Harder-Aztec Civilization

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The Aztec Civilization Easier - Aztecs were a wandering Native American tribe who came to Mexico during the 13th century. There they built a great civilization including cities, pyramids, and temples. In 1519 Spanish conquistadors arrived in Mexico and defeated the Aztecs. Harder - Aztec comes from the word Azteca, which is derived from Aztlán ("White Land"). Aztlán is believed to have been the northwestern region of today's Mexico. Aztlán is the land where, according to Aztec tradition, their tribe originated. According to Aztec legend at the beginning of the 12th century until the 13th century, the Aztec peoples migrated south to the Valley of Mexico in search of a place to settle. By the 1400's and into the early 1500's, the…show more content…
This type of construction and the labor-intensive methods of chinampa agriculture help overcome the main limits to agriculture in the Basin of Mexico: variable rainfall, frosts, and soil fertility Aztec Religion (Polytheistic) A part of the religious Aztec legends is the belief in a hierarchy of gods. According to Aztec mythology, the top three gods were Huitzilopochtili (or “hummingbird wizard), Tezcatlipoca (“smoking mirror”) and Quetzalcoatl (“sovereign plumed serpent”). Below these three gods, those who practiced the Aztec religion believed there were four sub-gods and an infinite number of gods were below these four. Among them were the god of rain and the god of growth. Aztec Sacrifices Aztec sacrifices were an important aspect of the Aztec religion. At the root of these Aztec rituals was the belief that the gods needed to be nourished by human beings. This was accomplished throughhuman blood. A part of the Aztec religion, therefore, was to participate in bloodletting, which is intentionally harming and drawing blood from the body. Those who were higher in status within the Aztec religion were expected to give the most blood during these Aztec…show more content…
Huehueteotl was the Aztec god of warmth, death, and cold. He was responsible for light in the darkness and for food during times of famine. As a part of the Aztec religion, special sacrifices were held for Huehueteotl. The victim was first thrown into a fire, and then pulled back out with hooks before being dying. The living heart was then removed and thrown back to the fire. Aztec human sacrifices and bloodletting were important aspects of the Aztec religion, as they believed it brought balance and peace to the world around them. The After Life Warriors were highly regarded in the Aztec culture. They were responsible for going out and finding and capturing the majority of the sacrifices used to appease their gods. As a result, a special god was included in the Aztec religion to honor the warriors. This god,Camaxtli, was the god of war, hunting, fire, and fate. He was thought to have invented fire and to have made the Earth. The Aztecs believed that Camaxtli lead both warriors slain in battle and human sacrifices to the eastern sky. According to the Aztec religion, they then became stars in the sky. Specialized

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