When an Aztec was in debt for some reason, he could pay by BECOMING a slave. Other parents sold their older children as slaves, once the younger ones had grown up to contribute to domestic chores.
The slaves, or tlatlacotin, always carried a stick behind their necks as a sign of their condition, which they acquired for debts, crimes, for having been given as tribute by their people, or for having been defeated in the war. The slaves received no remuneration whatsoever and worked as farmers or domestic servants. Women spun, wove or patched for their master. Slaves could have assets and marry a free man or woman. The condition of slave was never hereditary
