Class Structure, Warfare, Family Life, Religious Practices, and Agriculture Are Aspects of the Aztec’s culture

The Aztecs were a remarkable civilization. Th is civilization were distrusted and disliked because they tended to push others out of their way. They ruled an empire in Tenochtitlan in the time of 1350 to 1519. They also were known for their agriculture and human sacrifices. Agriculture was a very important part of their h istory because without their farming method the Aztec couldn't have created such great civilization. According to Document A of the Aztec DBQ, states that the Aztec empire grew more than 200 miles west to east, and north to south. Th is means that with the growth of the empire the population also grew and more effective agriculture techniques were needed to feed the people. They created the method of ch inampas because they

The Aztecs had human beings for sacrificial rituals. Aztec society was based on agriculture, and influenced by religion that encircled life of the Aztec empire. The Aztecs were polytheistic and worshipped gods that represented natural forces. These sacrifices were vital to their agricultural economy. All of the sacrifices were at a giant stone pyramids topped by temples where sacrifices were provided the gods. Human sacrifice played an important role to the indigenous tribes in the central Mexico. However, the Aztecs brought human sacrifice to excessive deaths that had never been practiced before. The Mexica Indians and other indigenous tribes believed it was necessary to constantly gratify the gods through human sacrifice. They performed this ritual spilling the blood of human beings onto the ground. The priests believed it was a way paying tribute to the gods for the weather, and good crops. If the blood flowed, then the sun would rise each morning. This would allow the crops would grow, and the gods would provide perfect weather for the

In the book Daily Life of The Aztecs On the Eve of the Spanish Conquest by Jacques Soustelle you are walked through what life was like for the Aztecs. You are in 16th Century Mexico, or to them Mexico-Tenochtilan. Soustelle does an excellent job immediately putting you in character with the introduction of the book. The book is broken down into seven different main chapters detailing major aspects of the Aztecs lives in the late 1500’s. You learn about where they lived, to the wars they fought, and what life was like for them from birth to death. In this paper I will further discuss four topics that were very crucial in the daily lives of the Aztecs. I will help you find a better understanding in their daily life as well as the many changes they migrated through over time. The four topics I will be discussing are: 1. Culture and Customs of the Aztecs 2. Civilization vs Barbarism 3. Art and Architecture 4. Education and Home Life.

Sacrifices were something that they did a lot of. They performed ceremonies for these sacrifices. Document two, Justification for Aztec Reign Over Central Mexico. This document is a speech which is a primary source. Friar Diego Duran talks about the importance of the Aztec culture.

The emperor was the most powerful. He had absolute power. The Aztec Noble class consisted of military leaders, government officials, and priests. Military leaders held tremendous power in Aztec society at the peak of the Aztec empire. A lot of nobles owned huge estates in which they presided over like lords. Nobles lived lives of luxury and of great wealth. The commoner class consisted of soldiers, artisans, merchants, and farmers who owned their own land. Merchants formed an exclusive group in which they would travel far away to act as a spy for the emperor. In turn they gained a lot of wealth. Enslaved people were kept captive and usually did various different jobs.

The daily life as an Aztec was very demanding; as they were in a constant state of war in order to please their God’s and conquer more territories to expand their

Aztec is civilization created by the ancient Indian, which was mainly distributed in central and southern Mexico. Aztecs were a tribe with a lower level of development at first, but they absorb and fuse with other outstanding cultural traditions of Indian in the region that they rose rapidly. Aztec had developed agriculture and the main crops were corn, beans, squash, potatoes. Religion played an important role in the life of the Aztecs. The inhabitants believed in the immortality of the soul and Supreme domination. They adored the natural god that one of the peculiar was to use the living person for sacrifice.

The religion of the Aztec, including their beliefs, customs and religions, acted as a tremendous influence on their government, economy, and culture. Religion was the foundation for the infamous culture of the Aztec Civilization. Through ceremonies of sacrifice, and the infusion of cosmology into their religion, the Aztecs sculpted a culture unlike that of any other civilization, and left behind a legacy to be studied and admired for generations to come. Religion ultimately shaped the unique civilization of the Aztecs, through cultivating the general outlook and values of the Aztecs, expanding the empire, and influencing the architecture and layout of their city.

