 Extensive trade networks predated the Aztec empire by at least hundreds of years.Local markets where people purchased their daily necessities were known as "tianguis", while a "pochteca" was a professional merchant who travelled long distances to obtain rare goods or luxury items desired by the nobility.The system supported various levels of pochteca - from very high status through to minor traders who acted as a type of peddler to fill in gaps in the distribution system.