Macehualtin

The mācēhualtin (IPA: [maːseˈwaɬtin]) were the commoner social class in the Mexica Empire.

During the reign of Moctezuma II (1502–1520), they were banned from serving in the royal palaces, as this monarch widened the divide between pipiltin (nobles) and macehualtin.

As Aztec society was in part centered around warfare —every Aztec male received basic military training from an early age—, the only possibility of upwards social mobility for mācēhualtin was through military achievement —especially the taking of captives (māltin [ˈmaːɬtin], singular malli).

References

Hassig, Ross (1988). Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control. Civilization of the American Indian series, no. 188. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-8061-2121-1. OCLC 17106411. 

Hassig, Ross (1992). War and Society in Ancient Mesoamerica. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-07734-2. OCLC 25007991.