The Aztecs were people who warred, sacrificed and lived a life of farming.
Not too much is really known about the Aztecs, because nothing was written down. Everything has to be gleaned from their buildings, burials and decorations. Of course, it's difficult to make educated guesses, so archaeologists must be careful to remain as non-ethnocentric as they can. It's easy, however, to draw conclusions about another culture by judging it with your own. The eight square mile ancient city of Teotihuacan near Mexico City has revealed numerous interesting things. Most notably, the burials. There are two major pyramid structures, the Ppyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. Extensive excavations of the Moon Pyramid have provided a lot of burials, almost certainly sacrifices due to decapitations and bound hands, around the structure. The bodies were decorated with jewelry and left with offerings, presumably to satisfy the gods.
What we can't tell, however, is what the day to day life was like. Archaeologists have told us that the city subsisted on agriculture and had a rain water channel beneath the main avenue, so we can tell the residents were knowledgable about farming. Examination of the skeletons can tell more about their diet and health, but once again, care must be taken. What if these sacrifice victims were either starved for a while or fed really well? That might give a false indication of the average citizen.
It's always far easier to have something written down, but by using deduction, common sense and experience, can still give insight into a lost culture.
