Aztec Art Essay

Aztec Art:
Insight into a Lost Civilization’s Creations
Kaavye Lal
Boulder Creek High School

Abstract
In the 13th century the Aztecs ruled city-states from Tenochtitlan, and were feared as the most powerful civilization in America
The Templo Mayor is the center of Tenochtitlan and houses many of the statues representing the Aztec deities
The Aztecs develop ceremonial daggers made of flint and obsidian for ceremonies
The Calendar Stone utilizes two circular bands to determine ritual days
The Aztecs used feathers for shields and clothing to represent Quetzalcoatl
Paintings illustrate the Aztec’s style of clothing and the important roles they play as such as those who led the ceremonies wore robes
16th century the Aztecs encounter the Spanish led by Hernan Cortez, who attempts to rule Tenochtitlan
The Aztecs were defeated by the Spanish after a riot that put the city-state in a state of confusion
The Aztecs were isolated from the world until they fell to the Spanish which highlights that they didn’t have any of the inventions and innovations that the rest of the world experienced
Today much of the Aztec art is presented in museums where one can learn about the history and ideas of this lost society

In Northern Mexico, a group of people known as the Aztecs arrived and became the dominant

tribe in the region. Since the 13th century the Aztecs developed their capital city of Tenochtitlan as well as controlled their rival’s city-states. However in the 16th century invaders from Spain led by conquistador, Hernan Cortez, put an end to the Aztecs after taking Tenochtitlan (“Beyond Human Sacrifice,” 2002; “Montezuma, II,” 1998). Though the Aztec’s civilization crumbled, much of their art remains to tell stories of their religion and rituals that they practiced. Their art included statues of gods, ceremonial clothing, and illustrations depicting a warrior society built upon human sacrifice.
Around the 13th century the Aztec’s art was influenced by the three most important aspects of their culture - farming, war, and sacrifice. The Templo Mayor, the center of Tenochtitlan possessed many statues depicting deities such as Quetzalcoatl and Tlaloc. These gods controlled the forces of nature which contributed to the growth of their crops because of this, the Aztec art contains references to the elements especially the sun: “The pillars of the Aztecs' civilization were the sun, rain and earth that nourished their crops--and war, which supplied them with wealth from tribes they conquered. Each of these elements had its own terrifyingly powerful god” (“Beyond Human Sacrifice,” 2002). The Aztecs also created ceremonial daggers made of flint or obsidian known as Tecpatl. In these rituals they would use the dagger to draw blood from a prisoner of war to repay gods for giving life. The Aztecs developed a Calendar Stone that was used to determine what day of the year it was. For example [t]he innermost two circular bands represent the so-called Calendar Round, a fifty-two-year cycle of four concurrently running series of day counts: two numerical and two symbolic, with names linked to a sequence of rituals” (“Aztec Calendar Stone,” 2008). Using the circular bands of the Calendar Stone the Aztecs were not only able to tell the date, but also know what time a ceremony took place.
People view the Aztecs as savages that only know violence. Much of what the Aztec’s created displays the brutal acts they did on their enemies. In museums exhibits that show Aztec work often have illustrations of them using prisoners of war for their bloodletting ceremonies, battles with other tribes, and wearing the skin of their victims (“Terrible Beauty,” 2002). Also the museums displayed weapons that they use such as daggers with serrated edges and bows. This gives people the idea that the Aztecs were obsessed with death, but the Aztecs practiced agriculture as well which demonstrates that they weren’t as malicious as many people viewed them (“Beyond Human Sacrifice,” 2002). The Aztecs were well rounded in that they cared for war as much as they cared for the state of their people’s food and survival.
The Aztec’s existence wouldn’t have been as long as it was without the use of weapons. That were looked at as brutal and barbaric by people who see them on displays or in photos. In America during the 13th century clans often went to war with each other over crops and resources like precious metals (“Beyond Human Sacrifice,” 2002). If it wasn’t for the bows, and daggers the Aztecs developed, they wouldn’t have had the ability to survive as long as they did. In that time period in America the people relied on natural resources and brute force in order to beat the competition that opposed them. Which establishes the reason the Aztecs made such weaponry in order to beat the other tribes of America at the time (“Compelling Horror,” 2002).
People today study the Aztecs since they were the most advanced society in the Americas. Their art was key to learning the other parts of their culture. For instance their clothing, shields and daggers used for combat are covered in colorful feathers representing Quetzalcoatl. “The Aztec cosmos was filled with beings masquerading in changed form. Gods took the form of animals--Quetzalcoatl, Lawrence's Plumed Serpent, being a feathered snake” (“Compelling Horror,” 2002). There are also the oil paintings illustrating the Aztec rituals led by priests that wore robes and had tattered ears. Researchers can gather information like the clothing the Aztecs wore, the roles some of them played, and also how those roles applied to ceremonies. As well as the significance of these design choices in their clothing and weaponry like feathers to show their devotion to the feathered serpent, Quetzalcoatl. The artwork that the Aztecs created represents the society’s beliefs which are why researchers turn towards the art to understand and get insight on the daily lives of the Aztecs.
The Aztecs created the capital of Tenochtitlan, where rests the height of the Aztec’s culture. The Aztecs had rituals conducted, illustrations that represented their war-like nature, and statues for their deities. Despite the Aztec’s being the most powerful civilization in that part of the world at the time they weren’t ready for the advanced civilizations that were on the other side of the world. “Cortés finally convinced Montezuma to address his people and order them to obey the Spaniards. The angry Indians, however… showered him with stones. Montezuma died several days later, in June of 1520…” (“Montezuma, II,” 1998). This led to the destruction of not only the capital of Tenochtitlan, but the end of the Aztec civilization. Archaeologists discovered the remains of the Aztecs from their now destroyed capital and among the rubble they came across daggers, warrior outfits, and buried calendar stones for their sacrifices (“Compelling Horror,” 2002; “Aztec Calendar Stone,” 2002). Even though the Aztecs were gone their art was still intact and today is observed in museums as well as studied in order to understand these people’s day-to-day lives. Today artifacts recovered from these sites are displayed in museums for the public to learn more about the way this group of people interpreted life through their pieces of art.
For years the Aztecs as well as the rest of Mesoamerica was isolated from the rest of the world. This meant that the Aztecs didn’t have access to certain things that the rest of the world had. They didn’t have vessels to travel the sea, firearms, and trade networks that linked regions with each other. However this didn’t stop the Aztecs from making a civilization built upon their beliefs in the forces of nature and defending it against rival states. The Aztec’s artwork told stories of rituals meant to please their gods and weapons decorated to stand for these deities. The world can learn from the Aztec’s about understanding the ideas and concepts of those in the past. Although the Aztecs did slaughter their enemies and those they captured they used ceremonial daggers in blood rituals, back then civilizations were made based on those ideas (Compelling Horror,” 2002; “Terrible Beauty,” 2002). Despite the Aztecs being the dominant city-state in their time period their isolation from the rest of the world made them more vulnerable to the advanced technology that the Spanish possessed leading to their collapse. This meant that their art remained behind the borders of North America as well as Spain due to the Spanish taking anything of value.
Aztecs have ideas that are different to people of the present day. The artwork they made should be critiqued on the details, symbols, and what was considered right at that time. If one was to adapt the ideas of the Aztecs, and utilize them today to draw inspiration from what they created from the limited resources they had then another piece of their legacy could be preserved. With flint, obsidian, feathers, and paints they were capable of telling the story of their lives, their rituals, and how they worshiped their gods “…shields of coloured quetzal feathers, gold, rock crystal and daggers drawn from the palest green obsidian” (“Terrible Beauty,” 2002). For those aspiring artists, inventors, or those who seek to create in general should look to the Aztecs as inspiration. These people were able to explain their society, their rituals, and their history with the limited amount of resources and technology available at the time.
The preservation of Aztec art is essential in understanding the other areas of their culture.