The Aztecs were polytheistic; believing in many different gods, while the Spanish were monotheistic; believing in only one god. After the Spanish inquisition the country was 100% devoted Catholics. The Catholic Spanish had many religious practices; after the birth a child is baptized, it is a ceremony where water is sprinkled on their head symbolizing purity, this Christian ceremony was for both genders. The Aztecs however, had more traditional ideas in gender roles in a society, and introduced them after the birth of a child. After birth, baby boys were given a bow and arrow, and girls were given a weaving tool, a broom, and a basket. The Aztecs practiced blood sacrifices to feed their gods, going to the temple was a part of their daily lives. The leaders of the Aztec religion were the high priests, and the emperor. The Spanish did not practice blood sacrifices, but were devoted Christians. They had rituals such as weakly rites of confessions, and Sunday mass. Another catholic ritual is after the death of a person a priest performs a prayer. The religious leader of the Catholic faith is the pope. Both the Aztecs and Spanish although had different beliefs and practices the similarity was that they were highly devoted to their

The Aztecs were considered an empire and ruled land along the Valley of Mexico. Their land stretched coast to coast between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico and was continually expanding (Tangen). They had a powerful army and alliances with fellow tribes. They ruled more than 500 small states, and were populated with about five or 6 million people. In the middle of it all was their beloved capital city, Tenochtitlan. The city alone was home to 140,000 of the Aztec people and so popular that it was the densest city that has existed in Mesoamerica. The people of the Aztec Civilization were advanced socially. Their society was structured in classes of nobles, indentured servants and slaves, in descending order of social status. Each class had an important role to creating a fully developed society (History.com). The Aztecs valued art, and spent a large amount of time and expensive resources to make it. The art was so special that only the upper class Aztecs were allowed to own it. They made things like jewelry, pottery, statues, and painted walls (Ancient Aztec Art). The economy of the Aztecs had to be successful to supply their whole civilization. Trade was a main part of their economy that made most of their money. In addition, trade was important for them to have a way to receive materials they would not be able to obtain in their own land. The Aztecs were also skilled farmers and were able to sell all of their crops also. The main marketplaces were also located in the main and busy cities to make sure everyone could have access to it (Aztec Economy Trade and Currency). The Aztec’s religion was important among the people and they built temples, palaces, and statues for worship towards their gods. Another notable aspect of their religion is their practice of human sacrifice

Pre-Columbian Aztec Tribe was a very complex and hierarchical society that settled among the Aztecs of central Mexico in the times prior to the Spanish seize of Mexico. It was erected on the cultural bases of the bigger area of Mesoamerica. The culture was structured into self-governing city-states, called altepetls, which had smaller divisions. These city-states were further composed of one or more large kinship cluster (History.com). Nobles and commoners were the most fundamental social division in the Aztec empire. Noblemen were given more privileges that were not shared by the commoners most significantly the right to get protection from commoners on their land. The common individuals were exempted to own and cultivate land and to handle their possessions, while yet accomplishing the requirements of the lords and their calpulli, such as protection payment and military help. Nevertheless, at the same time were given some privileges equal to those of the lesser nobleness. During the rise of an Aztec empire, there were so many problems that the community experienced to conquer other lands and survive. This article illustrates some of the main problems that the Aztec tribe experienced. Among them are diseases, feeding a large population, ritual sacrifices, political problems through rivalry and prejudice and technological problems.

At the very top of Aztec society was the Tlacatecuhtli or "chief men" that dominated all religious ceremonies and was the military leader of the Aztecs. Below him were religious offices that served as military generals.

Religion plays an important part in the lives on Aztecs, also very complicated because they inhabited aspects

There were two chief gods who dominated the Aztec religion. Huitzilopochtli which means "Hummingbird Wizard" also known as Drinker of Blood and, Lover of Hearts, the Aztec patron deity and god of the Sun and War, and Tezcatlipoca which means "Smoking Mirror", the god of destruction and darkness The Aztec empire worshiped and sacrificed anything they had and could to serve their “God”. The universal religious symbol in the Aztec religion was the serpent. The Aztec economy was based on farming, and so the people

1. The nature of the regime of the Aztecs. The Aztecs was bloodthirsty tribe that overruled and claimed from their capital of Tenochtitlan the area around central Mexico. The Aztec society was very religious, but unfortunaely the main point of their religion demanded human sacrifice and this terrible act had to happen every month to make their “Gods” happy so they could insure a fruitful land for their people.