Perhaps the most surprising thing encountered by the European explorers of the North American continent was the massive Aztec civilization in modern-day Mexico. The Aztecs are essentially the "grandparents" of today's Mexicans. Based largely in the desert, the Aztecs built their empire around their main city of Tenochtitlan, which was on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco. Imagine your utter shock, as a "sophisticated European", when you "discover" such a modern empire in the middle of such savage surroundings! The Aztecs quickly became the prize for Hernan Cortes. He and his men took down the Aztecs intentionally (warfare) and unintentionally (smallpox) by 1521.
For this week's blog, spend at least thirty minutes perusing this website. Be sure to spend some time on each of the links located on the left-hand side of the page (Timeline, Food, Art etc.). In the comments section, discuss what you found was the most interesting part of the Aztec culture. Remember to conclude your comments with your (word count in parentheses).
My most interesting part in this topic was the Aztec religion. It took the gods five times to create the world. The gods were Tezcatlipoca, Nanauatl, Ehecatl, and Quetalcoatl. These gods believed they had to sacrifice themselves in order to create the world. The religion was mainly focused on keeping nature in balance. The people were very afraid of the end of the world, but helped keep the sun strong so that the problem could be avoided every 52 years.
ReplyDeleteTo pay the gods for their sacrifices, they would give their blood to them, and give animal and human sacrifices. The Aztec religion's world was divided into 4 groups, the heavens into 13 layers, and the and the underworld into 9 layers. Overall, the Aztec religion is a very complex society, but very interesting. (135)
ReplyDeleteI think that it is very interesting that they fall of the empire was some-what their fault. They thaught they were doing good by making human sacrafices, but really it contributed to the problem. But then again, people get wiped out pretty fast by diseases. Especially when the area isnt very sanitary. I also find it intersting that they also grew maize. It seems like people from around that time period were all reallly good at growing maize, or pretty much any type of
ReplyDeletecrop. What is also very interesting is that husbands has more than one wife. It mentioned that the ones with more wives and kids were normally the most wealthy. Personally I would think they would be on the poor side because they had more people to feed, clothe, etc. But then again that meant they had more jobs in the family. Either prospective make since to me though. (123 words)
ReplyDeleteThe Aztec empire was a great one. They eat some of the very same food as we do. For instance, they eat maize which is similar to corn. They ate beans and corn for a lot of if not most of their meals. I'm sure this was probably a better diet than we have as Americans. I wouldn't be surprised if they were a lot thinner than we are. Another interesting part of their empire was their clothing. The men wore cloaks and the women skirts. They had slaves so their slaves just wore thin cloaks. The upper class, merchants, and military all had their 'costumes' to wear for their 'ranking'. The Aztecs worshipped five gods whereas we worship only one. (117)
ReplyDeleteThe most interesting thing on here to me was this game calle ullamaliztli. It is a form of basketball. There was a big giant rubber ball and you tried to get it I'm this stone hoop. The people wore deer skin protection but after the game was over they still had bruising and some even had blood. The game represents the battle between day and night. This was the most important and dangerous game of the Aztecs. I think if we had this game I would play it if I didn't get bruised and bloody!!!! This seem very fun to play. (101)
ReplyDeleteA very interesting thing to me was the games. Their religion had a part in their games many of times which I find interesting. It said that it would sometimes be apart of their beliefs or rituals. One game, Ullamaliztli, reminded me of basketball in a way. There are two rings, which reminded me of hoops but they are sideways and the whole is much smaller. They tried to get a rubber ball through the rings. The ball weighed about nine pounds, which is very heavy for a game. This game had religious ritual significance in it. It was supposed to represent the ball court of heaven. That seams very weird to me. The Aztecs had a lot more games. Children used bows and arrows, which kids still do today. Adults would have ritual battles because they considered that entertainment. I found their games very strange but interesting.
