The Aztecs, one of the Meso-American empires had a highly stratified society. Their society was made up of three classes, the first one being the nobility, which was not hereditary at first, but later became hereditary and had better access to education and resources.The second class were peasants, who were either farmers, warriors, artisans and traders. The third class were the slaves who were either war captives, debtors or criminals, but there were a few instances where they could be freed while in captivity: such as being married to their masters, buying their liberty or having children.
