the only double shrine?How were disputes settled?Why no backgrounds?What was the Maya moon symbol?Why didn’t most Aztec warriors wear helmets?Why did the Aztecs sculpt goddesses?Why did Aztec priests practice asceticism?Was the Toltec calendar similar to the Mexica?What about cougars?Is Xoaltecuhtli a real Aztec god?Was another layer planned for the Templo Mayor?Did women sing and dance in rituals?Did the Aztecs have organised schools of thought?What about Aztec toilets and bathing together?Did the Aztecs adapt to Spanish tactics?Questions about Aztec warriorsDid Aztec warriors have their own warrior code?Did the Aztecs know about peccaries?Did the Aztecs know soap?A symbol for welcomeAre Toci and Tlazolteotl the same?Aztec fortressesAhuitzotl’s childrenDid the Aztecs have ritual specialists?Tell us more about OpochtliDid the Aztecs use canoes for war?The town of MixtlanWas tobacco a harvest offering?Who was Huemac?Diadem versus feather headdressWhat did the Aztecs think of Venus?Did the Aztecs perform mummification?Did the Toltecs paint codices?What is the origin of the Aztec spirit bird?What were battle formations like?Calendar signs on a chess setAztec stone toolsWhat is the object in Xochipilli’s hand?Did the massacre of Toxcatl affect the Mexica army?Did Tezcatlipoca have four wives?What did noble houses look like?Is this a Nezahualcoyotl poem?What do we know about Teotitlan?The art of magicWhat did heron feathers represent?How did the bridges in the causeways work?How did Spaniards describe Aztec warriors?How bad was it to be under the control of the Mexica?How did the Aztecs write distances?What connects Xiuhtecuhtli, Huehueteotl and Chantico?Itzpapalotl and her Chichimec originsDid spiders have any symbolism?What’s with Ixtlilton?Please describe Aztec sling projectilesWere other animals associated with the moon?What do Quetzalcoatl’s earplugs really look like?The ‘Rise Talokan!’ hand gestureHow did Aztec warriors train?Were fish symbolic to the Aztecs?Did sharks or swordfish symbolise anything?Did crows mean anything to the Aztecs?Did they scar children going to religious school?What rituals accompanied Aztec deaths?Did the Aztecs have anything like the 7 deadly sins in Christianity?What was the average age of an Aztec emperor?What would be the Aztec term for empress?Did the Aztecs refer to Tenochtitlan and Mexico?Did merchants stay at inns?Could priests and priestesses marry?Did codices advise on being a good ruler?Did commoners have access to codices?Did they have a preferred hand for wielding weapons?How did warriors carry weapons?Did Mictecacihuatl have her own temple?What was the symbol for the Mexica themselves?Did the Aztecs use wood saws?Why did Quetzalcóatl and Tezcatlipoca dominate creation?The Mexica war cryA name for the north American continentDeclaring warDid the Aztecs use perfume?How do I choose an Aztec name?Did the Mexica say prayers before hunting?Who created Mictlantecuhtli?Were there initiation rites for new warriors?Did they use cooking fat and earth ovens?What animals were associated with the sun?Were albinos special in ancient Mexico?Is there an Aztec symbol for family?Is sobador (massage) culture prehispanic?What type of war paint did they have?Did the Aztecs practice martial arts?Is any of Cortes’s treasure left today?Everything for sale in the great marketDid Aztec men grow beards?Did all festivals include human sacrifices?What happened to the Culhuas?When does a day ‘start’ in the tonalpohualli?Towns linked by causeways to TenochtitlanThe Aztecs and mental illnessWere all Mexica great astronomers?How did they light their homes?Did the Aztecs hug?The Aztecs and the seaWhat about giants in Aztec mythology?The colour bands on Tezcatlipoca’s faceSacrifice of a Colhua princessAxolotls in Mexica(n)/Aztec mythologyWhat’s the meaning of this statue?Xochipilli and XochiquetzalCommon features of Aztec/Mesoamerican religionWhat was the hairstyle of (seasoned) Aztec warriors?How did commoners address the emperor?Resources on Mexica writingOther examples of Aztec templesIs this tattoo an Aztec eagle?Did the Aztecs convert conquered peoples?What’s painted red on the face of Tenoch?Why no bears in Aztec mythology?Red paint on Aztec stone sculpturesGod figures made of corn stalk pasteComing-of-age ritualsCan you identify this poster?What does Temaxcalapa mean?What evidence is there of human sacrifice?Did the Aztecs have a term for religion?How did the Aztecs get their stones for building?Did the Aztecs use metal spears?What does this Nahuatl saying mean?How did the Aztecs use stars?What happened to the nobility?What did the Aztecs call the Spanish?How did Aztec culture influence their housing?Why did Alvarado massacre the Aztecs?What surgery did the Aztecs practice?What did royal women wear?Were all gods male and female?The feast for XilonenCould you get divorced?What would Cuauhtémoc have looked like?Is Tlaltecuhtli on this ring?Keeping the Aztec army supplied and treating woundsThe Aztecs and dwarfsCan you identify this object?Was Xochiquetzal a female Aztec warrior?Is this the urn with Ahuitzotl’s ashes?Dogs as guides for soulsWar chantsThe clothing of Aztec priests and royalsWhat’s going on in this image from the Florentine Codex?Which feast was dedicated to Chalchiuhtlicue?Royal court musiciansHow did they make colourful costumes?Did the Aztecs use a ‘Mixtec Sabre’?The symbolism of the four directionsWere women stargazers?Turquoise mosaic discMesoamerican tradeWhat happened to the rest of the sacrificed person’s body?Who exactly were the Chichimec people?Is there a name for the Aztec speech glyph?Did the Aztecs paint their canoes?The symbol for turquoiseHow do we know Tenochtitlan had a zoo?Did the Spanish eliminate Aztec song and dance?The tongue hanging out in Aztec artThe 13 heavens and 9 underworldsWhat exactly was a ‘calpulli’?Aztec children’s clothesGood source books on Mexica musicWhere are the codices today?Deerskin strap masks‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’How much gold did the Conquistadores get?Can you translate this poem?The origin of ‘pulque’The eagle and the snake...Many partners or one?Volcano mythsMapsWere war banners sacred or utilitarian?Did war shield symbols represent cities?Symbol for war‘A typical battle’TonantzinThe monkey’s earringDouble-headed serpentWho was Prime Minister at the Conquest?The ‘crying boy’ whistling jugThe wind god’s fanThe symbol for goldAztec gardensMysterious rectangular motifAztec/Mexica clothingCuauhtémoc’s emblemThe ruler’s white dressFood storesThe name Moctezuma todayWho are these 2 gods?Aztec shieldsHow should I start teaching a topic on the Aztecs?How did the Aztecs make molcajetes?Aztec God of Good Health?Why wear headdresses?How big was the Aztec Calendar (Stone)?An image of Citlalicue?Aztec pyramidsPictures of what the Aztecs ateTezcatlipoca or Tezcatilpoca?Sacred birds, flowers and Day LordsAztec symbol for protectorTraditional Náhuatl greetingsChild-friendly sources on the ConquestWere the Aztecs barbaric?What does (my) name Cuitlahuac mean?Ce Acatl Topiltzin QuetzalcoatlWomen and the ConquestMoctezuma’s deathAztec earringsThe Aztec ArmyWhat about Tlatelolco?