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I am editing Chapultepec Aqueduct

Outline

The Chapultepec aqueduct (in Spanish: acueducto de Chapultepec) is an aqueduct that was built to provide potable water to Tenochtitlan, now known as  Mexico City. This fresh water was transported from the Chapultepec springs, located on the mainland. [1] Two aqueducts following the same route from Chapultepec were built by the Aztecs during the 15th century, the first destroyed by flooding and the second by the Spanish. After the Spanish conquest, a new colonial aqueduct was built, and the remains of the Viceregal era structure are located near Metro Sevilla. [2]

Original Chapultepec Aqueduct

Although the water level under the city of Tecnochtitlan was only 4-5 feet below the surface, the water retrieved was brackish.[3] Shallow wells were constructed, and this water was used for household work. Construction of an aqueduct that would bring fresh water, suitable for cooking and drinking, from Chapultepec springs to Tenochtitlan began in 1418. [4] Construction relied on mud and plant material to create the foundation, which rested on artificial islands that were spread 3 to 4 meters apart.[4] Mounds consisting of mud were constructed on these islands and driven through with a wooden stake for support. The top of each mound had a hollowed out trough lined with with compacted clay, and hollowed out logs were placed in the bottom of the flow path to bridge gaps between the islands. A wooden plank walkway flanked the aqueduct, making it easily accessible and a method of transportation to the mainland.[5] Once the water reached the city, it was delivered through a network of canals that extended in the four cardinal directions and branched off to individual streets, where the water was kept in small reservoirs or directly supplied select homes.[6]

However, the composition of the aqueduct could not withstand the the forces of nature.[4] Erosion weathered away at the compacted clay and in 1449, heavy rains triggered a flood that destroyed the aqueduct and effectively shut down Tenochtitlan for weeks.[7]

Second Chapultepec Aqueduct

After the destruction of the original aqueduct, the engineer Nezahualcoyotl, lead the construction of another water system using sturdier materials following the same route as the original. [8] This aqueduct consisted of two mortar lined troughs made of stone masonry. The addition of the second trough allowed for water to be diverted to the second pipe when maintenance had to be performed on the other. This allowed for a continuous supply of fresh water being delivered to fresh water reservoirs and few private residences. [9] Like the original aqueduct, the second rested on a chain of artificial islands. The pipes were held secure to the islands by wood pilings that attached them to a foundation of sand, lime, and rock[4]. The aqueduct was constructed from wood, carved stone, and compacted soil, wide enough to allow canoes to float on the top. [10]

Colonial Aqueduct

During the Spanish Conquest in 1521, Hernan Cortes discovered the economic and political importance of the Chapultepec aqueduct. In order to weaken the Aztecs and over take the city, he blocked the fresh water supply to the city and eventually destroyed the aqueduct. Shortly after the conquest, he set about dividing land among the conquistadors. He wanted to take the forest of Chapultepec for himself, but Charles V, King of Spain, denied his request and decreed that it and the springs needed to provide Mexico City with potable water and thereby become the property of the city of Tenochtitlan.[4] Construction of a new aqueduct was started under the reigning Viceroy Fernando de Alencastre, 1st Duke of Linares (1711-1716) and was known as the Chapultepec Aqueduct or the Aqueduct of Belen because of the old Belen convent it passed by.[11] Built along the same path as the Aztec engineered aqueducts, it was constructed in using roman architecture, visible in the arches between support pillars. After the 904 arches of the aqueduct were completed, the aqueduct reached a total length of 4663 varas, or roughly 4 kilometers. Only a small section, about twenty-two arches long, still survives today on Chapultepec Avenue near Metro Sevilla. [2] In conquest times, the aqueduct supplied the city with the majority of its freshwater, however, waterborne illness was a concern. In an effort to reduce the possibility of external contamination, iron and lead pipes were installed to replace the open troughs during the 19th Century.[2] These closed off the water from air and outside contaminants, but did not decrease the the number of pathogen related illnesses and death.[12]

