Aztec Sacrifices, Rituals, and Religion The Aztec empire is one of the most fascinating empires to be established. They as a society learned not only to live but to thrive in a place that would be deemed uninhabitable today. This society lasted about 4 centuries before its demise. Although the greatness of this community in itself is profound, I’ve chosen to take a more sinister route and talk about the traditions of sacrifice and the meaning behind it all. In this paper, I intend to refute the idea that Aztec society was uncivilized because of the aspects of their traditional and cultural practices.
Although the Aztecs were not the first nor the last to practice human sacrifices they have become the most sensationalized case in history.
They made use of large and shrunken cacao beans as currency. These beans were hard to come by because they were located in distant lowland areas. One place where both their religion and politics can be found together is in their Ball Game. The ball itself represents the sun passing through the underworld. The teams represented different nations. The ball game was used as a substitute for warfare. It is believed that instead of warfare the ball game was used to settle disputes and the losers would lose their lives. Therefore, the ball games were used not only for entertainment but also to gaining power and wealth. They gained wealth from the enormous bets that were made by nobles on the odds of the game. Nobles bet their kingdoms, their tributary income and other massive amounts of wealth. The Aztecs during this time were a very advanced people. They made use of trading, class systems, politics, and religion. They found ways to end disputes between nations without declaring war. Some might say these things don’t define a nation but to the contrary they do. There a seven basic elements archeologist had used to define a civilization. They are: Social structure, Stable food supply, Religion, Government, Writing, Culture, and technology. All of which the Aztecs had and
The nobles ran the government, owned the land, controlled the army, and lived very well off. The Aztec Empire was broken up into city states each of which were ruled by a supreme leader, judge and administrator. The only difference between the city states and the capital is that the supreme leader of the capital was also the Emperor. He ruled until his death, was believed to be a representation and spokesman for the gods and was given the right to declare war. He also had a council of advisory but maintained absolute power. The Aztec legal system was a very complex system. It is made up of generational customs and royal decrees. The law was interpreted by Aztec judges. They had civil and criminal courts and even special jurisdiction courts. Most punishments were written in a pictograph or passed down by hymns. They began creating written laws a while before the Spaniards arrived. In many ways Aztec law and policies are comparable even to today. They however didn’t have any type of representation for the person on trial but, they had the basics of what makes our judicial system function today. Although punishments tended to be more severe they had the right idea as to how trials should work. Aside from the noble class and their many responsibilities there were the commoners, and the slaves. The slaves usually were from other captured states or people who committed crimes or owe
Sometimes, those practicing the Aztec religion sacrificed just one person. At other times, hundreds or even thousands of captives were sacrificed at a time. Each Aztec sacrifice, however took place the same way. The captive or captives were taken to a pyramid or temple and placed on an altar. The Aztec priest then made an incision in the ribcage of the captive and removed the living heart. The heart was then burned and ...
The religion and culture of the Aztecs played a role in the way the way they thought and fought. They worshiped the war-god Huitzilopochtli. He was identified with the sun and was called "the Giver of life" and "the Preserver of Life" (xxxix). The religion carried some ridiculous rituals such as human sacrifice along with using magicians and wizards to cast spells. In war conditions, human sacrifice played a big role because the Aztecs would not fight to kill,...
... A few photos of Tenochtitlan and warriors headdresses, clubs and obsidian blades would increase the pleasure 10 fold. Also in places the author tends to divert to other Ameriindian cultures and use their ritual practices as examples. These comparisons can bring the ritual practices of a 500 year extant culture into modern day belief.
