Genius Day Project
Aztec and Mayan religion
The Aztecs
They were a dominate force, developing an intricate social, political, and religious organization
By the mid 15th century they had many of the near by city-states under their control
They were a Mesoamerica religion. Like other Mesoamerica religions, they had elements of human sacrifices.
Religious festivals were held according to patterns on the Aztec calendar
They often took people from other tribes and used them as human sacrifices for their Gods, Sun, Moon, and the planet Venus.
Metztli, the Moon God. She was the queen of the night. They called her Old Mother, who represented the Earth and the Moon
Her spouse was the god of fire
The Mayans
The Mayans excelled in agriculture, pottery, hieroglyphic writing, calendar writing, and mathematics
The Maya people were indigenous in Mesoamerica and northern Central America
Their religion was characterized by the worship of their Gods (especially the Gods of Sun, rain, and corn)
The most important God to them was Itzamna', the God of fire and hearth
Kinich Ahua was the sun God
The Mayans are mostly concerned with the suns childhood and conflicts leading up to his actual solar transformation
How they were similar
They had the human sacrifices to please their Gods, since they were both polytheistic \
There Gods were very important to both of them. They believed their Gods made the sun come up every day and made it rain so they could have crops
Citations
History.com Staff. "Maya." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 15 Dec. 2015
"Calendars Exhibit." The Mayan Calendar. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2015
"Mayans." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2015
Diffen.com. "Aztecs vs Mayans." - Difference and Comparison. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2015
Wikipedia. "Aztec Religion." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
"Mayan Religion." Mayan Religion - ReligionFacts. N.p., 17 Mar. 2015. Web. 16 Dec. 2015
"Sun God Picture." N.p., n.d. Web.
"Aztec Art." N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2015
Wikipedia. "Metztli." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2015\
Wiki. "Kinich Ahua." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2015
"The Aztecs MexicanHistory.org." The Aztecs MexicanHistory.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2015
Briggs, Austin. "Tlaloc-Aztec-Rain-God." Tlaloc- The Aztec Rain God. Austin Briggs, 27 Oct. 2012. Web. 17 Dec. 2015
"Maya Agriculture." Maya Agriculture. N.p., 28 Jan. 2011. Web. 17 Dec. 2015
Wikipedia. "Quetzalcoatl." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Dec. 2015. Web. 17 Dec. 2015