The aqueduct passed through what is now Chapultepec Avenue and Arcos de Belen (Arches of Belen) Street. Only a small section, about twenty-two arches long, still survives today, on Chapultepec Avenue near Metro Sevilla.[13] Also surviving are two fountains associated with the aqueduct. The first is found wedged between Chapultepec Park and Metro Chapultepec. Constructed by the viceroy Agustín de Ahumada, this fountain was designed to divert a water to this section of the city. It also served a decorative and historical purpose. However, it is no longer in its original location: it was restored, enlarged and moved to its current location by Roberto Alvarez Espinoza in 1921.[14] The second fountain, Salto del Agua, was built at the intersection of Eje Central and Arcos de Belen Street, where the historic center meets Colonia Doctores and Colonia Obrera. While it is at the original location, it is not the original fountain. It had deteriorated badly, and a reproduction was made by Guillermo Ruiz. The remains of the original are on display at the Museo Nacional del Virreinato in Tepotzotlán.

Peer Review - by K-star

Overall, good start. I didn’t come across any bias or information that sounded fishy. There were a few sentences that didn’t flow right but once more information is added I’m sure it will all go together smoothly. I would go more into detail about the construction process, how many workers it took, and how well it serviced the city. I know this is very specific and hard to find so if there just isn’t information available mention specific things can’t be ascertained by current archeological practices. 6 sources is a good start but keep reaching out, JSTOR (database accessible through mst library) has given me a lot of good sources of information about the Aztecs. The beginning section on the wiki page has a good start but needs to be further expanded as well. Below are some general comments for when I was reading through.

First paragraph – outline

Wiki link the first reference to Tenochtitlan, not the second.

“Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec empire, was built on top of a filled in section of Lake Texcoco”,  seems out of place in the paragraph. You’ve already reference it to give people a way to find more information, acknowledging that it is on top of a filled in lake doesn’t make sense unless it impacts the aqueducts somehow that isn’t mentioned in this paragraph.  

“Two aqueducts were built by the Aztecs during the 15th century. Both followed the same route as the Chapultepec aqueduct from Chapultepec, but the first was destroyed by flooding and the second by the Spanish” – just a small change in sentence structure.

Are there specific names to the three other aqueducts you mention in this paragraph?

Second Paragraph – Original Chapultepec Aqueduct 

This paragraph is a little choppy and needs more transitions between each statement but the content and citations are good. If there is more information on the construction it would be good to add photos and more detailed descriptions on how dirt was moved, how they drove the wooden stakes into the ground, etc.

It might be a long shot but it would be helpful if there was any more information about the flood in 1449. Why was it so destructive, was the aqueduct just destroyed because it was made of mud or was this event a natural disaster event, was other infrastructure destroyed as well?

Third Paragraph – Second Chapultepec Aqueduct

Link Nezahualcoyotl, to the respective wiki page.

“…. same route as the original. [3Herzog] ….” – this citation needs to be fixed

“The addition of the second trough allowed maintenance to be performed while maintaining sustaining the flow of water to the city .”- another change to sentence structure

Again, might be another long shot but do we know where they got the stone or how much was used? How long and wide was the aqueduct? Is the second one still standing, does it still work or sustain villages?

Fourth Paragraph

This paragraph is well written and very detailed. The only thing I found wrong with it is that there is large amounts of information with only one source. I personally have this problem as well in my writing, the best solution is to just find more sources that validate the same information.


-       Good job guys! Very interesting topic.

K-star (talk) 16:16, 20 October 2017 (UTC)

Peer Review by Sustainablility4life (talk) 16:47, 20 October 2017 (UTC)

Peer Review of “Original Chapultepec Aqueduct”

I like how you describe the foundation and materials that were used to build this aqueduct. I think this is important in understanding why the aqueduct was destroyed due to flooding. I agree with the peer review by K-star; I think that adding more information about the flood of 1449 would also aid in describing why the aqueduct was destroyed. Maybe tie that information in with the materials used to better describe how the materials used attributed to the failure during the flood. For example: Was it just the overwhelming amount of water that destroyed it or was it due to inadequate building materials?

