Mexican Civilization Dbq Essay

635 Words2 Pages

Pre-Columbian civilizations, the aboriginal American Indian cultures that slowly evolved in Meso-America and the Andean region prior to Spanish exploration and conquest in the 16th century. The pre-Columbian civilizations were extraordinary developments in human society, agriculture and culture, ranking with the early civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China. Those in the New World were characterized by kingdoms and empires, great monuments and cities, and refinements in the arts, metallurgy, and writing; the ancient civilizations of the Americas also display in their histories similar cyclical patterns of growth and decline, unity and disunity.
In Document 1, The maguey plant was of great importance in the life of the Aztecs. It was …show more content…

The Mayans mainly used music in theatrical events, dance, ritual, and, to a lesser extent, even warfare would have been unthinkable without musical support. Maya dictionaries, both ancient and more recent, contain many words and distinctions related to music.
Document 3 is a dialog where an Aztec noblewoman describes the education of noble boys and girls in Texcoco. The huehuetlatolli or huehuetlahtolli (means in Nahual: The sayings of old) consisted of long books, in story form, describing the standards of conduct, moral vision, celebrations and beliefs of the people of the Nahua. The objective It was to introduce young people to the religion and customs of the people Nahua. They were collected after the conquest by Fray Andres de Olmos and Bernardino de …show more content…

Nezahualpilli was ruler of the Mesoamerican state of Texcoco, elected by the city's nobility after the death of his father, Nezahualpilli. Like his father, he was a poet, was considered a sage, and had the reputation of being a fair ruler. Only one of his poems survives: "Icuic Nezahualpilli yc tlamato huexotzinco" ("Song of Nezahualpilli during the war with Huexotzinco"). His court was a peaceful place for astronomers, engineers, and soothsayers. During his reign, he abolished capital punishment for a number of crimes and struggled to keep the political independence of Texcoco during the increasing centralization of Aztec power in Tenochtitlan. He married a daughter of Ahuitzotl only to later have her executed. Her public improprieties and high social status qualified her for a punishment that would not have been applicable to someone of a lower status. He was said to have taken numerous consorts and fathered 144

Show More
Related

  • Broken Spears by Miguel Leon-Portilla

    1495 Words  | 3 Pages

    Portilla starts out by giving a thorough background of the culture and religious beliefs. The reader can draw many theories on how this carried over to the Aztecs way of thinking and fighting. In addition to the religion and culture, Portilla shows the technology advantages the Spanish had over the Aztecs. He also goes on to describe the poor leadership of Motecuhzoma. Motecuhzoma will be portrayed as a coward. Portilla also writes about the strategy that worked rather well for the Spanish as they made alliances with the Tlaxcalatecas and other cities. He finally talks about plague that wiped out much of the Aztecs. This may have been the greatest factor in the fall of the Aztecs Empire. All of these factors combined effectively show how the Spaniards prevailed over this great Aztec Empire of the 15th and early 16th century.

    Read More

  • Mexican War Dbq Essay

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sixteen are killed from the Mexican attack along the Rio Grande! In 1821, Mexico freed itself from Spain. Mexico was equal in size to the United States. Mexican government wanted to increase population, so they invited Americans to settle in Texas. These settlers did not want to abide by Mexico’s rules and laws. Texas then won independence from Mexico in 1836. In the year 1844, James K. Polk was elected as president. He was a strong believer in manifest destiny. Congress decided to annex Texas into the United States. Mexico felt that America stole Texas from them. This caused conflict between the two countries. Was it right for the United States to declare war against Mexico? America was justified in going to war with Mexico because they could

    Read More

  • Inga Clendinnen's Aztecs: An Interpretation?

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    This idea can be proven in the chapters’ headings, as it not only studies the décor of history, the city, but also the different roles and the sacred, religious part, linking the city and it’s people together. In the “Local Perspective” chapters among others, she does a tremendous work of truly explaining the Aztec culture through poems, dances, prayers and others (p.101) because as we know, Aztecs did not evolve around the written texts, and thus their culture has to be studied

    Read More

  • Pre-Columbian Civilizations

    365 Words  | 1 Pages

    Cultures had been flourishing thousands of years before the Europeans arrived to the New World. Great empires such as the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas inhabited the vast lands of Central and South America. These three major powers controlled the land before Columbus or Cortez were even born. Although the Pre-Columbian civilizations and the Europeans shared some similar ideas, life was very different in the New World compared with that of Middle Age Europe.

    Read More

  • Aztec Women in Society

    1531 Words  | 4 Pages

    They say a picture is worth a thousand words. However, what words are being told in the Codex Mensoza 1964, Lám (Brumfiel 1991: 224) and more importantly what influential role did the Spanish heritage have in the artifacts? These credentials were offered as form of resolute of Aztec women’s productive activities in Mexico. Nevertheless, Bromfiel paint a different picture of the Aztec women. In these sketches, Brumfiel draws our attention to the background in which the women are performing their “productive activities.” (Brumfiel 1991: 224) At first glance, these images are portraying Aztec women. However, after careful scrutiny of the photos, I noticed several an uncanny discoveries. In the first two portraits, both of the weaving instruments appear to be bound to Roman and/or Spanish columns (to my untrained eye). In the last two illustrations, I observed “productive activities” (Brumfiel 1991: 224) of cooking being performed, in what appears to be in a non-traditional work environment that does not correspond with the “productive activities” (Brumfiel 1991: 224) of the women in that era. One appears to be working in luxury room while the other seems to be overlooking the mountains from a balcony. Although these duties were performed in a residential setting, the pictures fail to emphasi...

