EDUCATION IN MESOAMERICA

In Tezcoco and Tenochtitlan, there was always a great concern for the education of the people in general, and thanks to this very important factor, the remarkable political-social organization of both peoples was made possible, enabling them both to become great powers over time.

Early childhood education was the responsibility of the parents, who had to follow the norms of a traditional education based on the sex of their children; it is known that between three and fifteen years of age, education of boys was entrusted to the father and that of the girls to the mother; parents began this educational process at home with the nutritional diet of their young ones.

Through its beautiful pictures, the Codex Mendocino shows us that food rations were given to children of both sexes based on their age. At three years old, children were given half a corn tortilla in their food; from four to five years old, a whole tortilla; from six to 12, one and a half tortillas, and from thirteen years old and onwards, two entire tortillas.

Dress was an important factor in childhood education. Boys until the age of thirteen years old wore a small tunic knotted around the neck above the shoulder, and they did not use a maxtlatl or “loincloth” until they were fourteen. Girls from a young age wore a blouse and a skirt, short at first and longer later as they grew older.

At first, in the early years, parental education was limited to giving good advice and teaching basic household chores. Boys learned to carry water and firewood, accompany their father to the market, or help gather grains of corn scattered over the fields.

From seven years old until they turned 14, boys learned how to fish and guide an Acalii (water house) or canoe over the waters of the lagoon; for their part, girls learned to spin cotton, sweep the house, grind corn and later use the loom.

Children were educated in a simple yet harsh way, as disobedient children were punished by being jabbed with maguey thorns or being forced to breathe the acrid smoke of a fire where red chili peppers had been put to burn.

Subsequently, the education of young people was entrusted to the State through two of its most important institutions: The Calmecac and the Telpochalli.

The Calmecac was a school where the sons of the main lords, or rather merchants’ sons, were trained.

Young people in this institution were consecrated to the cult of Quetzalcóatl and received a higher education that prepared them for the priesthood or for the highest State offices.

Each Calmecac was headed by a Mexicatl Teohuatzin, a kind of vicar general.

The Telpochcalli – boys` home – was designated for the sons of the common people, that is, of the lower class. In it, young men were consecrated to the cult of Tezcatlipoca, in which they received military training and were instructed by the telpochtlatoqueo or teachers.

The Telpochcalli formed average citizens, although this did not prevent some of them from occupying the highest ranks of the ruling class.  In addition, this young people had greater freedom and faced fewer rigors than their counterparts in the other educational institution.