The Aztec and Mayan Civilizations in the Americas Ashley M. Carpenter Western Civilization II National University June 2, 2012 Abstract From 250 A.D. to the late 1500’s A.D. the Mayans and the Aztecs controlled Central and South America. Each was unique, but still shared a few of the same traits. Both had their own calendar system, counting system, and Polytheistic religious beliefs along with similar temples built to worship their deities. While the Aztecs were the most prominent users of human sacrifice, the Mayans also participated in such rituals. A few differences between these civilizations were the social structure, natural resources, and differing cultural strengths.
They were a dominating society of Mesoamerica, rich in culture and community. The Mayans evolved from surviving in the jungles to building a magnificent empire. The features of the Mayan civilization made it better than any other of that time in the Americas. Mayan Astronomy is known for its advanced and extremely accurate calculations. By observing the sky the Maya created calculations on astronomical events.
The Maya was considered one of the most advance cultures of their time due to these great characteristics that they posses. (New World Encyclopedia. Web. 03 Dec. 2009) Archeology finding show that the Maya began its civilization around 1000 BC. There has been debate over this, due to the fact of the land of the Maya being destroyed.
Thousands of workers worked on building the temples in this settlement. Kaminaljuyú developed trade routes all the way to central Mexico, increasing its importance to other settlements and increasing its own economic strength. Kaminaljuyú did not maintain its influence when the city of Teotihuacan rose. Teotihuacan, also known as the city of the gods, dominated Kaminaljuyú politically and economically severely reducing Kaminaljuyú’s influence on the Maya. Teotihuacan will be the trading, cultural, and religious center of Mesoamerica for several centuries.
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.
Most of these cultures pertained to the great Post-Classic civilizations of the Toltecs and the Aztecs, with a few remaining to the Mayan civilizations that survived past the Classic era of Mexican history and made it into the Post-Classic. I will expound predominantly upon the Toltec and Aztec civilizations. The Toltec people were absorbed by the conquerors and in the south they became assimilated with the Maya, subordinates to the people they once conquered. After the fall of the Toltecs, central Mexico fell into a period of chaos and warfare without any single ruling group for the next 200 years, when the Aztecs gained control. The Aztecs originated from a legendary land know as Aztlan, a Nahuatl word likely meaning "place of the heron".
Nations Identity Mexican immigrants, along with their Mexican American descendants, occupy a unique place in the story of U.S. immigration. They are known by many different names, come from divergent origins, and took widely different paths to becoming part of the United States. Millions of people in the United States today identify themselves as Mexican immigrants or Mexican Americans. They are among both the oldest and newest inhabitants of the nation. Some Mexicans were already living in the Southern and Western regions of the North American continent centuries before the United States existed.
Mexico and Central American Religion The main presence of religions in Mexico and Central America was Christianity and the Maya and Nahua (otherwise known as the Aztec) religions. Fernando Cortes introduced Christianity to the Mesoamericans when he overtook Tenochtitlan in the 16th century. These two religions were similar in some aspects. They were extremely barbaric in the way they worship and they also worshipped the same God. They held very elaborate ceremonies to celebrate their gods.
The Aztec’s believed that numerous gods controlled their daily lives. Their god’s names included: Uitzilpochtli “the sun god”, Coyolxauhqui “the moon goddess”, Tlaloc “the rain god”, and Quetzalcoatl “the inventor of the calendar and writing”. Aztecs strongly believed in human sacrifices to prevent the bad gods from doing evil things, therefore, believing that their gods gained strength from the blood of a human as well as the heart. For major rituals warriors were sacrificed, for the warrior this was one of the greatest honors and for minor rituals prisoners were used. In an Aztec marriage the grooms shirt is tied to the brides dress in order to express there bonding and after the wedding ceremony incents were burned for 4 days before proceeding with the
Some, such as Amun, was worshipped throughout Egypt. Often gods and goddesses were represented part human and part animal. Temples were considered dwelling places for gods. Each city had a temple built for the god of that city. As the priests became more powerful, tombs became a part of great temples.