CALVIN

CALVIN
CALVIN - THE KING

Friday 25 November 2011

OLMECS AND AZTECS

The Olmecs

The first civilization to evolve in Mesoamerica was that of the Olmecs. Around 1500 B.C. villages in Mesoamerica became more complex and specialized. These people formed a nation which they called Olmec.


 


The Olmecs built huge religious stone emblems of their gods and rulers. Some of these emblems were more than nine feet tall, and weighed more than 40 tons. These massive figures were transported miles across the terrain without the use of wheels, or the aid of animals.

The Olmec villages were organized, with a market square in the center, where trade and business could take place. They worshiped a variety of gods and deities. Their chief god was believed to be a being with a human body, and a jaguar face.

The Olmecs were expert farmers, and practiced a type of farming known as slash-and-burn farming. They would cut the trees of a forest down, and wait a period of several months as the trees dried out. They would then light the trees on fire, burning them all into ashes. These ashes acted as a fertilizer, making the soil more fertile. These farmers then farmed the land a few years until it was no longer fertile, at which point they moved on to the next forest.

The Teotihuacanos

Just outside of present day Mexico City, a civilization developed known as the Teotihuacanos. This people built a massive capital city, that at its height had more than 200,000 inhabitants. This city was expertly laid out with wide streets, town squares, markets, and plazas.

 



This massive city had over 600 pyramids, which were believed to be used for religious purposes. It also had well over 2000 apartment buildings, were many of the people of this civilization lived.

The Teotihuacanos thrived for nearly 750 years. Then in A.D. 750 invaders from the north known as the Toltecs conquered and destroyed them.



The Aztecs

In A.D. 1200 a group of nomadic hunters called the Aztecs migrated into Mesoamerica in search of food and wild game. By A.D. 1325 the Aztecs had settled in present day Mexico City, and had built a large, beautiful and powerful city, on a small island which they called Tenochtitlan.


 


As the population of Tenochtitlan grew, the island became too small. Their innovative solution was to make the island bigger. They built large wooden rafts, which they covered with mud, and secured to the lakebed with stakes. Many people lived and farmed on these floating parcels of land.

The Aztec Empire

By A.D. 1500 the Aztecs had used both their military strength, as well as political ties to conquer almost all of the territory in and around their capital city. Their empire stretched from the Pacific Ocean in the west, to the Atlantic Ocean in the east.

 



Aztec Sacrifices

Aztec sacrifices were an important aspect of the Aztec religion. At the root of these Aztec rituals was the belief that the gods needed to be nourished by human beings. This was accomplished through human blood. A part of the Aztec religion, therefore, was to participate in bloodletting, which is intentionally harming and drawing blood from the body. Those who were higher in status within the Aztec religion were expected to give the most blood during these Aztec rituals.



The Aztec gods and goddesses also required the living hearts of humans for nourishment. All hearts were good, but the bravest captives were considered to be particularly nourishing to the Aztec gods. As a result, widespread warring took place as the Aztec people sought to bring captives back to the Aztec temples for sacrifice.

 

Sometimes, those practicing the Aztec religion sacrificed just one person. At other times, hundreds or even thousands of captives were sacrificed at a time. Each Aztec sacrifice, however, took place the same way. The captive or captives were taken to a pyramid or temple and placed on an altar. The Aztec priest then made an incision in the ribcage of the captive and removed the living heart. The heart was then burned and the corpse was pushed down the steps of the Aztec pyramid or temple. If the captive was particularly noble or brave, however, he was carried down instead.



In the case of an Aztec human sacrifice being performed for the god Huehueteotl, the ritual was slightly changed. Huehueteotl was the Aztec god of warmth, death, and cold. He was responsible for light in the darkness and for food during times of famine. As a part of the Aztec religion, special sacrifices were held for Huehueteotl. The victim was first thrown into a fire, and then pulled back out with hooks before being dying. The living heart was then removed and thrown back to the fire. Aztec human sacrifices and bloodletting were important aspects of the Aztec religion, as they believed it brought balance and peace to the world around them.



The Aztec Government

The Aztecs founded a strong secure central government. This helped provide stability, and allowed the empire to thrive. At the top of this government was the royal family, headed by an emperor or king.


 


This emperor appointed various authorities to rule different regions of his empire. These leaders swore allegiance to the emperor himself. The emperor maintained his control over the empire through the use of his vast and powerful army.

The Aztec Empire Falls

In A.D. 1521 the peoples who were ruled by the Aztecs grew tired of the treatment they received at their taskmasters hands. The Aztecs required all conquered peoples to pay heavy and burdensome taxes. They also often sacrificed their men to the Aztec gods as part of their religious practices.

 



In this year these people joined forces with the Spanish explorers, who had arrived in the region, and attacked the Aztec capital. They were quickly able to overthrow the Aztec Empire.