Peer Review of “Second Chapultepec Aqueduct”

I like how you compared this second aqueduct to the first to show the improvements made after “lessons learned” from the first aqueduct. I’m not sure if the word “conduit” is the best word to use in the first sentence. I would suggest using a different word: channel, pipe, pipeline, etc. - “After the destruction of the original aqueduct, Aztec engineer Nezahualcoyotl lead the construction of another conduit using sturdier materials following the same route as the original.”

Peer Review of “Colonial Aqueduct”

Overall, I think this paragraph’s content and flow of this paragraph was well done. Below there are just a few places I would add/tweak information to clarify what you are talking about so that someone who isn’t knowledgeable about the subject can better understand the content. The wording just seems odd in the 4th sentence – “Built along the same path as the Aztec engineered aqueducts, it was constructed in using roman architecture, visible in the arches between support pillars.” – I would maybe play around with rewording. I would put in parenthesis what VARS stands for in the following sentence: “After the 904 arches of the aqueduct were completed, the aqueduct reached a total length of 4663 VARS.” This will just make this measurement clearer to a reader who isn’t familiar with the unit. I would also expand or change units of the following sentence “The bacteria count through an open aqueduct in one cubic centimeter of water varied daily from 1000 to 1200 bacteria.” Again, just to clarify what 1000 to 1200 bacteria really means. Does “viceroy” need to be capitalized? – “Constructed by viceroy Agustín de Ahumada, this fountain was designed to divert a water to this section of the city”

Sustainablility4life (talk) 16:47, 20 October 2017 (UTC)

References

  1. ^ Villasenor, Raynal (April 1987). The remarkable hydrological works of the Aztec civilization. Water for the Future:Hydrology in Perspective Proceedings of Rome Symposium IAHS. p. 164.
  2. ^ a b c Humphrey, Chris (2008). Moon Mexico City. Avalon Travel. pp. Page 52. ISBN 978-1-59880-083-8.
  3. ^ Gibbons, Charles (1964). The Aztecs Under Spanish Rule: A History of the Indians of the Valley of Mexico, 1519-1810. Standford University Press.
  4. ^ a b c d e Berdan, Frances (2014). Aztec Archaeology and Ethnohistory. Cambridge University Press. pp. 78–79.
  5. ^ Roca, Zoran (2011). Landscapes, Identities, and Development. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
  6. ^ Aguilar-Moreno, Manuel (03 October 2007). Handbook to Life in the Aztec World. Oxford University Press. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  7. ^ Trowbridge, Edward D. (1919). Mexico To-day and To-morrow. Macmillan. p. 23.
  8. ^ Herzog, Lawrence Arthur (2006). Return to the Center: Culture, Public Space, and City Building in a Global Era. University of Texas Press. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-292-71262-1.
  9. ^ Becerril, Jiménez (March 2007). "Potable water and sanitation in Tenochtitlan: Aztec culture". Water Science and Technology. 7.
  10. ^ "Aztec Empire Strategy: Use Dual Pipes in Your Aqueduct for High Availability - High Scalability -". highscalability.com. Retrieved 2017-10-13. {{cite web}}: no-break space character in |title= at position 64 (help)
  11. ^ Townsend, Mary Ashley (2001). Here and There in Mexico. The University of Alabama Press. p. 275.
  12. ^ Bell, Agrippa. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BACTERIOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE DRINKING WATERS OF THE CITY OF MEXICO: SPRINGS BACTERIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE WATERS OF CHAPULTEPEC. The Sanitarian, Volume 31.
  13. ^ Humphrey, Chris (2008). Moon Mexico City. Avalon Travel. ISBN 978-1-59880-083-8. Retrieved 2008-11-15. Page 52: ...22 of its 904 arches still stand, looking a bit forlorn, along Avenida Chapultepec, near the Sevilla Metro station.)
  14. ^ Prado Nuñez, Ricardo (1965). Catalogo de Monumentos Escultoricos y Conmemorativos del Distrito Federal (in Spanish). pp. 20–23.
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