The Ancient Mexican Civilization Of The Aztecs

							The Ancient Mexican Civilization Of The Aztecs

 The Aztec state was what is known as a "theocracy" (a state controlled
by the priesthood). The merchants and farmers and the common people of
society were taxed in order to support the aristocracy of the priests.
"Nahuatal" was the main language of the Aztecs and it belonged to the
"Uto-Aztecan" family of languages. [1] As stated in source D "The Aztec
Empire had 15 million inhabitants and 500 towns… The capital was
Tenochtitl?n, built on an island in Lake Texcoco". Through this we are
able to see how far the empire reached and how successful it must have
been. Source D also shows an example of an Aztec Temple. This was a place
of worshipping the gods, important religious ceremonies and the
sacrificial ceremonies. These temples were built within what was known as
the Temple Precinct which was in the centre of the Aztec town. It can
also be seen that the Aztec temples align with the major celestial bodies
in our universe and when these bodies align, when standing on top of a
temple and look straight up, you are able to see the respective celestial
body. These temples are therefore a source of the understanding the
Aztecs had for the universe. [2]
In Source A, we are shown the Aztec Calendar Stone, a large piece of
basalt with symbols carved into its surface. This stone was used by the
Aztecs as we use a calendar today and can be found "National Museum of
Anthropology and History – Museo Nacional de Antropolog?a" in Mexico. The
stone consisted of the two Aztec calendars; the "Xiuhpohualli" – a solar
calendar consisting of 360 days (similar to the calendar we use) and the
"Tonalpohualli" – the sacred calendar of the gods consisting of 260 days;
thirteen cycles of twenty days. The Aztecs lived by these calendars. They
determined the days of their religious ceremonies; the five dots present
in the ring surrounding the centre of the stone represented what was
known as the unlucky days, the days of sacrifice; and the end of their
century which came about every fifty-two years when the solar and the
sacred calendar aligned; it is thought that this was represented where
the two snakes meet head-to-head. The Aztec people believed that one of
the creations – depicted in the centre of the stone as the jaguar, wind,
water and rain – were in danger of being destroyed. In the centre of the
stone we are shown a depiction of the sun god, Tonatuih, holding a human
heart in each hand and a sacrifial knife as his tongue. During the time
of the Aztecs, it was believed that the sun needed blood in order to
survive. It was for this reason that sacrifices were carried out. [3]
Source B is a picture of the sacrifial knife used by the Aztecs when
cutting out the heart of their victims. These hearts were then offered up
to the sun god as well as the other important gods in the Aztec beliefs.
Sacrifices were performed at the tops of the temples and it is said,
sometimes even inside the houses of the aristocracy. The prisoners taken
from the battles the Aztecs fought with their neighbours were often used
in these ceremonies, however, their own citizens were also used. The
skulls of the people sacrificed were displayed on a rack in the Temple
Precinct. The hearts of some victims were brutally pulled out whilst the
victim was still alive and other truly horrific rituals were carried out
at the Great Temple (the largest in the Precinct). [4] All of this was
done in order to appease the gods. The Aztecs believed, along with many
other civilizations of the time, that when something went wrong, such as
a bad crop or drought etc., it was a sign from the gods that they were
angry; ceremonies would then have to be carried out in order to appease
the gods and win back their favour, which would be seen through a
successful crop or a good rainstorm etc.. It is recorded that during one
four-day ceremony, approximately twenty-thousand people were sacrificed.
[5]
Another important ceremony in the Aztec society was the Ullamaliztli or
the Aztec Ball Game. This ball game played an important role in Aztec
politics and religion and the losers of the game were often sacrificed,
though there are sources which state that the winners may have been the
ones sacrificed as it was seen as an honour to become a sacrifice. The
game was played on a special court called the Tlachtli or Tlachco which
was commonly in the shape of an I. The court was surrounded by a slope
with a wall on the outer edge. There were six markers on the court and a
centre line and at the court centre against the wall there was a stone-
carved ring. As depicted in source C a ball made of hard rubber and known
as the ullii was used and the teams had to try and get it through the
stone-ring. Source C also illustrates the way in which this game was to
be played: only the hips, elbows and knees could be used. Young Boys
learning to become priests would play the Sacred Ball Game. [6]
The clothing worn by the Aztecs differed from your rank in the society,
much similar to many other cultures. Generally the clothing was loose
fitting and did not completely cover the body and it was made from
imported cotton or ayate fiber, made from the Maguey Cactus (also known
as the Century Plant or American Aloe). The Aztecs made use of richly
coloured dyes which were responsible for the bright coloured clothing
which can still be seen in Mexico today. Source E shows a sketch of a man
wearing a simple loincloth and tilma or tilmatli – a triangular piece of
cloth which could be used to carry items or, as shown in the source, as a
cape. This was the clothing worn by the common workman in the society and
was made from the ayate fiber – this was a rule, a commoner was not to
have cloths made of cotton. The women would don a sleeveless blouse or
short sleeved shirt with a skirt. The upper class would wear more
brightly decorated and intricate clothing with certain symbols or
headdresses to show their rank. Gold was also used in the clothing and to
make rings and pendants. During certain rituals Aztec masks were worn to
represent certain gods. The merchants were considered to be in a class of
their own and were often allowed to wear more elaborate clothing. The
military clothing depended on which group they belonged to, such as the
eagle or jaguar tribes. Their clothing offered some, though limited,
protection and their headdresses served as helmets. The warriors carried
a simply decorated shield and carried bows and spears and a maquahuitl,
which was a combination between a club and a sword. [7]
The Aztec Society was truly a great one. They had many important
religious ceremonies, ones which we see as controversial today mainly
because of the human sacrifices used. The Aztecs had a complex calendar
which showed their immense understanding of the universe around them,
this is also seen in their temple layout and the Aztecs brought the
bright colours to the Mexico we know today. How they lived was in a
religious and culturally vibrant way. The Aztecs played an essential role
in the development of our history.