Although Aztec architects and artisans relied heavily upon traditional themes and skills of earlier Mesoamerican societies, goldsmiths, weavers, feather workers, and stone sculptors added innovative and original touches to their works. The same is true for Aztec architects and builders who moved beyond tradition to create new forms and styles. When the Aztecs began rebuilding their capital city at Tenochtitlán in the fifteenth century, they adopted many of the architectural features of Tenochtitlán. This once-powerful city located thirty-one miles northeast of Tenochtitlán, had collapsed three centuries or more before the Aztecs came to the Valley of Mexico. The ruined city was revered by the Aztecs as the birthplace of the gods and thus served as a model for the reconstruction of Tenochtitlán.

However, the Aztecs added their own architectural features to traditional designs. One...