Maya And Aztecs Compare And Contrast Essay

Two of the biggest and greatest civilization in the Americas were the Aztecs and Incas. These two civilization were both said to be conquered by the Spanish, but it wasn’t just the Spanish who conquered them. These two civilizations both fell from a combination of a weak government, lack of technology, new disease introduced by the invaders, and not being prepared for the invaders. For many centuries the Aztec civilization revolved around a ideological, social, and political system in which expansion was the cornerstone. Expansion was the cornerstone of their whole civilization, because their religion requested that a large number of human sacrifices where to be made to the gods.

Being as methodical as they were, having an organized leadership kept peace in the city states but didn’t keep peace throughout the other city-states. The rulers were power-hungry and wanted to conquer many city-states to create an empire which caused war. Also, these civilizations were very spiritual throughout their common day lives, but believed in some gods from the underworld that wanted blood through human sacrifice. This was a very violent way of worshiping their gods that they embraced it. Organized leadership existed in each civilization before the Europeans arrived.

It is human nature to wonder what lies in wait throughout the world. The Spanish were seeking to discover new lands. When they came across the overwhelmingly interesting civilization that is the Aztecs, their lust for power as well as the news of Cortez’s men being slain at Totonacs it left them no choice to but to conquer these people and claim their belongings as their own.

Considering how advanced and large the Aztec culture and society were makes me believe that they were aware of other people outside of their civilization. A clear example would be that they knew of neighboring tribes other than their own that they went to war with and conquered. Although I do believe that the Aztecs were caught off guard and even amazed when they saw the light skinned Spaniards. I also believe that Cortes wasn’t the first outsider to make contact with the Aztecs but I do believe he was the first light skinned person to make contact with them because of Moctezumas reaction to Cortes description. Hernan Cortes was a Spanish conquistador who defeated the Aztecs with less than 1000 soldiers and a handful of horses.

Throughout weathered and torn high school textbooks, history remembers the Aztec people as an indigenous race who cut out the hearts of their enemies after battle and created gods out of anything to bring them good luck and fortune. Although some details may actually be true, most of their stories remain untold or briefly mentioned. In reality, the Aztec people were a unique civilization that thrived in all aspects of culture, proving them to be creative and progressive people. From their humble beginnings as nomads and hunters, the Aztecs began to develop farming techniques to cultivate food and livestock and then to progress in establishing social structure and belief systems. The Aztecs even advanced in astronomy, mathematics and natural sciences to better improve their lifestyle.

All hearts were good, but the bravest captives were to be best nourishing to the gods as a result, widespread warring took place. The Aztec people sought to bring captives back to the Aztec temples for sacrifice. They would sacrifice people in name of the gods. Sometimes, those practicing the Aztec religion sacrificed just one person. At other times, hundreds or even thousands of captives were sacrificed at a time.

It is thought that they threw the bodies of victims from the top of the temple pyramid to sanctify the stairs with their blood. Rituals performed before and after the heart extraction often depended on the month/ deity, such as flaying of the victim in the month Tlacaxipehualiztli, shooting a victim with arrows in Huey Tecuilhuitl, and sacrifice by fire in

Religions of both societies were shamanistic which were heavily influenced by preceding cultures. These complex polytheistic religions regardless of their chronological exclusivity have significant features in common. The Incas and Aztecs both belie... ... middle of paper ... .... The Tlatoani of Tenochtitlan was the head of the cult of Huitzilopochtli and thus of the state religion of the Aztec empire. He had special priestly duties in different rituals on the state level.

The Aztecs had a certain way of life. They would praise their gods a certain way and had a different kind of capital. The Aztecs also had distinctive art. The members Aztec Empires’ lives included their history, their capital, religion, art, and different cultural aspects. The Aztec Empire had an interesting history with many different parts.

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. According to the Aztec Legend, the ancestors of the people who founded Tenochtitlan, came to the Valley of Mexico.