Aztec
Aztec politics
emperor is the representture of the god. He heaad of the goverment and highest preist.
emperror sentence the crimanals.
emperor could be dismised by the wise men
next emperor was not always a family member
Huey tlatoani (emperor) elected by a council of Wise men made up of the greatest warriors and wisest priest
Altepetl
City state made up of clan
own customs and be and beleifs
own origin stories and recorder history
their rulr is called tlateoni
the mexica had 3 altepets (great alliance)
Priest advised the emperor
Decided which days to go to war or to hold ceremonies
explained dreams or omens to the emperor
economy
Tribute to the emperor: could be in the form of
military service providing protection at the boarders
Food (cacao beans) used to buy goods
natural resources( lumber)
Special crops ( cotton)
feather work or precious metals
cottage industries
farming
irrigation and dike systems were created
chinampas ( floating garden)
Fertilized with human waste
Food grown on chinampas supplied almost have half of all the city
labor force consisted families or indavizalals working at home with their own equipment.
Ex: ceramic pottrey blades/ tools made from obsidian paper from inside of bark
Market place:
biggest was in tenochtitlan
each type of product sold on a separate street
based on trade
selling outside the marketplace was forbidin
large white cotton cloaks + cacao beans
were the currency
Pochteca
long distance merchants
organized porter (careers) in caravans all over the empire
traded finished goods for raw materials to make clothing + jewelry for the nobility
called "spying merchants" because they travelled enemy territory + report back to the empire
They held high status
religious beliefs and rituals:
aztec culture
humans
Gods
-huitzilopochtli was the war + sun god
small roll - die for gods- keep world in balanced.
many goddesses not + completely good or bad each a role. could transform into humans or items looked part humans/ part animal during cecrimons people would dress as gods
Example
huitz tezcatlipoca Quetzalcoatl.
ritual + sacrifice
humans were sacrifice to maintain balance
-predestined( life and death depended on the gods)
their job to ensure the sun doesn't die
other sacrifice included food paper feathers jewels
-huitzilopochtli was the war + sun god
whit out human sacrifice the world would end
alters at top of tembel used in sacrifice
large public events
warriors still beating heart was most important thousands could be sacrificed in one day
Medicine bundles
used in ceremonies. contend blessed corn, feather, rubber , pressure stones
medicine
blend of religion, magic and medicine
-religion certain gods were believed to send illness or heal them
-magic certain illnesses were believed to be caused by black magic of a sorcerer
-medicine- aztec knew the healing power of certain plants and minerals
The arts
manuscriptoin with no alphabet
used picture writting that included
pictograph
ideograph
number symbol
calendar symbols
codies were written on deerskin, cloth, or ornate paper maade from bark of fig tree
folded according style
sculptures
religos in nature
stoneculpters of gods were inside + under tempel
statues of animals, like jaguars and snakes, showed belief of keeping balance with natural world
states placed below ground to show recognition of underworld
Architecture
drandest + largest buildings were the tempel
pyrmiim style divided at the top in 2 tempels with two sets of stairs
tempel mayor was the the mayan temple in tenochtitlan + its 2 temples represented 2 sacred mountains. during equinox the sun rose between the 2 temples
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featherwork +luxury items
aztec prized feathers more than gold
feathers were used for ceremonial costume, headdresses, and warrior shields
jewellery + luxury items were made for the wealthy
Time
two calenders
xiuhtlapohualli- was the main caleneder
365 days solar yearly calender
18 months
a month= 20 days
5 extra days at the end
each month named for a god
it regulated agricultural activities ( planting + harvesting + market days
each year began with a festival to honor rain god, tlaloc
time
tonalpohualli
13 numbers + 20 signs represent an animal, a nature elemnt like water or an abstract idea like movment.
combined to make 260 in divdedually named days
named for the day you were born
used to determined when religious ceremonies were held
xiuhnolpilli
combines the 2 calenders
cycle of 52 years( time needed for the calendar to complete their cycles)
equal to a century( 100 years)
Aztec believed that the world could end at the end of this calendar, if there had not been enough rituals and sacrifice