Worldviews
in Conflict
Social Studies 8: Unit 2
Introduction
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Turn to page 148
Examine each image carefully and read the
captions for each one.
How does each image depict the contact
and mixing of different worldviews?
The People of the
Sun
Social Studies 8: Chapter 7
The People of the Sun
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Turn to page 151
Read the story in the light blue box
What effect do you think the hardship
wandering might have had on the Aztec
people?
What other story do you know that is similar
to this?
The People of the Sun
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Our Inquiry Question for this chapter is…
In what ways do a group’s collective
beliefs and experiences contribute to
shaping a unique identity?
The Physical Landscape
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The inquiry question for section 1, “The
Physical Landscape” is…
How might a society’s worldview
influence its ability to adapt to the
physical geography?
The Physical Landscape
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What do you think of when you see the
mountains?
What feelings do you have?
Your worldview, attitudes, and knowledge
shape how you respond to the physical
geography around you.
The Physical Landscape
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The Aztecs saw mountains as sacred or
holy sites.
The height of a mountain was believed to
bring a person closer to the gods.
So for the Aztecs the world consisted of
both physical and sacred landscapes.
Not surprisingly the Aztecs built their
temples to resemble mountains.
The Physical Landscape
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The land the Aztecs settled in was a
swampy island in a shallow, salty lake.
But the Aztecs believed they were sent
there by their god, so they were determined
to survive.
The Physical Landscape
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Examine the map on page 152.
Pay special attention to the elevation guide
in the lower left corner.
How is the location of the Aztec home
connected to their religious beliefs?
The Physical Landscape
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The power of mountains
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Mountains provided security
They also allowed flash floods
And often prevented rainfall
Solution: The Aztecs built a dam at one end of
their lake to control the water level and an
aqueduct to bring a constant flow of fresh water
into the city.
The Physical Landscape
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An Island Home
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The Aztec built their city (Tenochtitlan) on Lake
Texcoco.
This provided excellent protection from enemies.
Turn to page 154 and read the “Zoom In”
section.
The Physical Landscape
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Changing Geography
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Examine the map on page 155.
Identify the changes to the physical landscape
that were made by the Aztecs.
Why would they do this? What advantages were
there?
Expanding the Empire
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Why did the Aztec’s sacrifice humans?
What did the Aztec’s believe about the world and the
location of Tenochtitlan?
Why did they build temples?
What did they trade?
What did they achieve through trade?
Aztecs and Human Sacrifice
Killing another person as a sacrifice had a deeply religious
significance.
It was an expression of their devotions to the gods
The victim’s blood nourished the gods.
If there was no blood the gods would grow sick and die, the
world would come to an end.
War was important to the Aztecs because it gave them the
opportunity to capture new victims to sacrifice.
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The early Aztec economy consisted of a type of barter system as
this was a pre-capitalist society. Minor purchases were made with
cacao beans imported from lowlands.
What would the following have been worth:
a small rabbit?
an egg
a large piece of cloth
In the marketplaces, a small rabbit might have been worth 30
beans, an egg cost 3 beans while larger purchases of cloth could
range from 65 to 300 cacao beans.
Read page 165-166
Why would the expanding Aztec empire need to increase its trade
with other nations?
How can the need for increased trade sometimes lead a nation to
war?
Expanding Through War
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“We shall conquer all the
people in the universe. I will
make you lords and kings of
every place in the world.”
Once they developed
Tenochtitlan into a powerful
and successful city this
motivated the Aztecs to create
a great empire. By the time the
Spanish arrived in 1519, The
Aztecs controlled an empire
larger than any in North
America.
How did they do this? (discuss
predictions)
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The Aztecs viewed war as a
way to please the gods.
Notably, they were prepared to
die for their nation.
read pages 167–168
Are young Canadians willing
to die for Canada in a war?
How do Canadians respond
when Canadian peacekeepers
are killed while carrying out
UN duties?
Would young Canadians
consider it an honour to die as
a human sacrifice meant to
appease a violent god?