Aztec Culture and Society - Crystalinks. Aztec Culture and Society. The Aztecs were a Pre- Columbian Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 1. They called themselves Mexica. The Republic of Mexico and its capital, Mexico City, derive their names from the word . ![]() Mexico City is built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan. The Spanish colonization of the Americas reached the mainland during the reign of Huey Tlatoani , Moctezuma II (Montezuma II). In 1. 52. 1 Hernan Cortes and an allied army of American Indians that far outnumbered the defending Aztecs, conquered the Aztecs through germ warfare, siege warfare, psychological warfare, and direct combat. The Mexicas borrowed much of their culture from the ancient Toltec whom they seem to have at least partially confused with the more ancient civilization of Teotihuacan. To the Mexicas, the Toltecs were the originators of all culture; . Mexica legends identify the Toltecs and the cult of Quetzalcoatl with the mythical city of Tollan, which they also identified with the more ancient Teotihuacan. The Aztec empire included many cities and towns, especially in the Valley of Mexico. The largest city in the empire was the capital, Tenochtitlan. Canals were also cut out through the marsh so that a typical Aztec home had its back to a canal with a canoe tied at the door. They were a relatively unknown group of people who came into the Valley of Mexico during the 1. A. D., and rose to be the greatest power in the Americas by the time the Spaniards arrived, in the 1. Their history was passed on by word of mouth from one generation to the next. Legend has it that they came from an Island called Aztlan, meaning White Place - Place of Herons. The scrolls have the Aztecs leaving Aztlan, which was described as an island in a lake with Chicomoztoc depicted as seven temples in the center of the island. The Aztecs felt they were the . Your name here as sponsor of this page. The Wichita Indians. Back to the Texas Indians home page. Wee-Ta-Ra-Sha-Ro, Head Chief of the Wichita. Arawak men and women, naked, tawny, and full of wonder, emerged from their villages onto the island's beaches and swam out to get a closer look at the strange big boat. 7 Surprising Truths You Never Took Serious About The Zulu Tribe. Post by Andile Smith. Aztec culture (/ The Navajo People - tough and brave people - have a deep relationship to the alien gods. The Holy Ones, who came from the sky, were their teachers in a. The Aztecs believed Huitzilopochtli their war god was their protector, how had them search for their promised land. They were a poor, ragged people who survived on vermin, snakes, and stolen food. They were hatred and rejected by all the surrounding inhabitants of the valley, for their barbarous and uncultured habits. They were driven from one location to another. Early in the 1. 4th century, Huitzilopochtli told Tenoch to lead his people to a place of refuge on a swampy island in Lake Texcoco. When they reached their destination, they were to look for an eagle perched on a cactus, growing from a rock or cave surrounded by water. ![]() Eyeish - A tribe of the Caddo confederacy, they spoke a dialect, now extinct, very different from the dialects of the other tribes; hence, it is.At that location, they were to build their city and honor Huitzilopochtli with human sacrifices. The city they built was called Tenochtitlan, the city of Tenoch. Tenochtitlan was located on a marshy island with limited resources, they built a few thatch and mud huts, and some small temples. The Aztecs would have to work constantly to maintain a city on swampy land. There was also continuing tensions between the Aztecs and the neighboring peoples on the mainland who despised them. Despite these obstacles, the Aztecs worked hard to improve the quality of their lives. They adopted an agricultural system of farming called the Chinampas. Since it was built on swamp land, large wooden stakes were driven into the soft ground to provide secure foundations for the new buildings. They were able to use the stone Tezontli to construct the buildings on the unstable ground. Despite these precautions, the larger temples and palaces would often sink below ground level. As a result, the older building were continuously repaired or rebuilt with the newer structures built over the older core. With political genius, they chose a man by the name of Acamapichtli as their emperor. He was related to the last rulers of Culhuacan, and his lineage extended back in time to the great Toltec ruler Quetzalcoatl. With the selection of Acamapichtli as the Aztecs first true emperor, their were able to claim descendancy from the great Toltecs. They grew from a small tribe of mercenaries into a powerful and highly disciplined military force. They also formed alliances with their powerful neighbors Texcoco and Tacuba, known as the Triple Alliance. It was a time for building and the city Tenochtitlan grow and prospered. However, some of the tribes at the borders stayed strongly independent. This made it easy for the Spanish captain, Cortez to defeat them. The priests reported signs of doom, but Montezuma, the Aztec ruler, thought Cortez was a returning god. When the Spanish saw the gold presents Montezuma offered to them as presents, they wanted to conquer the city. The Spanish defeated the Aztecs and the Catholics felt that it was their duty to destroy every