THE AZTEC`S
WHAT WAS ANCIENT AZTEC ART AND CULTURE
LIKE? WHAT ABOUT THE AZTEC RELIGION? AND THE
LEGENDARY AZTEC SACRIFICES?
THE AZTEC EMPIRE WAS PEOPLED BY A GROUP THAT WAS
ONCE NOMADIC, THE MEXICAS. THEIR CHRONICLERS
TOLD THEM THAT AFTER THEIR LONG JOURNEY FROM
AZTLÁN, THEY FOUND THEMSELVES TO BE OUTCASTS,
UNTIL THEY FOUND THE SIGN SENT TO THEM BY THEIR
GOD HUITZILOPOCHTLI, AND BEGAN TO BUILD THEIR
CITY. AND SO THE MEXICA PEOPLES CONTINUED, AND
THE AZTEC EMPIRE BEGAN.
THE CITY OF TENOCHITLAN WAS SOON TO BECOME ONE
OF THE LARGEST CITIES IN THE WORLD. THE POWER OF
THE MEXICA PEOPLES BECAME MORE CONSOLIDATED,
AND THEY BEGAN TO FORM ALLIANCES. THEIR MILITARY
POWER GREW AS WELL, AND THEY BEGAN TO CONQUER
PEOPLES IN THE SURROUNDING AREAS.
AT THE HEIGHT OF ITS POWER, THE AZTEC
EMPIRE WAS ORGANIZED AND STRONG, BUT
RULED WITH FEAR. IN 1519, A CLASH OF
CULTURES WAS TO TAKE PLACE, UNLIKE
ANYTHING BEFORE IT. ALTHOUGH THERE WAS
MUCH TRAGEDY IN BOTH THE SPANISH AND
AZTEC EMPIRES BEFORE THIS, THE MEETING
OF THE TWO CIVILIZATIONS WAS
DISASTROUS. IN A FEW SHORT YEARS, THE
CULTURE AND STRUCTURE OF ONE OF
HISTORIES GREATEST EMPIRES WOULD HAVE
VIRTUALLY VANISHED.
IT WAS AGAINST THE LAW TO BE DRUNK IN PUBLIC IN THE
AZTEC EMPIRE, UNLESS YOU WERE OVER 70 YEARS OLD!
EACH AZTEC HOME HAD A STEAM BATH!
IT IS SAID THAT THE MAJOR AZTEC WEAPON COULD CHOP
OFF THE HEAD OF A HORSE WITH ONE BLOW!
AZTEC SACRIFICE
IN SPITE OF ALL THE GREAT
ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE EMPIRE, IT'S THE
AZTEC SACRIFICE THAT THE PEOPLE ARE OFTEN
REMEMBERED FOR. WHY WERE SACRIFICES
OFFERED? WHAT WERE THEY LIKE?
Types of sacrifices
Though the human sacrifice is the most talked
about, there were actually many types of sacrifices
in the empire. The people believed that they owed
a blood-debt to the gods. They wanted to avert
disaster by paying the endless debt. Blood was a
common theme - the sacrifice that the gods
required
So, animals would be sacrificed, as well as
humans. Also, there was ritual blood-letting, where
people would cut themselves to offer their blood to
the gods.
HUMAN SACRIFICE
HUMAN SACRIFICE WAS PRACTISED TO SOME
EXTENT BY MANY PEOPLES IN MESOAMERICA
FOR MANY CENTURIES. BUT IT WAS THE
AZTEC EMPIRE THAT REALLY TOOK THE RITUAL
TO NEW HEIGHTS. HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE
SACRIFICED BY THE AZTECS? WE DON'T
KNOW HOW MANY WERE SACRIFICED OVER
THE YEARS - IT'S POSSIBLE THAT SOME
ACCOUNTS ARE EXAGGERATED - BUT IT WAS
PROBABLY THOUSANDS EACH YEAR - TENS OF
THOUSANDS OR MORE ALL TOGETHER. SOME
ESTIMATES CLAIM 20,000 A YEAR
The Aztecs had 18 months in one cycle, and for each of the 18
months there was ritual sacrifice. The victim would be painted as a
part of the ritual, they would be placed on a slab where their heart
would be removed and held up to the sun. The body would be
thrown down the stairs of the temple/pyramid. The body would be
disposed of in various ways, such as feeding animals at the zoo or
putting on display (the heads). There are some accounts of
cannibalism, but it's uncertain if this was practised to any great
extent.
There were other ways that humans would be sacrificed - shot with
arrows, drowned, burned, or otherwise mutilated. Killing in a fight
also took place.
Both the empire's own people, and their enemies were
sacrificed. The warriors were often involved in a special
ritual war called a xochiyaoyotl . The object was not to gain
territory or kill the enemy, but to capture them as food for
the gods. Both sides of the battle were required to fight,
and they usually were willing participants. The people would
be captured instead of killed, and then sacrificed.
BY KELSEY
IGOE