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Objective: To examine the formation and expansion of
the Aztec empire.
The Aztecs were a nomadic tribe. Their god Huitzilopochtli had
commanded them to find an eagle devouring a snake, perched
atop a cactus. After two hundred years of wandering, they found
the promised sign on a small island in the swampy Lake Texcoco.
It was there they founded their new capital, Tenochtitlan.
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• 1400's - The Aztecs conquered neighboring peoples, becoming
an empire.
Empire - a large group or government that controls other groups
or governments
• By 1500, the Aztecs ruled millions of people.
• People revolted against high taxes and human sacrifices, only to
lose to the powerful Aztec army.
Aztec Religion
• Religion was central to
Aztec life.
• The sun god was
especially important.
• Thousands of prisoners
were sacrificed to the Aztec
gods.
An Aztec tzompantli, as
illustrated in 1596. A
tzompantli is a type of
wooden rack used for the
public display of human
skulls, typically those of war
captives or other sacrificial
victims.
Aztec tzompantli
Typical Aztec Temple
The Aztecs believed that the sun
god needed daily "nourishment" that is, human blood and hearts and that they, as the "people of
the sun," were required to provide
the sun god with his victims.
Warriors who died in battle or on
the sacrificial stone were called
quauhteca ("the eagle's people").
It was believed that after their
death the warriors first formed
part of the sun's brilliance; then,
after four years, they went to live
forever in the bodies of
hummingbirds.
The main
attributes of the
Aztec sun god,
Huitzilopochtli,
were a helmet in
the form of a
hummingbird
head; a turquoise
or fire serpent
called xiuhcoatl,
his magic weapon,
in one hand; in the
other, a shield with
five feather
ornaments; and a
ritual paper flag
complements his
attributes.
Aztec historians recorded that in 1487, at the great
pyramid of Tenochitilan, executioners sacrificed
four lines of prisoners, each two miles long. But
before they were ritualistically killed, the victims
were forced to climb up the pyramid's two hundred
and thirty seven steps. At the top were two killing
rooms, with priests wielding sacrificial knives.
Sacrifices were necessary to satisfy their hungry
sun-god who demanded blood as payment for
creating the world. The limbs of a victim would be
given as a reward to the victim’s captor to be eaten.
According to Aztec beliefs, the sacrifices were
necessary to satisfy their hungry sun-god who
demanded blood as payment for creating the world.
If his gory fee were not paid, the sun would go out.
Video: Human sacrifice at the pyramid at Tenochtitlan
Gladitorial combat sacrifice
Ancient Aztecs tending to chinampas
By the early 1500’s, the city of Tenochtitlan had a population of
200,000 and over 1 million in the Basin of Mexico (5 times larger
than London at the time)
Autosacrifice was an indication of humility and an act of
purification for whoever undertook it as an act of penitence.
Widespread throughout the entire population, this practice was
performed by perforating certain fleshy parts of the body, such as
the earlobes, lips, tongue, chest, calves, et cetera, with obsidian
blades, agave thorns or bone perforators made from eagle bones.
Once the implement was covered with blood, it was inserted in
straw balls called Zacatapayoli. The entirety was probably placed
in ceremonial boxes called Tepetlacalli, as an offering to the
gods.
The Aztec calendar
consisted of a 365
day calendar cycle
called xiuhpohualli
(year count) and a
260 day ritual cycle
called
tonalpohualli (day
count).
These two cycles
together formed a
52 year "century",
sometimes called
the "Calendar
Round".