Download Factors Affecting Aztec Worldview

How Does Intercultural Contact
Impact the Worldviews of Societies?
Aztec
 Valley
of Mexico = center of civilization
 large basin between the mountain ranges
1. Geography
 Ecological
zones influenced lifestyle
Geography
Geography - Review
The geography of Mexico includes deserts,
mountains, tropical forests, ranchland, rich
farmland and seacoasts on the east and west
The two largest rivers, the Rio Grande and
the Usamacinta, run through Mexico
Geography - Review
 Most
of the major mountain ranges are
located in the central
Mexico
plateau of
Temperatures
 always
spring-like in the valley
Aztec and the mountains
 Sacred
or holy sites.
 Mountains brought people physically closer
to the gods.
 Temples built in shapes of mountains
Geography
•What advantages can be achieve from
surrounding mountains?
•Protection from invaders
•Serve as walls like a fort
Geography
•What problems can be caused from
surrounding mountains?
–Rainstorms cause
flashfloods in low lying
areas
–Can also keep out rain
clouds from providing
fresh water
Homework
1. Review notes individually
2. Write a paragraph about the
importance of Geography
for the Aztecs
2. Ideas/Knowledge
 The
Aztec believed their god Huitzilopochtli led
them to the place they lived.
 They knew that the island was their destination
because their God gave a sign – an eagle perch on
a nopal cactus, holding a snake in its beak
Aztec God
The
area was a small swampy island in a
salt water lake.
Because
their religion was so powerful
they were determined to survive there.
The Long Migration
 The
Aztec (Mexica) left northern Mexico and
migrated southward.
 For 200 years they led a semi-nomadic life looking
for the sign that would tell them where to settle.
 Throughout their migration, they followed what
they believed were orders from their patron god,
Huitzilopochtli
The Long Migration
 They
believed they were the chosen people of
Huitzilopochtli and that the god would lead them
to the land of their destiny
 Their devotion to their god often created many
hardships. When told to move they did so even if
not a convenient time
 Eventually they arrived in the Valley of Mexico
led by their chieftain, Tenoch
Tenochtitlan
The Arrival
 The
city they built was called Tenochtitlan, the city
of Tenoch
 The lands around them were occupied by the three
most powerful societies in the Valley
 The Aztec’s traveled by water to trade with other
city-states along the lakes in the valley
The Arrival
The Acqueduct
 The
Aztecs created acqueducts to prevent drought
and to provide plenty of clean drinking water.
 These structures brought water into the city from
underground springs.
3. Contact with other groups
 Contact
with other Meso-American nations they
learned and adopted many new skills and values
Contact with other Meso-American
Societies
 In
Meso-America, cultures of the past greatly
influenced the societies that came after them
 The three greatest earlier civilizations in the
Valley of Mexico were the Olmec, the
Teotihuacan, and the Toltec
The Olmec
 Are
said to be the founding or mother culture of all
Meso-American civilizations.
 Lived in the lowlands near the Gulf of Mexico
 Considered the greatest sculptors (page 244 is a
picture of Olmec head)
The Teotihuacan
 The
word Teotihuacan refers to the ancient
civilization and to its altepetl (a Meso-American
city-state) where its mysterious people dwelled
 The Aztec’s believed the ruins left behind by the
Teotihuacan were a holy place where the sun,
moon, and universe were created.
 In the center of Teotihuacan was a temple to the
god Quetzalcoatl.
The Toltec
 The
Aztec believed that the Toltec were master at
creating a refined civilization
 They wrote many poems and told many stories
about the Toltec
The Legacy of Ancient Civiliations
 Contact
with different societies during the Aztec’s
migration influenced their religious beliefs and
practices, social structure, architecture, and art.
 Each time they lived among a new people they
absorbed many of their customs and beliefs.
