Aztec Traditions And Beliefs Essay

We’ve all learnt about First Nations, Medieval Times,and the Explorers, etc. One thing we don’t learn as much about in school are the Incas, Aztecs, and Mayans. Just like any other unit we learn in history, Aztecs are important too. They didn’t do much but they should be recognized for the little things they did. Some might know them as Mexica and others as Aztecs. They prefer to call themselves Mexica because they were from mexico but aztec is a more common name for them, people believe westerners called them aztec because of the words aztecatl, azteca meaning people from aztlan in the language Nahuatl. The Aztec empire had over 3 million people and spoke up to 20 languages. Although the Aztecs are known to be cruel and half nomads, their culture is beautiful, while being bloody and brutal.

     The Aztecs were an American Indian people who ruled a mighty empire in Mexico from the 1400's to the 1500's. The Aztecs had one of the most advanced civilizations in the Americas and built cities as large as any in Europe at that time. They also practiced a remarkable religion that affected every part of their lives and featured human sacrifice. The Aztecs built towering temples, created huge sculptures, and held impressive ceremonies all for the purpose of worshipping their gods. The Spaniards destroyed their magnificent empire in the year 1521, but the Aztecs left a lasting mark on Mexican life and culture .

In the book Daily Life of The Aztecs On the Eve of the Spanish Conquest by Jacques Soustelle you are walked through what life was like for the Aztecs. You are in 16th Century Mexico, or to them Mexico-Tenochtilan. Soustelle does an excellent job immediately putting you in character with the introduction of the book. The book is broken down into seven different main chapters detailing major aspects of the Aztecs lives in the late 1500’s. You learn about where they lived, to the wars they fought, and what life was like for them from birth to death. In this paper I will further discuss four topics that were very crucial in the daily lives of the Aztecs. I will help you find a better understanding in their daily life as well as the many changes they migrated through over time. The four topics I will be discussing are: 1. Culture and Customs of the Aztecs 2. Civilization vs Barbarism 3. Art and Architecture 4. Education and Home Life.

The Aztecs are really interesting people that were alive back from 1400 - 1600 AD. They lived very different than us, because we don’t no human sacrifices because we don’t believe in any of the gods (due to science)This paper will show how the Aztecs lived, including their empire, Government and Agriculture.

To emphasize on the influence of the Aztecs traditions in to Mexican culture is the gender roles. In the book, Mexico an illustrated History it explains, “Men were expected to be unflinching in the face of danger, and able to withstand pain. Women were expected to be modest and unassertive, their world restricted to the household. Children were cherished, but taught to respect discipline and the authority of elders.” The Mexican culture still follows these traditions. Just like the Aztecs, in the Mexican culture men were raise to be machos. Men are usually the head of the family and were expect to go in to the world and provide for his family. Modern day women are still changing and everyday there is more opportunities for women, but even with the new opportunities, some women still decide to take the traditional route; they get married and decide to take the role of a housewife. Modern day children are still raise with the same values, they are taught to respect their parents and the elderly. Just like the Aztecs, Mexicans take their traditions very seriously. Mexicans also take the admiration of sports from the Aztecs. The Aztec had their own version of football called Tlachi which was later updated to soccer. Aztecs did not have a religion. Their religion was based in pleasing their god and getting rewards in return for this. The Aztec thought that in order for the universe to run smooth with

The Aztec and Maya were both American Indian people. The Aztec were ruled by a mighty empire in Mexico during the 1400's and early 1500's. The Maya however, developed a magnificent civilization in Central America and Southern Mexico. Both civilizations contributed a great deal to the modern world and invented items that are still used today.

The religion of the Aztec, including their beliefs, customs and religions, acted as a tremendous influence on their government, economy, and culture. Religion was the foundation for the infamous culture of the Aztec Civilization. Through ceremonies of sacrifice, and the infusion of cosmology into their religion, the Aztecs sculpted a culture unlike that of any other civilization, and left behind a legacy to be studied and admired for generations to come. Religion ultimately shaped the unique civilization of the Aztecs, through cultivating the general outlook and values of the Aztecs, expanding the empire, and influencing the architecture and layout of their city.

Horticulture, as an industry, is divided on the basis of crop and plant use. Horticulture can be divided into two groups including edible plants and aesthetic plants which means those grown for their beauty. Floriculture is the cultivation and management of cut flowers, flowering plants, and foliage plants. When the horticulture or intensive agriculture performed by women, they are recognized as less important. However, historically women’s roles were equally if not more important than those of men. Women were given high respect and equality in horticulture ancient societies like Trobriand & Kapauku. Aggregate data shows that women comprise

American Indians is a native American inhabitants of North America. Paleo-Indians are the person who originally entered America and settled and they mainly lived in Mexico and South America. The three important things we need to know about American Indians prior to European invasion are the culture of Maya, Aztec, and the Anasazi.

The Mayan way of life revolved their religion. They had a polytheistic religion praising many gods. Each god had a certain thing that they would rule over or take care of. Chac was the god of rain, Kinich Ahau was the sun god, and Yum Cimil was the god of the underworld. There were many gods and goddess for almost every reason one could think of, there is even a goddess of suicide. They would perform human sacrifices, bleeding rituals, and dances to praise and to

There were a variety of different cultures of people who were part of the Aztec empire.

The Aztecs and Incas possessed different ideological and intellectual values or developments throughout their powers. For instance, an image of the Aztecs shows their practice of human sacrifice through a ceremony and the building of large temples to honor the gods (Fefferman, “Human Sacrifice Mendoza”). Ideology was a major interest of the Aztecs for they sacrificed themselves for their many deities and cared more about them, unlike the Incas who did not practice sacrifice for their gods. Aztec

The Aztecs were a ancient civilization who ruled an empire in the region of mesoamerica between 1325 A.D and 1521 . From their capital city of tenochtitlan, presently the site of modern - day Mexico City, the Aztecs had many achievements. Two things they were most know for is Agriculture and Human sacrifice, which was very unique. However, historians should emphasize the role of Human Sacrifice in Aztec culture."

When the Spaniards under Hernan Cortez gazed upon the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán in Mexico in 1519, the scene before them amazed them. There, in the middle of a wide lake was a shimmering city with bright white walls of vast buildings sitting on an island in the middle of a large lake with causeways linked to it. The astonishment of those first Spanish visitors soon turned to horror when they saw the vast scale of ritual sacrifices made by the Aztecs.

The religion of the Aztecs was made up of mainly three gods: Huitzilopochtli, Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl. Below these three main gods were four creating gods. Below these four gods were many other gods, however the most important were Tlaloc, the rain god, Chalchihuitlicue, the god of growth and Xipe, the god of spring. The main thing that captures the attention of Aztec religion is their human sacrifice made to the different gods. Although human sacrifice was practiced around Mesoamerica, the Aztecs practiced human sacrifice in a large scale never seen before to date. The idea of human sacrifice was that Gods gave things to humans like food, rain, wealth, and other goods only if they were given human beings in return. The Aztecs believed that the goods liked best the living hearths of sacrificed captives. If the captive was a well skilled soldier and very brave then the Gods would return better goods to his people. This idea lead to wars were the Aztecs fought with other indians and capture their bravest men for sacrifice. As we can imagine,