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The life of the Aztecs
Ancient Aztec civilization
The role of religion in the Aztec life
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Human Sacrifice was huge in the Aztec culture. Human sacrifice was big for the Aztecs in religious, political, and military purposes. Although the Aztecs weren’t the only ones who did human sacrifice, they are the ones that are mostly known for it.
Human sacrifice was important in religious purposes as it was seen as a way to please the Gods. The Aztecs seen it as the human sacrifices would please Huitzilopochtli who was the Sun God as well as the God of War. The Aztecs believed in order for the Sun to keep burning and to also keep humans prospering was through human sacrifice. Leading up to the sacrifice there would be huge festivals and feasts following up to the sacrifice. The sacrifices would be killed at the “center stage” where they would be surrounded by a dancing group dressed in costumes and decorations, lots of flowers, and even had thousands of the people living there attending the sacrifice. The victims either were beheaded, had their beating heart cut out while they were still alive, and some were even skinned while still alive. After the sacrifice was complete the victim’s skulls, bones, skin were kept and even seen as relics.
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Political human sacrifice was essential in Aztec culture because it was a way to show social hierarchy within it, from the enemies that were located around their city, and was a way to structure the society within the Aztec culture.
The emperor was considered the highest and was at the top, next up would be the nobles who would look over the lands that were owned by the emperor. Following suit would be the warriors, farmers, commoners, and the trade merchants. Then comes the lowest group in the hierarchy who were the slaves. The only way to gain nobility socially was by capturing a slave which was big on military purpose of human
scarification. Going into wars with a different group was created just to capture the enemies and have candidates just for human sacrifice. Human sacrificing was big for the Aztecs military practices as it was a way for an individual to move up into the warrior class on the hierarchy. If the person wanted to move on up they would have to capture at least 5 individuals from the enemy in a war they are in for human sacrifice. The men who fought bravely for the enemy side were considered high candidacy for the sacrifice as well as the men who were the most handsome. However one could be punished if their candidate isn’t brave going into their sacrifice. It is unknown how many victims were due to human sacrifice. There isn’t enough evidence to show the approximate number but scholars believe it to be a few thousand a year and some scholars believe it’s up towards 250,000 a year. I got my sources and ideas from pages in my textbook (317), (318), (319), (320)
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,...
Although there are good reasons for emphasizing human sacrifice, there are even better reasons for emphasizing agriculture. An example is the Aztecs' exceptional use of their surroundings, such as the willow trees for anchors, and reeds for frames. Human sacrifice can be also emphasized for the Aztecs' belief that the Gods needed blood, but the spotlight is on agriculture.
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,
Read those last few words again. As said in the popular children’s show Sesame Street, “one of these things is not like the other”. The integration of human sacrifice into Aztec culture was not nearly as subtle as written above, though: The most important Aztec deity in their whole religion, Huitzilopochtli, was the sun god. According to Aztec creation myths, Huitzilopochtli required a great deal of power to raise the sun every morning and keep the night from overpowering for too long. This strength was drawn from regular consumption of human blood and heart.
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
To begin with, the Aztec's cruel tribute system allowed Cortes to act as a liberator. The process of human sacrifice was extremely common and was feared by the majority of the common people. The Aztecs as a nourishment for the Sun and all other gods needed human sacrifice. The Aztecs sacrificed between 10,000 and 50,000 victims per year. As the majority of those who were sacrificed were war captives who opposed the Aztecs, they obviously greatly feared the brutal tribute system. However not only war captives were sacrifices, common adults and children were also sacrificed at times. Cortes himself was disgusted at the thought of human sacrifice, this allowed him to gain Indian allies as well as gain respect among Mexican tribes that feared and opposed the Aztecs. The majority of the population feared the process therefore making Cortes, whom despised the process, an appealing alternative. Many followed Cortes as they shared the same views on the 'human sacrifice' topic.
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 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 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.
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...
To get the sacrifices the Aztec went to war with other tribes in Mexico to get these human sacrifices (Conrad & Demmest 47-49) . With each conquest more sacrifices and more land was added to the Aztec kingdom. The Aztec were a strong civilization who were familiar with organized large scale war, had specialized war chiefs, and a well organized system of territorial levy in which large armies could be amassed in a short time (Age of Reconnaissance 124-125). They may have been well organized for war, but they were not prepared for internal changes in there civilization. When expansion was no longer an option there system crumbled.
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
Below him there was a council of four noble princes and three honored classes of warriors who managed day to day affairs in the empire. Below them were four social classes, nobles, commoners, serfs and slaves. Nobles: the nobles owned private plots of land or shared land with other families. Commoners: The commoners were the largest group who included priests, merchants, artisans, and farmers who held land in common with the nobles.
The Aztecs had many gods whom they worshipped by conducting human sacrifices. Human sacrificed assumed an unusually important role in Aztec life and reasoning during the 15th century (Strayer, 583). Tlacaelel, a prominent official of the Aztec empire, is often credited with setting the ideology of state that gave human sacrifice such immense importance. In accordance with Aztec religion, the Aztec patron diety Huitzlipochtli, tended to lose its energy in a constant battle against darkness. The Aztec world always hovered on the edge of catastrophe due to the possibility of endless darkness. To replenish the energy of the god and postpone the darkness, the sun needed the life-giving force found in human blood. Aztecs believed that the god’s sacrifices of creating the human race warranted their own sacrifice of their own blood and other humans. Because of this belief, the Aztecs were responsible to supply blood to their gods. This blood was supplied largely through wars of expansion and from prisoners of wars who were captured to be sacrificed (Strayer,
... Even though human sacrifices were a common occurrence at the time, the Aztecs ritual and persistence to please the god made the civilization known as Central America’s bloodiest civilization in the fourteenth century. Works Cited The “Aztec Human Sacrifices”. Myths of Latin America. 24 Mar. 2014 http://users.poliser.wisc.
Carrasco shows that sacrificing was key to the Mesoamericans. Their entire belief is through world renewing, world making, and world centering. Both Aztecs and Mayans revolved their society around structures that they thought was centered around the universe. Each one believed that their society revolved around the universe. Sacrifices such as autosacrifice, removing the heart while the person was still alive was a daily ritual with the Aztecs, and Mayans. The purpose for public sacrificing was to feed the gods and make the them happy with their people. The type of people sacrificed was the beautiful and the captured warriors after a war. The beautiful was sacrificed because the gods didn't give any distinct quality to be remembered for such as a disfigured face.