    Read More

  • The Role of Religion in "The Conquest of New Spain"

    613 Words  | 2 Pages

    A major element of Aztec life was religion, as often is in the case in ancient civilizations. The Aztecs were a polytheistic people, and they often made use of human sacrifice to please their gods. Diaz often makes reference to the blood-stained walls of the Aztec temples in his account of the conquest. In reference to the success of Cortes and his soldiers, an anci...

    Read More

  • Early Mesoamerica A Chronological History of Cultures & Societies Up to the Start of the Common Era

    1467 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... several major epicenters of trade and culture. They were set on course to become a fully actualized civilization and a center of Mesoamerican culture.

    Read More

  • Mexican American History Essay

    1116 Words  | 3 Pages

    For many years, unjust treatment of Mexicans and Mexican Americans has occurred in the United States. Over the years, people like Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and Emma Tenayuca have fought to improve civil rights and better treatment for farm workers. The textbook that I have been reading during the semester for my Chicano History class, Crucible of Struggle: A history of Mexican Americans from Colonial times to the Present Era, discusses some of the most important issues in history that Mexicans and Mexicans Americans have gone through. Some of these problems from the past are still present today. Not all of the racial problems were solved, and there is a lot to be done. I have analyzed two different articles about current historical events that have connections between what is happening today and what had happened in Mexican American History.

    Read More

  • Dbq On The Aztecs

    963 Words  | 2 Pages

    August 13th, 1521 marked the end of a diabolical, yet genius group of leaders. They were referred to as the Aztecs. They were an extremely advanced ancient civilization. The Aztec’s were overthrown by the Spanish, yet we still haven’t forgotten the Aztecs. But since their culture was so complex it’s hard to know what is the most necessary thing to study when it comes to them, especially when their were so many things that defined their culture. The Aztecs were highly religious and believed in human sacrifice. They also had a complex method of farming called chinampas. This grew an extremely large amount of food per year by using canals. This was extremely successful because of how complex it was. When asked if historians should emphasize agriculture

    Read More

  • Narrative Essay On Mexican Culture

    626 Words  | 2 Pages

    I was born in Mexico and raised in beautiful San Diego since the age of four. Coming to the United States at a very young age I had to face many challenges that have shaped me to the person that I am today. I consider myself a Chicana woman who has overcome the obstacles to get were I am know. Being raised in a Mexcian household has thought me to embrace my culture and its roots. The Spanish and native blood that is with in me remind me of many Americans today. The reason I consider my self Chicana is because of the similar background that I shared with many Americans today. Living in the U.S. I have learned to adapt and embraced the American culture so much so that it came a point of life were I struggled to find my own identity. Taking

    Read More

  • Essay On Mexican Culture

    2406 Words  | 5 Pages

    Culture is customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group. It includes behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, values, and norms that is shared by a group of people to sustain their lives. Mexican culture is influenced by their familial ties, gender, religion, location and social class, among other factors. Today life in the cities of Mexico has become similar to that in neighboring United States and Europe, with provincial people conserving traditions more so than the Mexican living in the city. In the United States Mexican includes any person of Puerto

    Read More

  • Mexican American Culture Essay

    2010 Words  | 5 Pages

    The culture I was born and raised on was that of Mexican-American culture. My parents were born and raised in Mexico, and when they came to America and had kids, they instilled a hybrid of their culture, and American culture, in us. They were each raised in the Mexican culture, but wanted us to be raised as Americans also, and added this to our upbringing.

    Read More

  • Are Bernal Diaz’s Accounts of Cortez's Mission Accurate

    652 Words  | 2 Pages

    Before the 15th century, the Indians in the Americas were not connected with the world and would remain that way until Columbus's exploration. In the beginning of 15th century, the Aztecs were the dominant group in Mesoamerica leaded by Montezuma, the last leader, before the Spanish conquest. In 1519, Hernan Cortez led the Spanish mission to explore and conquer the New World. This paper will compare three primary sources about this event. First, an informing letter sent from Cortez to King Charles V, the king of Spain. Second, the Broken Spears which is an Indian recollection about the conquest of Mexico. Lastly, Bernal Diaz’s (one of Cortez’s men) account was written by him to share his experience with Aztec civilization. Moreover, this paper will show the credibility of Diaz’s account compared to the other sources because the objectivity of his tone, written after a while of the event, and the author’s great experience and his independent purpose of the source.

    Read More

  • Nezahualcoyotl: A Plain Spring Song

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nezahualcoyotl (Hungry Coyote) born in 1402 in Texcoco, was considered the greatest poet of ancient Mexico. He was the ruler of the city-state of Texcoco, which together with the city-states of Tenochtitlan and Tlacopan made up the Aztec Empire. The Aztec Empire ruled the Valley of Mexico for 93 years (1428-1521) until Hernan Cortes’s Spanish conquistadores and his native allies defeated it. The Aztecs controlled almost all of central Mexico, except the Tlaxcalteca kingdom. However, Nezahualcoyotl was not an Aztec; his people were the Alcohuans, one of the northern tribes that migrated into the Valley of Mexico. After becoming the ruler of his homeland, his talents and vision of the city flourished and Texcoco became the center of the empire.

    Read More

  • Mexican Culture Essay

    594 Words  | 2 Pages

    What is culture? Many people ask themselves this question every day. The more you think about it the more confusing it is. Sometimes you start leaning to a culture and then people tell you you’re wrong or they make you feel like a different person because of your culture. I go through this almost every day. Because of the way I was raised I love Mexican rodeo but I was born and raised in Joliet. This can be very difficult trying to understand culture. I live in this huge mix of culture. Culture is personal. People can have many cultures especially in America and because of globalization. Cultural identity is not one or the other, it is not Mexican or American. Cultural identity is an individual relevant thing.

    Read More

More about Mexican Civilization Dbq Essay

Open Document