Welcome to US History for the 2015-2016 School Year! I am very excited to be your teacher this year and am looking forward to our journey. We are going to be learning A LOT over the next nine months and a major part of your education will be this blog. Every Monday a new post will appear. Follow the directions. Watch the videos. Read the articles. Think critically about what you are learning. Then, by Sunday at 11:59PM, post a 100 word comment in the Comment Section. This post will be a quiz grade every week, so don't forget!
We will start with the question: "What was America like before it was America as we know it?". The answer is that it was very diverse and filled with millions of native tribes and cultures. One of the most fascinating were the Aztecs. They dominated the Mexico region of North America for centuries before being wiped out by Hernan Cortes in the 1500s. Visit this website to learn more about this culture.
For the comment section this week, I want you to debate the following statement: "Prehistoric cultures were not sophisticated. They had no technology, culture, belief systems or entertainment. They were basically cavemen." Is this true? Use the Aztecs, and the info you learned from this site, as proof for your answer.
I personally believe that the Aztecs were complete geniuses, in the way of architecture in particular. When the Europeans first came to Mexico, and saw the things that the Aztecs had built, they thought that the Aztecs had architectural skill that rivaled the wonders of Greece and Rome. However, in addition to architectural knowledge, the Aztecs also had knowledge of the stars.
ReplyDeleteThe Aztecs were incredibly knowledgable of the heavens for their time, but they most likely based a lot of their astronomical knowledge on the research of the Mayans, who came before. With that, the Aztecs were able to build upon that knowledge, could predict the moon cycles, and even predicted the end of the world. Their theory was, of course, wrong, given that I'm typing this nearly three years after the supposed end.
Given their immense understanding of complicated things, such as math, astronomy, etc., I'm going to go with genius, not barbarian.
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DeleteI personally believe that the the Aztecs are very much genuine geniuses. From their architecture to their food and clothes. Not to mention their art and jewelry! Some people think they were completely dumb and lazy. That is most certainly not true, at all. They were extremely hard working people. They made jewelry by hand for one. They farmed and tended to their animals and several children. But one thing I do not like about this people group is that one husband can have multiple wives. This is totally wrong in my opinion. Plus a 20ish year old man could marry a teenage girl. But all together they were an amazing group of geniuses.
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ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the Aztecs were smart in some ways, but also had rather unintelligent theories. For example, the Aztecs though the eagle with a snake in its mouth sitting on top of a cactus was a sign from their God. Obviously, it was some nerdy guy who has no idea about religion. However, the Aztecs were able to successfully able to come up with inventions, and to remain active for a while. The Aztecs were a culture of war, and fought to conquer. And defend. They also had inventions and system that helped their culture. These are my thoughts and opinions on the Aztecs.
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Comment by Adam; username does not display my name.
ReplyDeleteI think that the aztecs were definitely genius's. One reason was because of their highly advanced architectural skill. They also built huge temples over 195 feet tall. The Aztecs also were very fierce warriors, so taking over other neighboring tribes wasn't an issue. They were so smart they came up with their own jewelry, games, art, weapons, tools, calendar, religious teachings, government, language, maps, clothing, and culture all together. The stars and sky were also a big fascination to the Aztecs. They had many gods for these things like Tlaloc the sun god and Chalchihuitlicue the moon god. One of the most impressive things about them is their calendar. It was a massive carving weighing around 25 tones. This was a big improvement as it was their first calendar. So in my opinion, I think that the Aztecs were indeed (evil) geniuses.
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The Aztec people where once nomadic and did not have a home until after they saw a sign from their sun god. There first city was The city of tenochitlan and they became a great empire which was ruled sadly by fear and also Became the largest city in the whole world. After a few years the Aztecs began to make alliances with neighboring cities one was called texcoco and the other one was called Tlacopan. The Aztecs where known for there military power and there large cities and they where also known for their Conquering of other cities, but not all cities went by force.
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DeleteActually, the Aztec were extremely sophisticated, had entertainment, and were successful. The Aztecs were great with building, fighting, making jewelry, and doing art. Their art was life like, creative,passionate, and had shown expression. Their art was actually pronouncing the person/animals death, but they didn't want to show it, they wanted to show the feelings in death and the life.
ReplyDeleteAztecs were amazing with jewelry. Their jewelry was so fascinating it was on the level of upper class. The nobles, , and even the emperor would wear their jewelry. They made their jewelry out of many materials, such as copper, gold, silver, wood, rocks, clay, obsidian, and feathers.
Aztecs were smart with their building too. They would make homes, temples, mounds, and figures, and such as.
