![]() It was the name of a deity, a royal title, the name of a legendary priest-ruler, a title of high priestly office. QUETZALCOATL, (the god of civilization and learning) "quetzal (feather) serpent," had dozens of associations. OMETECUHLTI and his wife OMECIHUATL created all life in the world. Victims' heads were strung as trophies on a great rack, the Tzompantli, erected in the precinct below. His temple (next to that of Tlaloc) on the Main Pyramid was the focus of fearsome sacrifices of prisoners captured by Aztec warriors. HUITZILOPOCHTLI, (the war/sun god and special guardian of Tenochtitlan) the deified ancestral warrior-hero, was the Mexica-Aztec patron par excellence. The maintenance of fires in the temples was a principal priestly duty, and the renewal of fire was identified with the renewal of time itself. HUEHUETEOTL, "the old, old deity," was one of the names of the cult of fire, among the oldest in Mesoamerica. ![]() ![]() The people had many agricultural gods because their culture was based heavily on farming also they included natural elements and ancestor-heroes. They worshipped hundreds of gods and goddesses, each of whom ruled one or more human activities or aspects of nature. Religion was extremely important in Aztec life. The yearly round of rites and ceremonies in the cities of Tenochtitlan and neighboring Tetzcoco, and their symbolic art and architecture, gave expression to an ancient awareness of the interdependence of nature and humanity. ![]() As early texts and modern archaeology continue to reveal, beyond their conquests and many of their religious practices, there were many positive achievements: the formation of a highly specialized and stratified society and an imperial administration, the expansion of a trading network as well as a tribute system, the development and maintenance of a sophisticated agricultural economy, carefully adjusted to the land and the cultivation of an intellectual and religious outlook that held society to be an integral part of the cosmos. The Aztecs of Mexicas The Aztecs / Mexicas were the Indigenous people who dominated northern Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest led by Hernan CORTES in the early 16th century.įearless warriors and pragmatic builders, the Aztecs created an empire during the 15th century that was surpassed in size in the Americas only by that of the Incas in Peru. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |