Different Cultures in Aztec Empire Sample Essay

Aztec Culture
There were a assortment of different civilizations of people who were portion of the Aztec imperium.

Social Classs of the Aztec Empire:
The Aztec society was organized into tightly structured groups or categories. There were three chief categories that formed Aztec society. The Lords. the intermediate category. and the common mans. Each category was divided farther. At the top was the emperor who belonged to the baronial category. His power came from control of the military and was supported by Aztec spiritual beliefs. He had a really nice and epicurean life. The Lords were the smallest category. but had the most power. They owned big estates and ran the authorities and the military. Priests were besides from the baronial category. Merchants and skilled craftsmans made up the intermediate category. Most people were in the 3rd category. the common mans. Some common mans were landowning husbandmans. fishers. soldiers and craftspeople. There were besides landless workers or helots who labored in the Noble’s Fieldss and could non travel off the land. There were besides the enslaved people who were at the really underside of the “Commoner Class. ” The enslaved people were normally captives of war. The slaves worked a assortment of different undertakings. In all three categories. women’s functions were restricted.

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Turning up in the Aztec Empire
It was compulsory to acquire an instruction. Boys were taught more widely and extensively than misss but misss besides went to school and learned about cookery. running places every bit good as making trades. Male childs were taught how to contend and they besides learned about trading accomplishments. Finally the kids had to take between two subdivisions. One. called calmecac in which pupils who chose this way would be taught to be physician. instructors. leaders of society and priests. ( A batch of the Lords childs chose this branch. ) There was besides another subdivision called. telpochcalli and they were taught about the civilization of the Aztec. trade. faith. and certain accomplishments. depending on what gender they were.

It did non truly count what they chose. When the kids were in the center of their teenage old ages. maturity would get down. Girls could work in a temple and remain at that place or they could get married person. Boys could concentrate on trading or travel to the military. There were arranged matrimonies that were tied strongly to spiritual beliefs.

Language
In Central Mexico. there have been linguistic communications that were really similar to the Aztec linguistic communication for around 1400 old ages. A linguistic communication that was called “Nahuatl” were known by people who lived in the country of Central Mexico around 600 AD. It is believed that these people who spoke the linguistic communication came from the North. travelled to Cardinal American and settled. The people who spoke “Nahuatl” started to derive power and they were the dominant power around 1000AD. The Mexica. were people who were one of the last groups of people who spoke “Nahuatl” to come to that country and they were a large portion of the rise or the initiation of the Aztec imperium. The influence of the Nahuatl grew as the Aztec imperium grew. The Nahuatl linguistic communication was used a batch in literature and authorship and the linguistic communication was besides a “Language of trade. ” The linguistic communication is a “agglutinant language” and this means that the words are created by utilizing prefixes. postfixs. every bit good as root words and uniting them with eachother in order to make an thought or thought. There were besides a figure of different idioms within the Nahuatl linguistic communication.

Food
The Aztec people ate a broad assortment of different nutrient. Examples of nutrient that the Aztecs Ate are: Maize. Maize is a staple nutrient ( which means that they ate it a batch and it was one of there chief dishes to eat ) . Maize is besides called ‘mealies’ or ‘corn’ . Peoples have been reaping and eating corn for a really long clip and it most likely came into day-to-day life during the clip that the Aztecs around. Mexico still grows corn ( it is one of the top corn turning states in the full world. ) Corn can be ground to do Tamales and tortillas it can besides be used in drinks and to feed cattles and Equus caballuss etc… Some other things the Aztecs Ate are: beans. squash. murphies. Sweet murphies. peanuts. calcium hydroxides. chilis. tomatoes. and cocoa. The Aztecs besides fished and hunted. some animate beings they hunted are: fish. coneies. runt and iguana. The Aztecs did non eat meat really much. They would besides do staff of life and cheese like nutrients out of the algae from the top of lake Texcoco.

Religion
The Aztecs believed that the Gods tried to make the universe 5 times and failed because they were contending amongst themselves. This is an illustration of the type of things the Aztecs believed in. They besides believed that the Gods used to take bends being the Sun but it became complicated so they made up a kind of council to make up one’s mind who would make what. The Gods realised that one of them were traveling to hold to go the Sun. Nanauatl ( a God ) decided he would go the Sun nevertheless something was incorrect he was non traveling and the Gods could non calculate out why. Then they realised that all of them had to give themselves so that the Sun would travel and the worlds could populate on Earth. Then they all sacrificed themselves and the Sun started to travel. The Gods forfeits did non come without a monetary value the Aztecs believed that they needed to give themselves to maintain the hebdomad Sun moving.

Jewelry

Aztec jewellery has varied from necklaces. to earrings. and carpuss. Many of these reproductions are sold all over the universe. The people who owned most jewellery were the upper categories. Emperors normally wore necklaces and earrings. Craftsmen had a batch of work to make. so they decided to give their lives to doing trade. The jewelry maker would sell some trades in the market place. Many points were sold at the market place. The Lords wore a batch of jewellery on particular occasions. but the jewellery back so looked different from the jewellery now. The Aztec jewellery were made with different types of stuffs. and different stuffs were added together to do one creative activity. Copper. gold and Ag. shells. clay. wood. stone ( obsidian ) and plumes were normally used. Gold was used. but Ag was much more popular as it was abundant in Mexico.