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I believe that the Aztec civilization was very advanced. Not only did they go from nomadic to having an empire, they also had tons of knowledge about the stars. Some people think that because they didn't have a set amount of money that people had to pay for taxes, that means that they were not smart, but I don't think so. The Aztec people knew how to run their civilization, and they ran it well, so in my opinion, that doesn't matter. They achieved some amazing things, such as the 365 day calendar with 52 weeks and 4 seasons. I don't see how anyone that wasn't a genius could do that.
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I personally believe that's the Aztec empire knew a lot more than the other groups did. If you were a girl you were taught how to cook, clean, and take care of a family. If you were a boy you went to school, and got educated. Then when you became a teenager girls would get married, or stay in the temple and work, and if you were a boy you would go into the military or start your trade. I personally believe that they were not like cavemen. I believe this because you don't have to have technology to learn.
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America before “America” was very different from I think most people think it would be . It is very hard to tell, because we don’t have much reported history we really only have artifacts. But there are a lot of things we do know . for instance we know that the people who came over from Asia came but we don’t exactly know how , there are many theories . The people who came over did not just stay in a big group even if they traveled in a large group. Just like us certain people like certain things . So the people who liked the cold stayed up in the north , and the people who liked the heat went down to the south . when the split up they split up into tribes or groups like the Mayas , Olmec and Aztec . The aztec was one of the largest groups , they lived where present day Mexico is . Because they were such a large group they had to provide food for a lot of people . They planted crops like beens squash and corn , corn was the most helpful it was used to make tortillas , bread , corn on the cob and much more . The men hunted when they were not off to war or training . To become a worrier you had to go through training and you had to be 15-50 years of age . Some men did not have to go to war , because they were getting married . Mostly twenty year olds were marring teens . These families were very religious . There religion stated that it took five tries to creat the world , witch is not true . But one of the sad things that still keeps happening in this world today is a group called the Hernan courts wiped the Aztecs out , and know it does not exist I think that the America before “America” was good but I also think they made mistakes , just like we do it was very different . They had to work for everything they wanted , but on the other hand they had lots of unnecessary wars . But any country that or world you start or live in or even just here about will never compare it to our home in haven ! I think America before was a lot different but I think it was a great place comparing it to the world we live in now. Word count : 402
ReplyDeleteWell these people where not dumb but they where not the type of smart we are today. All of that manly has to do with they didn't have technology and we do have it. Most of the people who moved down to this part where stronger because, they had to walk farther
ReplyDeletethan some of the others had to walk, but they got the the more beautiful place and more warmer people. Also if some of these people didn't come and move into this part than most of us would not be here today. But since they did not have not technology the projects they did where a lot harder to do because they did not have cranes or other machines to help them, but they did have people who could do the hard work. Which would replace all of the technology. I think this was good because everything was more talked through during that time than in our time because we can look it up on google. But they where definitely not cavemen.
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The Aztecs were nomadic and in a sense barbaric but, later on they became geniuses. Their Capitol was called Tenochitlan and was one of the biggest cities in the world at the time. Considering that they built such a large city without our modern-day conveniences and tools. They defiantly had some brains. They also had their own alphabet and of course a language. The language they invented and spoke was called, "Nahuatl". People in Cemtral Mexico have been speaking similar languages since probably about 1400 years ago. And the fact that the Aztecs ancestors have built cities and created languages before 600AD they definitely are geniuses.
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I believe that the Native Americans were in fact genius. I believe this because they did may things and some of them were actually brilliant. For example the quipus this what they used to track how much food or cattle they had and stuff like that. I actually think the only reason we believe that they were barbaric is because they don't do things the same that we do things today. But they were very creative and sometimes creativity is brilliant. This is because they can think of different ways to do things we do today. They did many things differently then us but they found ways to do the things we do today. Like how we have a calendar they had one to and they may look different but they do the same thing.
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Is this about "Native Americans" in general OR the Aztecs specifically? Besides "quipus", you don't mention anything specific about the Aztec civilization.
DeleteI think the Aztec group is a amazing group of people. Their Empire was organized and strong, but ruled with great fear. There families where amazing the husband was in his early 20s and the wife was in her mid-teens. They grew the same crops as the other groups. There art influenced by hundreds, perhaps thousands of years of artistry in this part of the world. There jewelry has fascinated everyone who has had the chance to see it. The artist carved the Aztec calendar stone in 1479. It was dedicated to the sun god. There clothes were loose fitting. There temples were called God- houses by the Mexica. I think this was an amazing group they were very smart but fearful.
