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Aztec sacrifices human essay
Chapter 10 mesoamerican civilzations
The rise and fall of the Aztec culture
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The Aztecs There are many questions in life such as what is the meaning of life and what is the secret of the bermuda triangle. Know one knows the answer but there are also more simple questions such as the one I will answer. The Aztecs were really strong people with many things to be found. As of now the stuff we found leaves historians wondering what should be emphasized more. The Aztecs agriculture or human sacrifice. That is the question I will be answering. I have one opinion on what I think should be more and less emphasized. I think agriculture should be less emphasized. According to Peter N. Stearns document B, he states that there were about 20,000 acres of land for farming. Yea farming is important for people and living but 20,000
acres is 20,000 full sized football fields. Imagine how many people had to work all day for life. They would get so tired and possibly start leaving the Aztec world. Also according to The mural by Diego Rivera document C, it states that the men were harvesters and the woman made tortillas. This is important in life but as I said earlier how tired would the farmers get. Also I think that agriculture shouldn’t be emphasized is because about every civilization does farming. To me farming is not as important as human sacrifice. The reason I think Human sacrifice should be more emphasized is for many reasons. According to Friar Diego Duran document D, he states “First they raised the hearts to the sun then they threw them into the shrine.” This is important because as a video I watched said that the reason the Aztecs performed human sacrifice is to please their Gods. I think the reason this should be emphasized is because there was a huge ceremony after the sacrifice to make there Gods happy. Also according to Friar Bernardino “He was treated like our most royal family member during the long year leading up to his sacrifice.” document E this shows that even if you are in a lower class before sacrifice you are respected dearly and people will hope that you will be happy for the rest of your life.
Inga Clendinnen's Aztecs:An Interpretation is an outstanding book dealing with investigations into how the Mexica peoples may have veiwed the world in which they lived. From the daily life of a commoner to the explosively, awe inspiring lives of the priests and warriors. Clendinnen has used thoughtful insights and a fresh perspective that will have general readers and specialist readers alike engaged in a powerful and elegantly written interpretation that is hard to put down without reflection upon this lost culture.
If someone gets a dog, they can get them for multiple reasons judging by the criteria they look for. If that someone is athletic, they would probably want an athletic and sporty dog, but at the same time they want to their dog to be attractive. But which one do they emphasize more? The same question can be asked about the Aztecs, but instead of a dog owner,historians. The Aztecs reined from 1350 to 1519, in what is present-day Mexico City. At the time, the Aztecs settled in a basin surrounded by towering, high mountain peaks. Their basin was about the size of Rhode Island. The weather was very unpredictable and the Aztec's basin collected water causing shallow lakes to form that they later used for agriculture. Their form of agriculture was called chinampas, also called "floating gardens". Chinampas were rows of crops that had been suspended on soil in the shallow lakes but, also connected to the ground by strong willow tree roots. The Aztecs would use canals to wade through the water and get to other chinampas. This genius idea helped raise their population to around 10 million and the Aztec's military power also helped increase the population, the capital (Tenochitlan) also had 300,000 citizens. But, in Texcoco in the beginning, it had a population of 10,000. At around 1434, the Aztecs demanded tribute and military service. At the same time, they had to keep their 128 deities happy, which they would do by performing ritual sacrifices and everyone felt that the ceremonies were beautiful. The Aztecs would also feast and dance. But, which should we stress more, agriculture or human sacrifice? Aztec agriculture should be emphasized more than human sacrifice because of three reasons: size, organization, and natural resources.
Throughout history many people write what actually happened but from their point of view. One of them that really common is Eurocentric perspective since they have travelled to new places and wrote down what they saw when they were there. A lot of that has happened with Mesoamerica because they have been taken over by the Spaniards and they wrote what they thought has happened. They thought they were god like compared to them. The Americas wouldn’t be what it is because of them. Also they thought that the Aztecs were more savage like people who like to sacrifice people. All of this was from their point of view and not the Aztecs who are the ones who know better than them.
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
It is the 1450s. Foreigners have invaded your land, and they’re capturing the citizens living there for their lethal rituals. (Doc. A) You are unlucky enough to find yourself kidnapped, along with your family. Your mother is taken away quickly, but your father is forced to become a human sacrifice for the Aztec gods. What does this mean, exactly? According to The History of the Indies of New Spain by Friar Diego Duran, your father’s chest is severed, and his heart is taken out of his body. This is all while he is still awake, and before the time of pain medication. He slowly bleeds to death on the temple stairways - and you’re watching it all. This sounds terrible, does it not?