Aztec Emperors
 By
the time the Spanish arrived in the early 1500’s
there were few independent territories left in
Meso-America that were not controlled by the
Aztec
 Societies that could claim direct lineage to the
Toltec where the most respected and powerful
Aztec Emperors
 Aztec
Emperors increased their power by creating
alliances with other powerful rulers (often through
marriage like the Europeans)
THE SPANISH
The Spanish
 In
the 11oo’s Spain was predominately
multi-religious and under control of the
Moors
 Over the centuries, Christian kingdoms
became more powerful and struggle to take
back the southern lands ruled by the Muslims
Geography
 Spain
occupies about 80% of the Iberian Peninsula
Geography
 The
Mediterranean Sea is on the southeast
side, the Atlantic Ocean is on the west side
and the Strait of Gibraltar separates it from
Africa
 Spain has several large mountain ranges, the
Pyrenees is the largest and separates Spain
from France
Geography
 The
central plateau of Spain is called the Meseta
Central and is almost treeless
 The area is divided into northern and southern
sections by irregular mountain ranges or sierras
 The climate of Spain is generally rainy in the north
and moderated by the ocean, the southern is very
dry with very little rainfall.
Geography
 Spain
was made up of individual kingdoms
that were kept separated by mountains and
rivers
The Reconquista

The move to retake the Iberian land under Muslim control was called
the Reconquista. Its underling purpose was to deliver Christianity to
all.
The Reconquista
 These
wars between the Moors and the kingdoms
of Spain were intermittent, lasting about 700 years
 Even after the Moors were defeated there were still
many separate kingdoms on the Iberian Penisula
 Eventually, through the marriage of King
Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile did
two of the largest kingdoms unite
The Reconquista
The Moors Legacy
 The
legacy left by the Moors in Spain
influenced later learning and expansion
 Their contributions can be found in
architecture, design and science
The Spanish Inquisition
 The
Inquisition was reinstated in 1492 and
lasted until 1834
 The main purpose of the Inquisition was to
eliminate all non-Christians
 The Inquisition was both a civil and a
religious court
Exploration
 The
Spanish were developing a strong desire
for exploration to new, undiscovered lands.
 They looked in two directions – Western
Mediterranean and west across the Atlantic
 Christopher Columbus sailed west across the
Atlantic
Exploration
 Ferdinand
and Isabella dealt with any new lands
the same way: resources and goods from anywhere
within the empire were considered the rightful
property of Spain
 They also sent missionaries to teach the beliefs and
customs of the Roman Catholic Church
Spanish Monarchy
 When
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella married
in 1479
 They wanted to increase the power of the throne
and decrease the powers of the Cortes (the Spanish
parliament)
Spanish Monarchy
 To
do this they:
 Centralized
government under their control
 Created a more efficient government bureaucracy
 Imposed new taxes
 Took control of the Roman Catholic Church in Spain
 Began the Spanish Inquisition
 Forbid any faith but Roman Catholicism
Spanish Monarchy
 Ferdinand
and Isabella wanted to reduce the power
of the Aristocracy (Cortes) so they:
 Had
men from humbler origins, not the aristocracy,
selected for the Cortes
 Allowed nobles to participate in parliamentary
proceedings, but not vote
Spanish Monarchy
 Reorganized
important financial and judicial
institutions so the monarchy had more control
 Centralizedthe power of the government under a
Council of State, a Council of Finance, and a Council
of Justice
Spanish Monarchy
 The
Monarchy knew that they needed to maintain
the support of the aristocracy so they compensated
them for the loss of power in government with
huge tracts of land and exempted them from
paying taxes on there lands.
 By reducing the power of the Corte, Ferdinand and
Isabella were able to significantly develop their
power.
Control of the Church
 To
have complete control over Spain Ferdinand
and Isabella knew that they had to have control of
the Church so, in an agreement with the Pope, they
set up the Spanish Inquisition in exchange for the
right to select who would be appointed to
important positions within the Roman Catholic
Church.
The Spanish Begin to Build an Empire
 With
the greater authority that King Ferdinand and
Queen Isabella now had gave them better resources
to begin a policy of exploration and discovery.
 In 1492 the monarchs supported the voyages of
Columbus. This decision led to Spain becoming
the most powerful and wealthy country in Europe.
The Spanish Begin to Build an Empire
 By
the mid-1500, Spain controlled large areas of
the Caribbean, the Americas, and parts of Asia and
Africa.
Creation Stories
 The
Aztec’s believed the gods had created and
destroyed the world four times. After the fourth
destruction, the gods met at Teotihuacan to create
the fifth world.
 Aztec’s believed they were living in this fifth
world, known as the fifth sun, and that they had to
keep the sun alive to prevent the destruction of the
Earth and its people.
Creation Stories
 There
are many variations of creation stories
because these stories are told in the oral tradition.