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ReplyDeleteThe Aztec had many different weapons. Their weapons ranged from slings to Maquahuitl. The Maquahuitl is the one I think is the coolest weapon there is. It was a piece of wood with lava rock or flint that was sharpened. That would hurt if you got hit by it. The other weapon that interests me is the atlas. We learned about it last year and I just really like the idea. It’s really just a hand held catapult. I have always had a fascination for catapults. I just think they are cool. They fling stuff so far. You can shoot stuff further than you can usually through them.
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ReplyDeleteAztec art was influenced by a long history of many different tribes. Techniques and themes in ancient Aztec art had hundreds, maybe thousands, of years of artistry it was influenced by. Common people couldn't even own art unless they created or sold art. Animals, religion, and Aztec symbols were often used themes of art. Clothing, architecture, headdresses, and ceremonial knives were beautified by adding jewels and feathers. Noble families even had ear pieces, bracelets, and necklaces. Statues, Aztec masks, pottery, shields, knives, carved pillars, and painted walls are all examples of commonly used forms of art. Some materials used to make Aztec art are gold, silver, copper, jewels, feather, coral, clay and stone, but those are just a few. The most interesting part of Aztec art to me are the mosaics, beautiful patterns or pictures made by arranging small colorful pieces like stone tile or glass. (146)
ReplyDeleteThe most interesting thing that I read in the article was that the Aztecs believed that it took their gods five times to create the world. The reason for this is that they were fighting. The first creator, Tezcatlipoca, got knocked down from his position and turned into a jaguar and destroyed the earth, and later they were able to create the world. The gods had to take turns being the sun, so eventually they decided that one god would have to sacrifice himself to become the sun. When one god, Nanauatl, sacrificed himself, he wasn’t moving, so all the gods had to sacrifice themselves. The Aztecs believed that they would have to help the sun because it was weak. They also believed that they would need to keep nature balanced. If they didn’t, the sun could stop moving and the light and dark would fight, and someday the light would lose. (143)
ReplyDeleteThe most interesting topic to me was what the Aztecs believed in. They thought that it took the gods five times to create the world. The first creator, Tezcatlipoca, turned into a jaguar and destroyed the world,then world was created and then destroyed with wind, and then two floods happened. Then they had to create the sun. The gods took turns being the sun. Nanauatl sacrificed himself to be the sun. This worked,however, the sun was not moving. So all of the gods sacrificed themselves to make the sun moved. But what I thought was the most interesting part about their religion was how they thought people were made. People had been made before so Quetzalcoatl went to the underworld and got their bones but he tripped and all of the bones broke. He used his blood and mixed the blood and bones together. And that is why humans are all different sizes. [155]
ReplyDeleteThe thing I found most interesting was the Aztec empire was actually a three way alliance with two other cities. The three cities were Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopa. Other conquered cities citizens were allowed to stay in that city as long as they paid taxes to the empire. The capital city was Tenochitlan. It was surrounded by a lake and was primarily a military city. The other cities were more of economic cities. The Aztec empire at its height was one of the most advanced civilizations of its time. They had their own number system and currency. The military was unrivaled in the region. 104
ReplyDeleteThe thing I found that was cool was the warriors. The warriors trained all their lives to be in the army. When they finally trained they had to capture a prisoner to become a warrior. When the Aztecs went to war they walked. Sometimes they would walk twenty miles. There were different rankings for warriors, the higher the rank got they wore costumes and flowers.
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting part was their religion. The Aztecs thought their gods made the earth multiple times. Then they destroyed it. Finally all the gods had to be sacrificed to make the world. So the Aztec people feel they have to sacrifice blood to their gods for payment. They then go and capture people to sacrifice to their gods.
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ReplyDeleteI found the Aztec religion most interesting because at first the gods thought they would only have to sacrifice the one god to become the sun. When nothing happened, they realized they would all have to sacrifice themselves. I also like the different types of gods they had:
ReplyDeleteTezcatlipoca was the first sun god. He was the god of the night. When Tezcatlipoca was thrown out of the sky by his enemy, he turned into a jaguar and destroyed the world.