The Aztecs people of Central Mexico have been a controversial culture studied by many archeologist and anthropologist alike. The Aztec had an empire in central Mexico when the Spanish arrived in the 1500s. The Aztecs had a very controversial practice not seen in many cultures around the world and that is a human sacrifice.
The Aztec’s and the Inca’s have many similarities such as religious beliefs, and views about gods. Inca’s views about training for war are different, and the Aztec’s artifacts are somewhat different to. The farm land compared to the Inca’s is differs also, because where the Aztec’s lived the land was elevated about ten thousand feet.
...asts today how the Aztecs lived in their society and how devoted they were to their Gods. But it has also, only recently become extremely popular in the mainstream media. It will only become more and more popular as the years go by and more discoveries and the more research that will be done on the civilization and culture.
The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican people that lived in the area of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th century. It is said that Aztecs came from a place called Aztlan. Aztlan was the Aztec's homeland, nobody knows exactly where it was, but it is believed that Aztlan lies somewhere to the north of Mexico. Some experts claim that Aztlan is a mythical place. According to Aztec legends Huitzilopochtli, their god of war and of the sun, told them to leave Aztlan and to wander until they saw an eagle on a cactus budding out of a rock and eating a snake. The Aztecs traveled many years to find the legend that Huitzilopochtli had told. They left Aztlan in the 12th century. They built their settlements in the Valley of Mexico by Lake Texcoco. There were other Indian tribes living in the area when the Aztecs arrived. The Aztecs called their settlement Tenochtitlan. By the time they settled after two centuries of voyage they called themselves by a different name, the Mexica, but the term Aztec has been used as a ...
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 Egyptians and Aztecs, are there own marked down in history with there many different but also similar activities. It’s what separates them out today when learning about the different culture and beliefs of this civilizations.
The Toltec civilization was one of the greatest Mesoamerican civilizations, prospering between 900 to 1150 CE. The Toltecs preceded the legendary Aztec civilization in Mesoamerica, who regarded them as their “great intellectual and cultural predecessors” (ancient.eu). They played a key role in maintaining the Mesoamerican culture that was passed down by several older civilizations including the Olmec, Teotihuacan, and Mayan civilizations. Much of what is known about the ancient Toltecs is derived from Aztec along with other Mesoamerican texts which document even older oral descriptions of historical events. The accuracy of these events, especially that of the Aztecan documents, has been questioned due to the tendency of the civilization to hyperbolize the feats of the Toltecs by combining historical truths with cultural myths. However, it cannot be argued that the Toltec civilization was vital in preserving the culture and ideology of the Mesoamerican region.
The fact that Aztec culture found a way to survive is significant. It shows the powerful resiliency of its followers and their ability to adapt to difficult conditions. From the followers of the Virgin of Guadalupe to those of the Day of the Dead to the worshippers of La Santa Muerte, the existence of the vibrant stories, holidays and traditions reveal that no matter how much a culture is oppressed, the fundamental human need for a collective identity allows conquest cultures to not only survive, but flourish as well.
... into society also came with a new social responsibility to make sure that the crops would never fail. For once a society had made this unique and vital bond with the crop, with deep meaning. For a modern mind, the Mayan methodology of working with maize, and how it became to dominate life far beyond a means of food, becoming the backbone of their religion, it is truly amazing and great, the Mayans for one were not simple folk their attitude towards maize was clearly one of great spirituality. The Mayan mind believed or realized that not only had the gods given them maize, the gods would continually need to be thanked for giving them a great crop and they cultivated it and through it thanked and worshiped the gods for feeding them, and allowing them to grow and excel. In the end, the relationship between Man and maize was a contract between the gods and the earth.
The Aztec civilization was a very complex society that was feared and known well for their various gory sacrifices done to please their many gods in their polytheistic religion. The much feared civilization began by the exile of one of the two Toltec leaders, which lead to the decline of the Toltec state that was later replaced by Mexica, or the Aztecs. According to the Aztecs, the land chosen to build their main city was chosen by the portrayal of an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its mouth. Through military might, the Aztecs managed to become the most powerful civilization in the mid-fourteenth century. They maintained their power through military might and the fear they caused other civilizations because of the human sacrifices they performed on their captured victims.