The Aztec Culture: Two Primary Social Classes

The Aztecs In the Aztec culture, there were two primary social classes. The first group was the nobility, which was also known as the pilli and the second class consisted of the common people also referred to as the macehualli. Also, slaves were a big part of the Aztec cultures and they were not treated badly, they were allowed to purchase their freedom. In the Aztec society education was mandatory for both boys and girls, boys however were better educated then girls. Girls were taught how to manage home related work like cooking and they also learned some crafts. On the other hand, boys learned how to fight and become leaders. Even though education was available to everyone, not every child learned the same thing. The calmecac was the education

On the other hand, boys went to the military or began working. Aside from their educational life and marriage life, the Aztecs also had a religious life which was very important to them. The Aztecs just like any ancient civilization believed in many gods like the sun god, the rain god and even the god of war and fate. Another important aspect of the Aztec religion was the rituals and ceremonies in which humans were sacrificed to be offered to the gods. In addition to the rituals, the Aztecs also had a sacred year calendar which consisted of 260 days and a different solar year calendar consisting of 365 days. Another common belief that the Aztecs had was that they believed in another life after death which is why they buried the person with valuable items that he or she could use in that

One form of art that the Aztecs used was pottery. The Aztecs made pottery in different forms and sizes, and they put different designs on them. These designs were meant to show respect to the Aztec gods or symbolize a certain Aztec tribe. Aztec pottery is known for being certain colors like black and orange. The Aztecs made geometric patterns and naturalistic designs on their pottery. One type of Aztec pottery called Cholula was famous for being multi colored; this type of pottery was so unique that the Tenochtitlan elite only ate off of these Cholula dishes. Another very important type of Aztec art was the pictographs which were small drawings used in their counting system. These pictographs were also used for recording history. The Aztecs also made special masks and warrior art to use in their religious ceremonies. Another form of art that the Aztecs had was sculptures. The Aztecs made stone sculptures of their gods and those people who were sacrificed during religious rituals, and then they placed these sculptures in their religious temples. Some of the sculptures that the Aztecs made were of animals and they were made of jade, obsidian or quartz. One of the most famous Aztec sculptures is a stone carved calendar; this calendar has the face of the sun god carved on it which emphasizes how important religion was to the Aztecs that they found a way to incorporate it in their art