Quetzalcoatl was Tezcatlipoca’s enemy. When he threw him out of the sky he atomically became the next sun god. Although the feud continued, and the jaguar knocked Quetzalcoatl out of the sky. Then a great wind caused destruction to the earth.
The third god was Tlaloc. Even though he was the god of rain, Quetzalcoatl wasn’t happy and made fire rain down on the earth, ending Tlaloc’s rein of power.
Tlaloc’s sister, Chalchiuhtlicue, was the first goddess. She was chosen by Quetzalcoatl. Chalchiuhtlicue was the goddess of water, lakes, and streams. Again the fighting up roared and the earth was again destroyed by floods.
By then no other god wanted the job. Probably because everyone died. So they formed a council and the gods decided that they would sacrifice one god to be the sun forever. The gods created a giant fire and the one who would be the sun had to jump in. They chose two gods to pick from. When one of the gods resisted jumping, the other one jumped instead. Feeling prideful the one who hesitated jumped in after him. The other gods didn’t like the thought of two suns, so they threw a rabbit in the second ones face and he became the moon. Cursed to follow the sun forever.
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One of the most interesting pieces of the Aztec culture to me was the religion. They center everything they do around their religion. When they go to war, they capture prisoners to sacrifice to their gods. (which I personally think is discusting!) When they go to school they learn about all the different gods and how they have to do with life. For Pete's sake even chocolate had something to do with the gods! They live terrified that if they do one tiny little thing wrong, the whole world will end! It reminds me of "step on the crack, break your momma's back" only ALOT more intense. (107)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of that website was the sacrificing. I think it is really cool and mean. I think it is interesting that people actually believed they should do that to make their “gods” happy. I have been to Mayan ruins in Belize, and the tour guides told us that we were standing in the very spot that they probably sacrificed people. I guess that is the reason why I like it so much. I also think it is interesting that the Aztecs thought that sacrificing people or animals could keep the sun moving that way the world would not end for them. (103)
ReplyDeleteI found the art and the games both equally interesting. The art was so interesting because the sculptures were so realistic and well-done. The paintings themselves were reflections of the culture itself and their beliefs, which basically meant it was almost all about the animal forms of their gods. The games were so fascinating because there was actually a god of games (Huitzilopochitli) which the people would build a shrine to and then subsequently built a ullamalitztli court next to it. The Aztecs were very serious about their ball game. In fact, the court itself was made to parallel the court where the sun passed in night in the underworld. The game illustrated a clash of day in night in which the ball represented the head of a sacrificed victim. Sometimes a person of the losing team, and possibly the rest of the team too, would get sacrificed. Although some say it was the other way around, and the winning team got sacrificed because it was a supposed honor to be sacrificed. The game itself would be fun if it weren’t for the sanguinary history. Maybe one day we could visit the museums in Mexico and see some of their art and visit the ancient ullamalitztli courts!
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My favorite part about the Aztec Empire was the lives of the soldiers. People nowadays have plenty of time to prepare to go to war but the Aztec warriors had to leave their wife and kids and everything at the drop of a hat. Just thinking about the sacrifices they made for their family is amazing and I would never have the guts or bravery to do that. I have a new found respect for them and what they did.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that interested me about them was that the normal person's life expectancy was about 37 years old; think about the life expectancy for a soldier! All I have to say is that i will never look at a soldier the same way again because they could lose their life at any second during battle and they do it so we can live freely.
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The thing that interested me most about the Aztec was their music. They had different genres of music like we do today. There were sacred hymns that were sung to either thank the gods for what they had done or ask the gods for something like rain. Canteres were sung specifically at times of battle. Aztec music was a combination of vocals, instruments, and dance.
ReplyDeleteAn important instrument to the Aztec was the drum. They had different types of drums. There was a drum called the ayotl that was made out of a turtle shell. They also had different types of flutes. The Aztec used rattles, snail horns, and conch horns in their music.
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