Rocks such as jade. vitreous silica. opal. moonstone. and turquoise were used every bit good. Gold was imported from the South. turquoise from the North. and conch shells were imported from the E. A celebrated type of Aztec jewellery was the ear stopper. which can be found in Aztec masks. Both work forces and adult females wore these ear stoppers. Work force were the 1s who wore the nose jewellery. They besides wore jewellery on their lower lip. Jewelry besides included necklaces ( with appeals and pendents ) . arm bands. watchbands. leg watchbands and rings. Sometimes. as the Aztecs were spiritual. they carved the jewellery in to forms of birds and reptilians. Bells were besides found in their necklaces.

Clothing

Dressing varied to the societal category the people belonged to. The vesture were usually loose. and didn’t cover the whole organic structure. It was surprising for the Aztecs to see the Spanish covered in full organic structure armour. Aztec vesture normally were made out of cotton or ayate fibre. Women weaved the fibres into the vesture. This was taught to immature misss. The Aztecs used the beautiful dyes they had gotten from the trading web. Aztec vesture for the common people and the slaves sometimes merely covered a small spot of their organic structure. Alternatively of cotton. their regulation was to have on Maguey vesture. Slaves wore lioncloth. which was besides worn by the common people.

The lioncloth was made from a long strip of fabric tied in the forepart. If your societal position was higher. so it might hold had some ornaments on it. The work forces wore a cloak. that came from a triangle-shaped fabric called the tilmatli or tilma. It can be worn like an apron that carries things. or like a cloak. The adult females wore skirts. and blouses with trunkss arms. or no arms at all. The upper category. the baronial category and spiritual leaders wore vesture that had a symbolic significance to it. It could be in one of their vesture. or their headgears. Gold was used in vesture frequently. besides pendents. plumes. pelts. and other ornament was usage to adorn the vesture. The merchandisers had their ain category. so they were allowed to have on more luxuriant vesture compared to the others. The military had their ain costumes. These costumes were based on which group they belonged to. War heroes wore more gems and better vesture.

The Forfeits:

There are many types of forfeits. The Aztecs believed that they owed a blood-debt to the Gods they believed in. They thought that all catastrophes would stop if they paid the debt to the Gods. Blood was the most common subject. and hence the Aztecs normally sacrificed animate beings and worlds. They sometimes even cut themselves to offer their blood. Many worlds were sacrificed every twelvemonth. because the Aztecs practiced this ritual to some great extent. About 10000- 2000 people were sacrificed per a twelvemonth. The Aztecs had 18 months in one rhythm. in which one forfeit took topographic point every month. During the forfeit. the “victim” would be put on a slab and be painted. Afterwards. the victim’s bosom would be taken out of their organic structures and raised to the Sun.

After the bosom was taken out of the organic structure. it would heedlessly be thrown down the steps of a pyramid or temple. There was a assortment of ways in which they would acquire rid of the organic structures used for forfeits. They would feed it to animate beings. or put the caputs on show. and there was besides a small spot of cannibalism. but they are non certain precisely how much it was done and it was likely non the most common manner to acquire rid of a organic structure. Not merely were worlds placed on slabs while they had their Black Marias taken out during forfeits. they were burned. drowned. shooting with pointers or mutilated. Forfeits besides included being killed in battles. etc…

The enemies of the Aztecs. every bit good as people in their ain imperium were sacrificed. There was a particular ritual war that was called “xochiyaoyotl ( or bloom war/flowery war ) ” and warriors were involved in it. The exclusive intent of the war was to obtain or capture the people or warriors and utilize them as the god’s food- forfeit. In this war people would be captured and they would non be killed because once they were captured. they were used as a forfeit. The Aztec forfeits had “great spiritual significance. ” The forfeits terrified people who were non in the Aztec imperium every bit good as people who were. In the terminal of it all. all the forfeits and human lives that were lost weakened the Aztec imperium which contributed in the ruin of the Aztec imperium.

Inventions:
The Aztec Calendar Stone:
The Aztecs carved the calendar rock in 1479. It was dedicated to the Sun God and was carved out of basalt. It was tremendous: 3 pess ( 91cm ) midst. 12 pess ( 360 centimeter ) across. and weighed 22. 5 dozenss. During the diggings. archeologists found the calendar rock buried under the cardinal square of Mexico City. It was at that place for over 300 old ages. The proper name for the calendar rock is the “Cuauhxicalli”or the Eagle Bowl.

The Aztecs created 2 different types of calendars. One was for spiritual intents and the other was for farming. The farming calendar was called “Xiuhpohualli” . It was the first calendar and it was used to number old ages. It was a 365 twenty-four hours twelvemonth. and it was really helpful for be aftering your agriculture and foretelling the conditions. A twelvemonth for the Aztec consisted of 18 months. Each month was 20 yearss long and the hebdomad was 4-5 yearss long. To do the twelvemonth consist of precisely 365 yearss. the Aztecs added 5 “unlucky” yearss to their twelvemonth. The twelvemonth was besides divided into 4 seasons. Every 52 old ages. the Aztecs added 12 yearss for the New Fire rite which made their old ages add up about precisely to the solar twelvemonth.

The 2nd calendar. “Tonalpohualli” was used for spiritual intents. It is besides considered to be the sacred calendar. All the rites were divided up amongst the Gods. The calendar consisted of 20 marks and 13 Numberss. Each figure was assigned with each mark. which made 13?20= 260. So there were 260 yearss in a “sacred year”

Every 52 old ages. the two calendars matched together. The Aztecs believed that during that twelvemonth bad events will take topographic point and hence the Aztecs held a ritual called the New Fire ritual to observe this twelvemonth.

Mentions:

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