Aztecs
By: Sarah Spidle
Aztec History
Art
Art tells many stories, and it has for many years, including with the Aztec's. The Aztec's art that they painted on their temple walls, and made into pottery gave us information about who they were, like their religion, and the stories they had told about their warfare. Aztec art played a big role and important role in their culture, it expressed a lot like their religion, and warfare. They would paint paintings on the walls of the temples, or on special paper made of bark. They would have colorful masks made by craftsman as a tribute to various gods to be used in many rituals and/or ceremonies.
Human Sacrifices
Even though the Aztec's human sacrifices were gruesome, to the Aztec's it was more than just ripping someone's heart out while they were still alive, or chopping their heads off, and then skinning them. Other civilizations like the Maya and the Toltec's continued the practice, but the Aztec's took it to a whole new scale, something that had never been done before. There had been many reasons to the sacrifices that the Aztecs have done, they used the people that they sacrificed as a spiritual ritual. Also since the Aztecs didn't have cattle, or lots of choices for meat (cows, pigs, chickens, ect.) and some of the only meat sources they did have were alpacas guinea pigs, after they sacrificed someone, they ate the people that were dead.
Architecture
The Aztec's had a unique way of building their temples. They had different temples for each god that they believed in, like the god of war.
Citations
Cartwright, Mark .. "Aztec Sacrifice." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Mark Cartwright, 2 Sept. 2013. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
Cartwright, Mark .. "Aztec Art." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Mark Cartwright, 6 Jan. 2014. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.