Question

How did the Aztecs apply their engineering skills to the challenges of living on an island?

Answer 1

The aztecs were quite notorious engineers who had to adapt to the fact that texcoco valley, their forced homeland was an island.

First of all, the biggest challenge of all was precisely living in a marsh which had no solid ground to use as foundation, however,they came up with a clever solution, They embedded thousands of pillings made of wood into the mud along with obsidians (volcanic rocks) in order to provide strength for the foundations; by doing so, they were able to build Tenochtitlán on top of these bases.

The other engineering challenge for the aztecs was the acueduct which ran nearly 3 miles from the heart of the city to the center of the island.

Such acueduct was built in a similar way, this means, using obsidians and wood pillings as foundations, not to mention, using massive stones brought from the next valley without the help of beasts of burden.

Answer 2

The Aztecs had remarkably impressive engineering skills, which helped them solve many of the difficulties of being located in an island.

One of the greatest examples of this, is the canal they built from the capital of Tenochtitlan, to Chapultepec, which helped them transport fresh water from the shores into the city. It was absolutely essential to their sustainability, as even though they had enough water for agriculture, it was salty water that couldn't be drank.

Hope this helps you out!