General Aztecs Maya Tocuaro Kids Contact 19 Mar 2024/2 Death
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Our In-House Team

Question for July 2006

Did the Aztecs have different types of chewing gum to today’s? Asked by Oak Farm Junior School. Chosen and answered by Our In-House Team.

Sticky ‘chicle’ -
Sticky ‘chicle’ - (Click on image to enlarge)

Yes!! Theirs was ‘the real thing’, home made, organic, tasty and used not just for chewing... The full story is told in our major feature on chewing gum ‘Stricty tzictli - sticky chicle!’ (try saying that 3 times quickly!) in our ‘Aztec Artefacts section. There’s a direct link below.

- strictly ‘tzictli’
- strictly ‘tzictli’ (Click on image to enlarge)

The feature is in two parts, and covers the history of chewing gum, the Aztec recipe for it, its different uses and exactly how it’s made today (the natural way) in Mexico. ‘Tzictli’, by the way, is the Nahuatl (Aztec) word for gum, and ‘chicle’ is the modern (Mexican) Spanish word.

Our special feature on the Aztecs and chewing gum (part 1)

Our In-House Team has answered 25 questions altogether:

Did the Aztecs have different types of chewing gum to today’s?

Did the Aztecs have a god of snow?

Which parts of the Day of the Dead festival go back to the Aztecs?

Why did they put holes [gaps] in the [upright huehuetl] drums?

Was Snake Woman an Aztec empress?

How big was the Aztec army?

Did they have First Aid?

Which pet was the Aztecs’ favourite?

Why did they call them ‘chinampas’?

Did the Spanish have an interpreter when they conquered the Aztecs?

Which was the Aztecs’ most fearsome weapon?

Why was the Sun God called Tonatiuh?

Did they send post (mail)?

Did they have the same seasons as we do?

What did they do with the shells of armadillos after eating the meat?

Why didn’t Aztec houses have doors?

Which was the biggest group [job sector] in Aztec society?

Why is it better to support loads on the forehead and not on the shoulders?

When children were punished, how long were they held over smoking chillies for?

What was the Aztecs’ greatest fear?

Why did the Aztecs believe gold was the poo of the Sun God?

Is it a dragon in the Wind sign on the Sunstone?

Why did they believe the earth is a turtle?

How did the Maya carve jade masks?

When the Aztecs prayed at home round the fire, did they put the fire out at night when they went to bed?

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