For instance from Aztec art one can learn about the rituals they conducted, the type of clothing they wore, the gods they worshiped, and the history of the people. Not only should the Aztec art be preserved for the sake of remembering them, but to show the more creative side of the Aztecs since they are often viewed as violent by most people. Aztec art utilizes many techniques and materials such as feathers and obsidian, in an age when fine art is being taken out of the picture in favor of digital art the Aztec art grasps the public’s attention, and makes fine art relevant

again.

References
O'Connell, R. W., & Tegtmeyer, V. L. (2008). Aztec Calendar Stone. In J. Kinsbruner & E. D. Langer (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture (2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 427-429). Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3078900499/WHIC?u=maricopa_main&xid=f2a08fbe
Pepper, T. (2002, November 25). Beyond Human Sacrifice. Newsweek International, 62. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A94548621/WHIC?u=maricopa_main&xid=66e2e19c
Gayford, M. (2002, November 23). Compelling horror. (Exhibitions 1). Spectator, 290(9094), 74+. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A94983977/WHIC?u=maricopa_main&xid=9b904d6e
Montezuma, II. (1998). In Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1631004627/WHIC?u=maricopa_main&xid=e7755476
Terrible beauty; Aztec art. (2002, November 23). The Economist, 365(8300). Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A94544603/WHIC?u=maricopa_main&xid=7c77a826