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I think that the Aztecs were a group of very smart people. They were for sure nothing like cavemen. They had their on ways of doing things and that's how they did it. They were all very smart and did everything in their own way which is great. They ran a great civilization at the time they were in. These people are a very great group of smart people. They knew had to make buildings, make jewelry, and so much more. The Aztecs were very fascinated with the stars and something about a moon god. I think an interesting thing about Aztecs was that they made the calendar I mean it's pretty impressive to make something like that.
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The Aztec people group is a very unique group of people. Like most cultures they were nomadic at some point but not through out their whole rein. They we people of great creativity. They made basically everything that they had and owned. They planted and hunted their food and drunk mostly water. Me personally could not live during this time because I am used to going to the store and them having everything that I need and to make it even worse I have bugs and the outdoors. Most people think that nomadic people were stupid and not capable of doing great things but the Aztecs have proven them wrong.
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DeleteI believe that the Aztecs were much more than just cave men. They may not have had technology, or entertainment but they did have Jobs and school to go too. Once they boys got out of school, they would learn to hurt and take care of their family, (not let them get hurt) which was a very big job back them. The women learned to make jewelry, cook, clean, and take of your family physically. I think the Aztecs had a lot more too do then just sit around and do nothing. Yes they may have not had they technology like we have today, but they definitely were not just cave men.
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Alyssa DeBolt
ReplyDelete"Prehistoric cultures were not sophisticated. They had no technology, culture, belief systems or entertainment. They were basically cavemen." Is this true?
Well, if you start with the beginning of the Aztec history , they found there way to a place and built a settlement without paper instructions, or something maybe you would find on your phone.
I don't think they really needed high tech technology to do incredible things.
Each decision was ruled by religion. They had the technology of books which does greater things and keeps them smarter. Family was permeated by religious beliefs. The Aztec's seemed to farm and plant things and one of the main things they planted was maize ( A type of corn ). They also planted beans and a few other things without online recipes. They had weapons that worked well without the technology we have today. Maybe they didn't have the same technology as we did, but they definitely aren't any less smart.
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Ancient civilizations were in no way caveman like. They were instead advanced people groups, and one of the best examples is the Aztec civilization. They played many games such as the famous ullamaliztli game. In this game players on both teams try to get a ball through a stone hoop. However, the ball was not allowed to touch the ground and the players couldn't even use their hands! This lead to many players diving onto the ground to keep the ball in the air. Scholars also believe that the losers were sacrificed to the gods, but another theory is that the winners were sacrificed, due to sacrifice being honorable. Also, the Aztecs religion wasn't caveman like at all! They had beliefs that the world was created five times and each time the sun gods took turns being the sun. They also believed the last time humans were created, the god who created them descended into the underworld to retrieve their bones, however on his way out he smashed the bones and that is why people are different sizes! So the evidence clearly shows that the ancient civilizations were advanced and not simple cavemen.
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ReplyDeleteI think that the Aztecs were very smart. They worked hard and they also made some intelligent discoveries. I also think they enjoyed their time and used their time wisely. They did the best they could to entertain themselves without having electricity. Their entertainment might not be the same as ours, but it wasn't stupid or weird. And as for culture, their culture was very different then ours, but that doesn't make is necessarily bad. I think that having different cultures isn't such a bad thing. I mean, their lives were so different back then, there is no possible way their culture could be like ours. I think we are very fortunate to live the lives we live. We have electricity, plumbing, air conditioning, and much more. Our lives might be different then the Aztecs lives, but that doesn't make them cavemen, or even any lower than us.
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I do think that the Aztecs were total geniuses. They were smart in some ways. Even though that they had no technology, they were still very smart people. The Aztec Empire was once Nomadic. The city of Tenochtitlan was going to be one of the largest cities in the world. The Aztec Empire was organized and strong, but it had also ruled with fear. They were very educated and they even knew how to build temples over 195 feet tall, homes, mounds, and other things. They were very good fighters/warriors. Their known for their strong military power. I personally do not think that they were caveman, and I also do think that they were sophisticated. The jewelry is so interesting and compelling. They dedicated their lives to their crafts. (130 words)
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion the Aztecs were complete geniuses! At the time they were first nomadic people, but then they saw a sign from there god that told them to drop everything and start a new empire there. Thier designs would lead them to be the largest empire in the world. After being outcasts, they started to become known, started to make alliances, and started to make a huge army! The Aztec was an empire that ruled with fear, did you know that they had a weapon that could cut a horses head with one blow! Sadly in 1519, cultures would clash and the Aztec Empire would disappear.
