How did the Culture of the Aztec Reflect their Worldview?

1. How did the Culture of the Aztec Reflect their Worldview? Mr. Ralston Social Studies 8

2. Introduction • Aztec did not get to be influenced like the Spanish did through the Silk Road and contact all over Europe and Asia • Their influences were more from other cultures directly in Meso-America

3. Religious Beliefs and Practices Incense Burner used in Worship by Aztec Aztec God of Death

4. Religious Beliefs and Practices cont’d • Humans were to fight and die for their god, Huitzilopochtli. • Aztec believed they were the chosen people to make sure the sun never died and Earth survived. • Their gods were not purely good or purely evil.

5. Ritual and Sacrifice • Aztecs believed that their behavior influenced the universe • Gods sacrificed themselves to create a fine balance in nature (i.e. the regular rhythms of the sun( • They felt through HUMAN sacrifice this would continue. • Human sacrifice (the ulitmate sacrifice) allowed the universe to continue to exist and this would take place in elaborate ceremonies and large public events with human blood and hearts being the most important part of the sacrifice.

6. Medicine Was a blend of religion, magic and medicine • Religion-gods would send illness or heal from illness • Magic-illness could be brought on by sorcerers • Medicine-knew a great deal about the healing properties of plants and minerals

7. Sculpture Sculptures often represented Aztec Gods or important animals such as jaguars and snakes Sculptures were made from simple tools such as wood, stone or fibre cords.

8. Architecture Temples and the Emperor’s palace received the most attention and were the largest buildings Most of their ideas were borrowed from the Toltec and Teotihuacan societies but the Aztec were the first to put two temples with two sets of stairs on their massive buildings.

9. Gold sucks! I want Feathers! The Aztec believed that rare feathers were more valuable then gold. Warrior shields, along with headdresses and ceremonial costumes were elaborately created.

10. The Importance of time to the aztec • One calendar had 18 months with 20 days. At the end there were 5 extra days. Why? • One calendar had 260 days (ex. 7-Flint). Used for birthdays and determining a person’s fate • The calendars combined to form a 52 year cycle. When they both started at the beginning on the same day (this would have been like our centuries) • At the end of the 52 year cycle that Aztec believed the world could end if proper rituals were not carried through with.