The Role Of Art In The Aztec Art

The Aztecs were a remarkable civilization. Th is civilization were distrusted and disliked because they tended to push others out of their way. They ruled an empire in Tenochtitlan in the time of 1350 to 1519. They also were known for their agriculture and human sacrifices. Agriculture was a very important part of their h istory because without their farming method the Aztec couldn't have created such great civilization. According to Document A of the Aztec DBQ, states that the Aztec empire grew more than 200 miles west to east, and north to south. Th is means that with the growth of the empire the population also grew and more effective agriculture techniques were needed to feed the people. They created the method of ch inampas because they

The Aztecs had one of the most successful and advanced empires of all time. They had a dwelling culture The Aztec civilization was located directly in the middle of two mountain ranges in the central valley of Mexico ( Platt 10). Although the Aztec empire eventually came to an end they were able to do well as an empire. Contributing factors that led to the rise of the empire was their political structure, social components, and religious traditions which they preformed earnestly.

Within the document, “Laws, Ordinances, and Regulations” tell the readers a lot about the social and moral values of the Aztecs. Majority of the laws pertain to high powers and order to the Aztecs’ everyday life rules. The excerpt states, law #3, “Only the king and the Prime Minister Tlacaelel may wear sandals within the palace…” This shows the Aztecs’ moral values, which are towards upholding their king to a high power and respecting the fact he is the almighty one. The king must never appear in public except when the occasion is extremely important and unavoidable. Having the king out of the sight of the public tells the reader that the king is very powerful and has a sense of holiness to the Aztec people. Other laws have to deal with punishments for wrongs in the civilization. Most

     The Aztecs society was structured in a hierarchy with nobles at the top. Social status was determined primarily at birth. All members of the nobility could trace their lineage to the first Aztecs ruler Acamapichtli . The only way one could rise up to another class in the system was to perform an outstanding military achievement.

The ancient Aztec civilization is usually thought of as a barbaric, unintelligent people throughout modern society. This could be an ideal carried down from the Spaniards that concord the native lands or even something as simple as today’s society creating overblown stereotypes because of conjoined lack of understanding and overall knowledge. But, because of the extensive research and studies done by Miguel León-Portilla we are able to discover the true nature of the Aztec peoples way of life. Within the book “Aztec Thought and Culture” the author explains the develop of the Aztec civilization through education and philosophy as well as describing the Aztec people as an advanced society rather than the popular belief of a savage people and culture.

country of Mexico showcasing what Mexico has to offer. Showing how the art of the ancient people are expressed. Being taken over by the Spanish colonial towns are seen in Mexico’s capital Mexico City. Located in Mexico City a lot can be find influencing their art, shops, renowned museums and very good tasty restaurants to modern life, as well showing their ancient art of the ancient civilizations, and ancient culture. The earliest real civilization in Mexico was the Olmec culture which came from of the Gulf Coast from around 1500 BCE.

The nobles wore a lot of jewelry on special occasions, but the jewelry back then looked different from the jewelry now. The Aztec jewelry were made with different types of materials, and different materials were added together to make one creation. Copper, gold and silver, shells, clay, wood, rock (obsidian) and feathers were commonly used. Gold was used, but silver was much more popular as it was abundant in Mexico. Stones such as jade, quartz, opal, moonstone, and turquoise were used as well. Gold was imported from the south, turquoise from the north, and conch shells were imported from the east.

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 has a class system. First in the class system was the Emperor, the emperor was the almighty ruler of everyone. Second, Nobles came after the emperor, they ran the government and army usually. Third in the class system were the artisans, the artisans were usually artisans or market people. Fourth in the system were the commoners, the commoners were usually farmers. Finally in the class system were slaves, slaves were usually war captives, and if war captives didn´t become slaves, were usually used a sacrifices.

The first interesting thing about the Aztecs is their daily routine. Aztec family life was very similar to many modern day cultures. For example, the husband was primarily responsible for supporting the family and the wife’s role was to provide the family with clothing and food. As such, the Aztec daily life for many of the men was to farm or engage in craftwork. The female Aztec life, on the other hand, mainly consisted of weaving and cooking. The Aztecs were a culture that settled in the Valley of Mexico during the early 14th century. By the 15th century the Aztecs had developed into a very powerful culture with many daily activities that spanned the ages. These activities were divided among gender and age with the males farming and crafting, the females weaving and preparing food, and the children attending school for training in Aztec religion and war.

Much like societies today, the Aztec society was divided into social classes. Social classes can be thought of as layers in a pyramid. At the very bottom, the Aztecs would place their slaves. In the Aztec society, these people did not hold enough rank to even be considered a citizen. Therefore, someone could consider them property. Next, you have the chunk of the pyramid that would house a big majority of the people. These people have been called commoners or the common people, and are one step above the slaves because they possess the power to own land. They carry out the duties that are essential for daily life. From the commoners we move up to the craftsmen class. These are the men who have specialized skills. Next, we go to a small class of traders. In this case, traders are not every person individually that trades, but the heads of the foreign trade operations. Finally, at the very top of the pyramid is the ruling class. This class was held open only for the top Aztecs, which included priests and other high powered land owners.

If we imagine a pyramid, the lower level would be categorized of slaves. Those slaves were people who were in debt and people who were prisoners of the war. Above the slaves, the commoners/ farmers took a large percentage of the pyramid. They were in charge of farming the food, and caring for the animals. Above the commoners/ farmers are the merchants, who were known to wear turquoise. Above the merchants are the military which take up a small percent of the pyramid. Those who were in the military had the privilege of wearing feathers. Lastly above every other section, there were the priest and the royalties. As a privilege the priests and royalties wore gold and were able to eat and drink chocolate. The MA society was not egalitarian; the social pyramid clearly projects the inequalities between all five sections of societies.

The Aztec empire has been said to be the “greatest engineers in the Americas” and rival the Roman Empire in technology. The Aztec Empire had luxurious pyramids, temples and a gleaming capital city called Tenochtitlan, that in its golden years, was said to house over 200,000-250,000 Aztecs. Tenochtitlan was larger than Rome, London and Madrid put together. On top of it’s large population, the people and streets were very pristine. The Tenochtitlan citizens took daily baths to ensure they were fully clean. Infact, Tenochtitlan had public baths and lavatories for the citizens.

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.

Aztec is civilization created by the ancient Indian, which was mainly distributed in central and southern Mexico. Aztecs were a tribe with a lower level of development at first, but they absorb and fuse with other outstanding cultural traditions of Indian in the region that they rose rapidly. Aztec had developed agriculture and the main crops were corn, beans, squash, potatoes. Religion played an important role in the life of the Aztecs. The inhabitants believed in the immortality of the soul and Supreme domination. They adored the natural god that one of the peculiar was to use the living person for sacrifice.