trace of the Aztecs. The few Aztecs that remain have carried on their culture today. In other contexts it may refer to all the various city states and their peoples, who shared large parts of their ethnic history as well as many important cultural traits with the Mexica, Acolhua and Tepanecs, and who like them, also spoke the Nahuatl language. In this meaning it is possible to talk about an Aztec civilization including all the particular cultural patterns common for the Nahuatl speaking peoples of the late postclassic period in Mesoamerica. The Triple Alliance formed its tributary empire expanding its political hegemony far beyond the Valley of Mexico, conquering other city states throughout Mesoamerica. A particularly striking element of Aztec culture to many was the practice of human sacrifice. Subsequently the Spanish founded the new settlement of Mexico City on the site of the ruined Aztec capital. Built on a series of islets in Lake Texcoco, the city plan was based on a symmetrical layout that was divided into four city sections called campans. The city was interlaced with canals which were useful for transportation. Houses were made of wood and loam, roofs were made of reed, although pyramids, temples and palaces were generally made of stone. Chinampas, misnamed . They were a very efficient agricultural system and could provide up to seven crops a year. On the basis of current chinampa yields, it has been estimated that 1 hectare of chinampa would feed 2. If one includes the surrounding islets and shores surrounding Lake Texcoco, estimates range from 3. About 3. 00,0. 00 people lived in Tenochtitlan. In this famous city, the government controlled and were responsible to deal with taxes, punishment, famine, and market trading. Punishment in the city of Tenochtitlan was enforced for breaking any of the code of government laws. Offenders were enslaved into tedious work conditions for a specific amount of time. If the offense happened to be minor, the law- breaker was charged with a string of fees or fines. This type of governing system is only one of the many things that affected aspects of everyday life for the Aztecs. Its crime rate was extremely low, and it was almost impossible to find waste in the city. The city's inhabitants were smart, and loyal to the city. The structures were amazing, including the Main Temple, the Great Pyramid, and many famous palaces. The Aztecs worked around things that were hard to come by, like food. Instead they maintained other jobs and traded with foreign countries. Everything about Tenochtitlan was wonderful, and the city stands out as one of the greatest empire of all time. Supposedly, the myth behind the founding of Tenochtitlan: Huitzilopochtli (the God of the Aztecs) told one of the leaders in a dream, . There you will establish a city named Tenochtitlan. The reason behind naming the city Tenochtitlan was that it meant the place of rock and nopal. The heart of Capil landed on a rock, where a nopal grew; . This leader, his name unknown, followed his god's command, despite this area being one of the worst pieces of lan in Mexico. Tenochitlan was built where Mexico City now stands, and the land was marshy and snake- infested, the little amount that there was. At first, Tenochtitlan's position was on two islands, yet over short periods of time it extended to the lake circling it by way of building docks attached to the isles by peers, and building settlements on these docks over Lake Texcoco. There were four huge dikes all going out from the center of the city to separate docks and small islands. These four dikes made up four quadrants in the city. Each of the quadrants contains housing developments, and what were known as . The houses were painted white with adobe roofs. The reason the houses were painted white was so the light would reflect of them and keep the inhabitants living in the house cool. The floating gardens were important to Tenochtitlan because there was so little land to farm on. The inhabitants of Tenochtitlan used irrigation to grow crops throughout the year and made . The floating gardens were a great success, and also added to the beauty of the city. Tenochtitlan was probably one of, if not the best designed city in the world, and the center of the city proved this true. The center was roughly five- hundred and fifty square yards, but seemed much bigger because everything was packed so tightly together. There were close to a dozen temples in the center, but the most important one was the Main Temple. The Main Temple was dedicated to rain god Tlaloc and sun god Huitzilopochtli, whom the Aztecs considered their protector. The Main Temple was a large temple, which words could not describe. It was important to the Aztecs of Tenochtitlan, and they worshiped daily in it. There were also many palaces and pyramids. The palaces were dedicated to the kings and nobles, and the pyramids were made for sacrifices. The people mostly used prisoners of war for their sacrifices. The main place of sacrifice was the Great Pyramid. It had one- hundred and fourteen steps, and added to the magnificent beauty of the city. The Plaza was in the dead center of the city, and was whitewashed. It had no litter whatsoever, and great walls surrounding it. The Plaza and all of these structures make the center look like a thing of beauty. Tenochtitlan was spread out over 2.
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