A Comparison of the Mayan and Aztec Civilization Regarding Their Political and Social
Order
The Mayas are an indigenous civilization from Central America that is known in
particular because of its rich and sophisticated culture founded by them in pre-Colombian
Mesoamerica. The Aztecs were also a Mesoamerican culture that existed between the 14th and
the early 16th century. In general, one uses the term "Aztec" to define the ethnically diverse,
mostly Nahuatl-speaking population of the Valley of Mexico; in the strict sense only the
inhabitants of Tenochtitlan and the two other members of the so-called "Aztec Triple Alliance",
the towns of Texcoco and Tlacopan, are meant to be Aztecs. From the late 14th century the
Aztecs expanded their political
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and military influence to their surrounding cities and nations that were not directly attached to the empire. At the height of their power they controlled wide parts of Central Mexico with the valley of Mexico as their center.
Between 1519 and 1521, the
Spaniards under Hernán Cortés finally conquered the Aztecs. In order to understand the
differences and similarities of the political and social order of the Maya and Aztecs civilizations,
this essay gives a short introduction.
The Maya civilization was heavily involved in foreign policy. This can be explained by
the fact that the individual cities constantly competed with each other and at the same time they
had to control the trading routes, which were used for long-distance supply. The political
structures were different depending on the region, period, single people and city. In addition to
hereditary kingdoms under the rule of an Ajaw, oligarchic and aristocratic forms of government
occurred. The Quiché, a subgroup of the Mayas, had various noble families, which perceived
different tasks in the State. Even democratic structures are observed at least on the lower level of
society: The still existing tradition of choosing the Maya’s Mayor every three years already
seems to exist for a longer time.
Zöllner
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The political system of the Aztecs could be described as a theocratic and military
democracy. These terms must first be explained: "theocracy" is called a religion-based form
of government. At the top of the theocratic state is mostly a "divinely chosen" person (for example, a "divine" king) or priesthood. The construction of policy in a theocracy is always subjected to the religious principles. A theocratic state is also called "City of God". In this case, "military" means nothing more than to have a permanent army and to be ready for war at any time. In a general sense "democracy" is when people themselves have the right to a say and are able to actively participate in the creation of policy. In the early days of the Aztecs, the country still belonged to everybody - private property was not known at that time. The inhabitants of the Aztec empire worked together as a "self-supporter" - all generated and manufactured goods were divided among them. For all Aztecs it was obligatory to participate in the Community work. In addition, every male Aztec also had the duty to provide war service as a soldier. To conclude, the Maya civilization was not as military oriented as the Aztec civilization. The Mayas had a wide net of places and with their foreign policy they were able to control their land. The Aztecs on the other hand were smaller in the beginning and were conquering many tribes militarily. Both civilizations show the idea of a democracy, the right to participate in politics.
They were characterized by densely populated permanent communities (villages) governed by a political leader, the chief at the central location. Roads and bridges linked the communities. The cities were well planned to encourage urban development and offer sustainable growth. The villages also formed social groups with the same political and social territories.
Inga Clendinnen has had a fascination for the MesoAmerican area and it's history for over 30 years. Having wrote many books on the peoples and history of the region, her knowledge makes her well qualified to write a book such as Aztecs. The book is not one based on historical facts and figures, but one which is founded on interpretations of
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