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I think the Aztecs, and many other civilizations, were as sophisticated as a civilization could be at the time. The Aztecs beautiful cities, a strong government, a powerful army, and more.
ReplyDeleteThe Aztecs were clever when they decided that they would have a local government in each part of their territory; this made sure that there was stability and continuity.
The Aztecs were a very religious civilization. Their religion mainly focused on the interactions of humans, gods, and nature.
The Aztecs were divided into two main social groups: the nobility then the common people. Regardless of their class, everyone was educated. People of higher class would hold high positions in the government or military. The lower-class, Who are farmers or merchant, were very important.
Even though the Aztecs did not have everything we do today, they were still a strong and sophisticated civilization.
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I honestly think that the Aztecs were very smart given their technology, which was pretty much nothing, and there time frame. Did you know that at this time people in England were just dumping there waste into the street while the Aztecs had a public bathroom nearby each little village? Also, they hired people to sweep and water there streets daily. Have you ever fertilized anything before? Well the Aztecs came up with canoeing their poop to gardens to be fertilized. That right there is a good use of your resources. Also, (unlike London) the Aztecs got fresh drinking water to their capital by a close hill named Chapultepec. Now if you were to say that they were barbarians then you would also have to call everyone who lived in Britain back then a barbarian too. Also, they invented a calendar using no google, Wi-Fi, or anything that we use now a day to do everything while all they had was their cleverness and quick wit to survive.
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I honestly think that the Aztecs were very smart given their technology, which was pretty much nothing, and there time frame. Did you know that at this time people in England were just dumping there waste into the street while the Aztecs had a public bathroom nearby each little village? Also, they hired people to sweep and water there streets daily. Have you ever fertilized anything before? Well the Aztecs came up with canoeing their poop to gardens to be fertilized. That right there is a good use of your resources. Also, (unlike London) the Aztecs got fresh drinking water to their capital by a close hill named Chapultepec. Now if you were to say that they were barbarians then you would also have to call everyone who lived in Britain back then a barbarian too. Also, they invented a calendar using no google, Wi-Fi, or anything that we use now a day to do everything while all they had was their cleverness and quick wit to survive.
ReplyDelete(169) Holley Fulgham
I think that the Aztecs were intelligent people.They built one of the largest cities in the world at their time from basically nothing.They conquered surrounding areas using their military.They had their own language and a 365 day calendar.They had a steady government and a strong military.Along with the large military,they had advanced weaponry like the Maquahuitl,which is sometimes compared to a sword.They were advanced in architecture,especially considering that they didn't have any modern tools.Overall,I think that the Aztec were an interesting and advanced people.I think that they were genius and far from cavemen.(105 words) Ella Dolan
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ReplyDeleteI think the Aztec was genius because of their strong empire and their interesting clothing they wore and made from scratch. They must have been very intelligent people because of what they had to accomplish in life. There were no Walmarts or targets back then so they either hunted for food or grew it. Everyone in the Aztec civilization had some sort of job to do. They didn't just sit around playing on their iPhones because they never heard of that and iPhones weren't invented yet. If they didn't have anything to do they would have been given something to do or at least found something to do. That's why I think the Aztecs were complete geniuses. 117 words
ReplyDeleteThe Aztecs were definitely not barbaric, but were very smart people. We still have inventions today that we can thank them for including: mandatory universal education, floating gardens, chocolate, pyramids and medicines. The Aztecs believed in educating all of their children including girls which many societies did not do. Because they did not have good farm land, they had to figure out how to grow plants for producing vegetables, so they invented the floating garden. Chocolate was very important to Mexico and especially the Aztecs. They would use it in drinks and eventually they got sugar from the Spanish and made hot chocolate. The Aztec would build pyramids in sacrifice to their gods. It was a way to give thanks for all their god had done for them. It takes a lot of knowledge to be able to build pyramids. A lot of medicines that we use today were discovered by the Aztecs for pain and to help with illness. They used the passion flower to treat seizures and high blood pressure. They used the aloe vera plant to treat burns and skin conditions. So, they were very smart people and not cavemen.
ReplyDeleteI think the Aztecs were a smart group of people. They built their own village and created games etc. they were not caveman because they found there own food and made their own clothes and jewelry. They could treat medical problems and other things. Caveman would need help with these things. They worshipped the sun do you think Caveman would have known to worship anything. I think not the Aztec were a very smart and intelligent group of people. Other than caveman that don't even have a clue where there are. But the Aztec were a very violation group of people. Caveman probably wouldn't know what to do if they had war.
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