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Aztec culture existed on the plains of Mexico from the 11th
century until the beginning of the 16th century. The Aztec
language, called Nahua, is still spoken by more than 1 million
Mexicans today. |
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HISTORY
It is thought that the ancestors of the Aztecs came to North America
via the Bering Strait during the last ice age. After living in the
southwest of what is now the United States, they started migrating
further south, towards Mexico, around 1168. The first Aztec settlement
was created in South Central Mexico on an island in a lake (Lake
Chapultepec) around 1248. They lived here fairly peacefully for
about a century, but then wars broke out with their neighbors. Many
Aztecs became slaves and those that escaped were forced to move
on. They resettled near Lake Texcoco around 1325.
Aztec fortunes changed quickly after this. They drained the water
of the lake and built artificial islands with lush gardens. They
also started to build their capital city, Tenochtitlan. Gradually,
the Aztec also began to conquer the surrounding civilizations and
established a powerful empire. The neighboring peoples were forced
to supply the Aztecs with food, slaves, pottery, textiles and on
special occasions, victims for human sacrifice.
In 1519 the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortéz, looking for gold,
landed in Mexico with a few hundred men and horses. At this time
there were as many as 15 million people living in the Aztec empire
and 300,000 in Tenochtitlan. Cortéz gathered together all the conquered
peoples in the empire who wanted freedom from the Aztecs and headed
for Tenochtitlan. The Aztecs, especially King Montezuma, thought
Cortéz and his men were gods and this allowed Cortéz to march into
Tenochtitlan as a guest and take the Aztec King Montezuma prisoner.
Two years later he defeated the Aztec armies and destroyed their
capital. Half the people in the city were either killed or died
of a small pox epidemic that the Europeans brought with them. Cortéz
burnt down many beautiful palaces and temples the Aztecs had built
to honor the gods, and destroyed many of the records the Aztecs
made of their society and religion.
Those who converted to Christianity were spared by the Spanish and
accepted as Christians. Those who refused to convert were persecuted
or killed. Many Spanish married the newly converted Aztec and this
has led to society that was very ethnically mixed. However, over
time the Aztec lost their identity and became part of the Spanish
Empire. After Mexican Independence in 1821 they became Mexican.
Millions of Mexicans today have both Aztec and Spanish heritage
(called mestizos), but little remains of Aztec culture. |
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RELIGION
Aztec religion was mixture of beliefs created from the many civilizations
that the Aztecs encountered on their journey south or that they
conquered while establishing their empire. They took elements from
civilizations such as the Toltec, the Zapoteca and the Mayas. The
gods that were worshipped by the peoples they conquered were integrated
into their own religion and became Aztec gods. In this way, the
Aztecs ended up having hundreds of gods. Since it was impossible
to worship all the gods, different branches of Aztec religion came
into existence. Each of these branches worshipped different gods.
Human sacrifice was important in Aztec religion and was meant to
please the gods. It seems that between 20,000 - 50,000 people were
sacrificed every year for this purpose. The sacrifices took place
on huge altars in front of large crowds. The hearts of the victims
were cut from the bodies and then offered to the gods.
The Aztecs believed in a heaven called Tlalcan and a hell called
Mictlan. For those who went to hell they would stay for a maximum
of four years. During these four years the family of the dead person
could make offerings and sacrifices to make the journey of the dead
person to heaven easier. The more one suffered in life, the easier
the road to heaven. Babies went to hell right away because they
had not suffered yet. Humans who were sacrificed would have an easy
road to heaven due to their involuntary and painful death.
Due to some common elements between the main Aztec religious beliefs
and Christianity, it was not so difficult for the Spanish priests
to convince most Aztecs to convert. Today most Mexicans are Catholic
like the priests who converted their ancestors. |
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SOCIETY,
ECONOMY AND POLITICS
Aztec society was very powerful, very rich and also had a very complex
and highly developed political system. The capital city of Tenochtitlan
alone had thousands of nobles, priests and administrators, as well
as thousands of slaves. The leaders of the Aztec society were chosen
by politicians and religious dignitaries. Good leaders were those
who spoke well and had been victorious in battle.
Boys and girls had very different roles in society. Boys were taught
arts and crafts in school and were trained to be warriors. Girls
were taught to cook, to look after the house and take care of the
children. Aztec women usually married at about 16 years of age.
Aztec men used fishing, hunting, gathering and farming to feed themselves.
The rivers were full of fish, shrimp and insects. Those living near
the ocean ate crabs, fish, oysters and turtles. Some of the animals
that were hunted were rabbits, deer, turkey, pumas and coyotes.
Many women made cotton textiles in the home.
The Aztecs developed a system of growing many of the plants they
first gathered, such as corn, tomatoes, cocoa, bananas, sweet potatoes,
pumpkin and squash. By growing these plants it was not necessary
to migrate from place to place in search of food.
After the Spanish gained control of Mexico its economy served to
please the European conquerors. This has led to much poverty for
the native peoples in Mexico. Today Mexico is a very dynamic society,
but it remains quite poor. Especially since the worldwide oil crisis
of the 1980's life has been difficult for the Mexicans. Its neighbor
to North, the United States, plays a major role in its current economic
situation. Due to the poverty in Mexico hundreds of thousands try
to migrate to the United States each year in search of work and
a better life. |
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CULTURE
Though the Aztecs did not have a written language they did have
written records. They mainly used drawings and hieroglyphic paintings
to record their history. Due to these records it is fairly easy
to discover much about how the Aztecs lived.
The markets of Tenochtitlan were full of traders who brought many
goods, like clothing, pottery, cloth, farm products, and craft items.
Metal work (using copper, gold and silver), feather objects and
music were all favorites among the population. There was a lot of
gold and silver jewelry, which was taken by the Spaniards after
they defeated the Aztecs.
A favorite form of art in Aztec culture was making sculpture. Most
sculptures were made from limestone and had a religious theme. The
clothing that was made by women for the upper classes was often
decorated with beads, flowers and precious metals. Jade was used
to make all kinds of masks. |
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| "The
Big Myth" © Distant Train 2003 |
