Amazing Aztecs
A great civilization in Meso America
Introduction to the Aztecs
The Aztecs, came as a nomadic tribe Mexico,arriving in MesoAmerica around the beginning of the 13th century. From their capital city, Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs were a major and famous civilization and were very powerful. Invaders led by the Spanish conquistador captured Tenochtitlan by the early 1500s, which ended MesoAmerica's last native civilization.
Facts:
Facts:
- The Aztec civilization ended by the invaders of the Spanish explorers.
- Diseases were also a major cause for their defeat.
Culture and customs
The Aztec culture and customs was very different from today and had a major impact on the people's lives. All of the culture was based on 2major social classes.These were the Noble People and the Common people. The Noble people were the rich ones with a rich life. The common people were poor people. The art work from the Aztecs. Artwork tells us a lot about their religious practices. Here are some facts:
- Sacrificing humans was a major part of their culture. They thought that this pleased the gods.
- They had certain rules and rituals they had to follow in certain conditions, such as birth, stages in life and death.
- Great god believers.
Daily Life
Like all ancient civilizations, there were people who were very rich and people that were very poor. Facts:
- Rich people had their houses out of sun-dried bricks.They had special features to their homes like steam bath rooms and their houses were very clean. Poor people lived in huts with limited facilities.
- The upper class people had fancy clothing while the lower class had minimum and basic clothing.
- All children had to go to school, even kids of slaves
Religion and Practice
The Aztecs had very complicated systems with their behavior.They believed in many gods but they worshiped the sun god the most. Sacrificing was one one of the most important practices. Priests gave human sacrifices to the sun god to please him. On god's feast day, they sacrificed their slaves. The Aztecs also believed in afterlife.
- Religious ceremonies took place in temple structures called, Teocallis.
- The Aztecs believed that they were living under the fifth and the final sun and one day the fifth sun would die and the world would come to an end.
- Artworks and the arts were a major part of their religion which was for the record keeping for the scribes.
Aztec pics
Downfall
Like all ancient civilizations, the Aztecs did have a downfall. A Spanish explorer named Hernando Cortez went to start out the conquest in the 1500s. The Aztecs took him to be a human in god form and treated him well. But they were very soon suffering under them. Another major cause of their defeat was the European smallpox which had been severe. Facts:
- The Aztecs were more defeated by smallpox which came from the Europeans, which to being defeated by the Spanish.
- Cortez made alliances with other group and tribes which were enemies of the Aztecs and used their help.
Intresting Aztec Info
Cool Aztec Facts:
- The Aztecs are the only known ancient civilization to offer free education to ALL of their people.
- Common people got killed if their wore feathers. It was against the law.
- Paper was made from the bark of fig trees.
- The Aztecs farming method was a lot more harder to understand than the method the Spanish used.
- The weather was often not too hot or too cold.
- The Aztecs also created their own calender
Conclusion
Overall and in general, I think the Aztecs were very different and interesting people. These people have a major role in Native Mexican, Mexican and Spanish history. And they have influenced many languages and arts which still exist on to date.
Sites And Sources
- http://www.aztec-history.com/aztec-culture.html
- http://www.angelfire.com/az/atid410/
- http://listverse.com/2013/02/21/10-fascinating-facts-about-the-aztecs/
- http://aztecs.mrdonn.org/
- http://tinyurl.com/m3wqmp2
- http://tinyurl.com/k6s7ao5
- http://tinyurl.com/lzthrh3
- http://tinyurl.com/kg97om2
- http://tinyurl.com/k9xkf8s
- http://tinyurl.com/mfu75yk