Spain, as one of the most powerful nations in the old world, had a great influence on many events in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Spanish also had an influence on many other empires/nations' fate. One of the empires that suffered a grave fate at the hands of the Spanish was the Aztec empire. The Aztec empire was not the oldest Mesoamerican empire and it was formed from an agreement between three city-states. The Aztec's class system had the emperor on top, then the priests, and everyone else below them. The priests were responsible for keeping the gods happy. The sacrifice of goods and people was a commonplace in the Aztec culture, and it was often the goods/people of other nations that were taken for sacrifices. As one can imagine,
Thus, historians ought to emphasize the significance of human sacrifice, and not their agriculture, when discussing the Aztecs. Religion is clearly a vital part of the Aztec culture. They had at least 128 gods, including but not limited to the divine beings of “rain, fire, water, corn, the sky, and the sun.” They were honored in numerous ways: ceremonies and festivals, dances and feasts, and by having humans sacrificed to them. Background Essay:
Back in the time of the Aztec their culture was very different but also similar from our now. For instence they belived in human sacrifice and also there was only a few different jobs that you could make a living through. . There are four major jobs in their society,which are being a priest,tradesmen,warrior or in your a women you would more often then not work hard in the houses learning how to weave and make clothes.
The pottery was used to eat out of and they could also trade it to other tribes for food or maybe even horses. The Aztecs did feather working and goldworking. They made shields and did art work with the feathers. They held the feathers together with glue made from bat dung.
The Aztec Empire was the most powerful Mesoamerican kingdom of all time. They dominated the valley of Mexico in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Aztecs were an advanced and successful civilization that built beautiful, sophisticated cities, temples, and pyramids. They also created a culture full of creativity with mythological and religious traditions. Aztecs lead a structured and evocative life that let their society to become a very superior civilization. The Aztec’s communication skills were very well developed for their time; through religious beliefs, government involvement, and family life they lived a full and productive life. Until in 1519 when the Spanish conquistadors arrived in Mexico, and defeated the Aztecs.
... is allowed to leave land and wealth to her daughters when she dies. Aztec women were allowed to inherit land but was not promised. In both civilizations, women wove clothing and patterns. The clothes Incan women wove had a more religious and holy background and was created for kings and royal families to wear. The weaving Aztec women did was less religious and was mostly for the people in their family or community.
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...
The Aztecs believed they owed the gods everything for creating them and the world around them, therefore the gods needed to be fed or nourished daily. To honor their gods and show their gratitude they performed human sacrifices by offering hearts and blood. In doing so, they believed human sacrifices would ensure their existence to the world, and in turn help them in their after life. Aztecs also saw these rituals as a way to send a political message to control their own citizens and instill fear in their foreign neighbors. These sacrifices were performed by a specialized priest at the great temple, the Huey Teocalli, at the very top of the pyramid for all to witness. The heart was cut out while the victim was still alive. The still beating heart would then be burned in offering to the chosen god. Afterward, the body was thrown down the stairs of the pyramid where the head was then cut off and placed on a skull rack, known as a Tzompantli, displayed for all to see. (Ancient History
Center for. “The Mystery of Aztec Sacrifices.” Wilson Quarterly 2.4 (2000):110. History Reference Center. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
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
The three social classes of the Aztecs were slave, commoner, and nobility. The slaves (lowest class) were basically servants, although they could buy there way to freedom or if they escaped from their masters and reached the royal palace without being caught they would earn their way to freedom. There were two kinds of commoners (middle class). The maceualtin were given a lifetime ownership of a plot of land in which they would build their house on. The tlalmaitl were tenant farmers. The nobility (highest class) were usually rulers, chiefs, or nobles(Aztecs/ Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia). The Aztecs typical home was on a log raft covered with mud which had plants on it that stabled the raft with its roots. The home usually had it’s back to a canal with a canoe tied at the door so they could have efficient transportation(Aztec Empire History).
Why did the culture and customs require human blood to survive? How did high Aztec society view these sacrifice? These answers are easy to obtain using anthropology and archeology and historical documents from the time such as the infamous letters of Cortez. To the first question o why did the Aztecs practice human sacrifice to understand the reasons one must understand their epic religious beliefs. The Aztecs thought the world would end if they did not sacrifice human blood to their gods. The Gods were always locked in an epic battle and needed human blood to keep the universe from being destroyed. According to Aztec mythology, this world was the fifth and last universe so human blood was needed to continue the universe and prevent its destruction. The world had been destroyed four times before by the gods and it was up to the Aztecs who thought they were in the center of the world to stop its