Artist Shows How Aztec Capital Tenochtitlan Compares to Mexico City Today

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to live in the Aztec Empire‘s buzzing capital of Tenochtitlan, at one point one of the largest cities in the world? Well, now you can finally get a glimpse.

Technical artist Thomas Kole just gave the world a never-before-seen treasure. Using “open-source software,” Kole’s new project “A Portrait of Tenochtitlan” shows us what the Aztec capital looked like centuries ago.

The project shows what the buzzing capital of Tenochtitlan looked like circa 1518, shortly before the Spanish conquest. Interestingly, Mexico City was actually built atop Tenochtitlan’s ruins. Now, we can finally compare the modern-day city to what the Aztecs built before on the same land.

As one X user put it, Kole’s project shows us “what the conquest took from us.”

Kole says his 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan is “the result of over 1.5 years” of hard work. The artist created these images using programs like Blender, Gimp, and Darktable, while compiling research from “historical and archaeological sources.” He also enlisted the help of Andres Semo Garcia for drone footage of Mexico City today. Wait for those comparisons, because they’re insane.

In short, the Dutch-born artist said he relied on “the expertise of many” to show us an accurate portrayal of the metropolis. And did he deliver.

The new project “A Portrait of Tenochtitlan” shows what the Aztec capital looked like 500 years ago

First, Kole set the scene by describing what living in Tenochtitlan must have been like around the year 1518. “Tenochtitlan is home to 200,000 farmers, artisans, merchants, soldiers, priests and aristocrats.”

The city that is now Mexico City was once quite different: “Imagine the sound of people speaking Nahuatl, a canoe gliding through the canals,” Kole added. “The people around you are dressed in white cotton and work their fields, cook, trade” all under “the shade of trees and awnings.”

As one X user described after seeing the renderings of Tenochtitlan: “That’s my city. That’s my home. That’s… home.”

As explained by National Geographic, the Aztecs built their capital city on Lake Texcoco, one of the five lakes of the Anáhuac region. Tenochtitlan lay on two islands, composed of chinampas, or islands, they built up on wetlands. Once the Spanish conquered the capital, they drained Lake Texcoco. In fact, much of Mexico City was built where the lake was.

This photo shows Tenochtitlan’s grid layout, which as per Kole, shows how neighborhoods were “planned in advance.”

According to Kole’s research, neighborhoods had their own “markets, schools, and places of worship,” with canals and walkways for transport. It comprised hundreds of temples, and according to The Met, the commoners’ neighborhoods were called “calpulli.”

“Its network of streets and canals teemed with canoes that transported people and goods within the city and across the lake to towns on the shore,” The Met’s researcher Heidi King explained.

Here, you can see the Aztec Empire’s attention to architecture, including its pyramids and temples. You can see how the Sacred Precinct and Templo Mayor were the “epicenter” of Tenochtitlan:

In fact, according to King, the Sacred Precinct served as “the religious and ceremonial center” of the entire empire. Apart from its temples, it also had a ball court, priests’ quarters, and schools. Emperors lived nearby in a palace and you could also find gardens and a zoo.

You can also see an angle of what the nearby city of Tlatelolco could have looked like here:

Also, here is what your view of the Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl volcanoes would have looked like in the 16th century:

And the many towns forming the Aztec Empire, all connected by causeways:

Here is how the Aztec capital compares to modern-day Mexico City

In short, it’s safe to say that Kole’s project is mesmerizing, painting a vivid picture of what living in the Aztec Empire might have been like. Arguably the most interesting part of all of this, though? Comparing the renderings of Tenochtitlan to the city later built on the same land, Mexico City.

As you can see here, Kole gave us a glimpse of what the Aztecs saw while looking west toward Chapultepec:

Meanwhile, he enlisted drone photographer Semo Garcia to take a similar photo of that same angle today:

Here we have another comparison, which gives us a full view of the “island” that once was Tenochtitlan:

Well, unbelievably, that later became what we know as good, ol’ Mexico City:

Similarly, the technical artist also gave us a snapshot of the Downtown area of the Aztec Empire’s capital. Here, you can imagine the bustling tianquiztli, or markets, which later became the tianguis people love to shop at today.

Yes, tianguis actually originated from an Aztec tradition of marketplaces brimming with everything from avocados, to tobacco, feathers, or snow from the Popocatépetl volcano that was made into ice cream.

And yes, that tradition is still alive today with tianguis, and within Mexico City’s historical roots: