A few differences between these civilizations were the social structure, natural resources, and differing cultural strengths. The Aztec and Mayan Civilizations in Americas The Mayan and Aztec civilizations were the earliest advanced civilizations in Central and South America. Each was different but they still shared a few similar traits. They had a daily life revolving around religious rituals generally requiring human sacrifices. Both civilizations had their own calendar and counting system along with polytheistic religious beliefs.
Sumerians based their gods according to the forces in nature they also had a close relationship with their gods even though their gods were known to be cruel; their worship was also based around divinity. The Sumerians believed that they existed and were on earth to serve the gods. People of all ages would suffer the gods fury and face challenges as a punishment from the gods if they did not serve or worship the gods properly. Both the gods and the people needed each other for example the gods needed the people to admire them and maintain them, meanwhile the gods from time to time would give them gifts or favors. It was believed that the kings were the gods’ representatives on earth; the kings had special privileges and special tasks that they had to accomplish.
There cultures were very different and yet similar, before the Europeans discovered America, the Aztec, Mayans, and Inca Empires were very different compared to the Pueblo peoples culture, but at they were also very alike in many cultural aspects. The Aztec, Mayan, and Incas differed in many was to that of the Pueblo people. All three tribes practiced human sacrifice but for different reasons; the Aztecs practiced human sacrifice because they believed their God demanded them, the Mayans practiced human sacrifice to maintain order and to maintain
Although their reign was not as long, their way of life impacted the new world in a great way from their ideas, creativity, and government. Although these empires have an extensive amount of similarities, they also have many differences that set each of them apart. The Aztec Empire Beginning with the Aztec empire, these people were looked upon as a “seminomadic group”. Established in Modern-day Mexico, they began their empire on a young island called Lake Texcoco, with their capital city of Tenochititlan (Strayer 589-590). The people in the Aztec society were clearly categorized in their differences and hierarchies.
The Aztecs would also “demand tribute from conquered territory,” as stated in Document 10. The Aztecs had high expectations in family life, warfare, and the treatment of those who they conquered. An additional document needed is the point of view of a ruler whose land was conquered by the Aztecs, so that we know the expectancies that the Aztecs had of them. The Aztecs were highly religious and took traditions very seriously (Documents 2, 5, 6, and 7). Their belief of their sun god, Huitzilopochtli, was no joking matter.
The Europeans guidance came from God and the Bible. The Algonquin also believed that all living things had spirits and souls, and should be treated with respect. The Natives thought of the Europeans as ignorant children because they couldn’t hear the spirits. The Natives gave more respect to the Europeans, than the Europeans did to the Natives because the Natives respected others and did not doubt their God existed for them. However, the Jesuits only believed in one God, their own.
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.
They were successful in doing so. The reason for this was because the Aztecs had core military beliefs that helped them gain advantage over the people surrounding them. They also had a civilization that worshiped human sacrifice. One can imagine going against and army of people who are hard to attack due to where they live, but also a people who do not mind dying because they truly believe they are dying for a divine cause. This would make one intimidating army to go against.
The Incas had a polytheistic belief system, which means they idolized several gods at the same time because they believed there was a god for each facet of the planet such as the sun, the moon, the lightening or even the rain. Though the Incas believed in many gods, one of the most important for them was Wiracocha because he was believed to be the creator of the planet and every single living creatures. The Incas based their belief system on him, he affected many of their layers of worship and beliefs. But they went further than that in their religion with the secondary tier also known as the astral level. In this level the Incas involved many worship with gods within the dimension of earth such as the moon or the sun.
The heavens were divided into thirtheen ascending layers, and the underworld nine descending layers. The temple in Tenochtitlán was also the place where the forces of heaven and earth intersected. Therefore, there was a big concern in the Aztec religion that had to do with fear of the nature, and a fear of the end of the world. Aztec food was a rich combination of many foods that was cultivated in the Aztec’s land. The Aztec diet consisted of maize, beans, squash, chillies, tomatoes, limes, cashews, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peanuts, and cocoa beans.