阿兹特克，或译为阿兹台克、阿兹提克，是一个存在于14世纪至16世纪的墨西哥古文明，创造者是阿兹特克人（纳瓦特尔语：aztecatl或aztecah，“来自阿兹特兰的人”），这个民族的祖先来自北方，一个叫阿兹特兰的土地，后来他们来到墨西哥谷的特诺奇提特兰，创建了雄伟的城市。阿兹特克人十分好战，并有人祭传统。「阿兹特克」一词来自纳瓦特尔语：aztēcah为aztēcatl的众数，即「来自阿兹特兰的人」的意思；然而，阿兹特克人称他们自己为墨西加（Mexìca）或特诺奇卡人（Tenochca）。

阿兹特克文明是世界历史上一个独树一帜的古文明，于15世纪在墨西哥中部创建了帝国。拥有较精确的历法系统；农业方面，灌溉技术发达；经济方面，已经出现了原始阶段的“货币”；宗教神话具有鲜明的特色，且对后世也影响深远；阿兹特克人的建筑技术也非常精湛，能够建造出十分雄伟的建筑，特诺奇提特兰古城便是最好的证明；此外，阿兹特克社会阶级划分森严，并拥有完备的法律系统。

The Aztec (/ˈæztɛk/) people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica from the 14th to 16th centuries. The Nahuatl words aztecatl [asˈtekat͡ɬ] (singular) and aztecah [asˈtekaʔ] (plural) mean "people from Aztlan", a mythological place for the Nahuatl-speaking culture of the time, and later adopted as the word to define the Mexica people. Often the term "Aztec" refers exclusively to the Mexica people of Tenochtitlan (now the location of Mexico City), situated on an island in Lake Texcoco, who referred to themselves as Mēxihcah Tenochcah [meːˈʃiʔkaʔ teˈnot͡ʃkaʔ] or Cōlhuah Mexihcah [ˈkoːlwaʔ meːˈʃiʔkaʔ].