Aztec Civilization Essay - 680 Words

The Aztec Indians created a great civilization in Central Mexico, reaching its peak in the 1500amp;#8217;s. Being late arrivals to the area, and because of their strong neighboring nations, they were forced to live in the swampy western areas of the Lake Texcoco. Because of the swampy surroundings, the Aztecs used mud to create miniature islands in the swamps. These islands are called chinampas, or amp;#8220;floating gardens,; and were used as farming lands. On these fertile islands they grew corn, squash, vegetables, and flowers. Being an agriculturally dependant empire, the Aztecamp;#8217;s religion was based highly on the forces of nature and worshipped them as gods. The god of war, Huitzilopochtli, was the most important deity.†¦show more content†¦On the stone is a picture of what the Aztecs thought the universe was like. The sun god is in the middle, with the heavens surrounding it, and pictures of people made out of precious stones. The Aztec form of writing was in pictographs, or small pictures symbolizing objects or sounds. The Aztec numbering system used pictographs also, and was based on the number 20. For example, a flag represented 20, a fir tree represented 20 times 20, or 400, and a pouch represented 400 times 20, or 8000. The capitol of the Aztec Empire was Tenochtitlan, which was built where modern-day Mexico City is. It was given the nickname amp;#8220;Venice of the New World,; because it had many canals. During the acme of the Aztec civilization, the population of this great city nu mbered more than 200,000. This made it one of the most populated cities in the ancient world. The city was connected to the mainland by 3 causeways, which, when flooded, served as protective dikes. In the city aqueducts, which was probably the first type of indoor plumbing, brought fresh water into homes. Many people used canoes to travel through the city. Most of the houses were made up of mud and twisted twigs, but the nobility and priests had plastered brick or stone houses. In 1519, Spanish explorer Hernando Cortes and more than 500 other Spaniards landed on the shores of Mexico in search of gold. The Aztecs welcomed the Spaniards and gave them gifts, because they thought they were gods. Cortes became greedy when heShow MoreRelatedThe Aztecs And The Aztec Civilization1097 Words   |  5 PagesThe Aztecs had one of the most successful and advanced empires of all time. They had a dwelling culture The Aztec civilization was located directly in the middle of two mountain ranges in the central valley of Mexico ( Platt 10). Although the Aztec empire eventually came to an end they were able to do well as an empire. Contributing factors that led to the rise of the empire was their political structure, social components, and religious traditions which they preformed earnestly. 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The Aztecs were a civilization that was complex as well as very advanced in many different areas of their civilization such as their government, religion, andRead MoreNative American Civilization : The Aztec, Or Mexicas Essay3157 Words   |  13 PagesOne of the first societies to ever mandate education was the Aztec, or Mexicas, which allowed children of any social stature to be educated, ^ possible input in of a dash rather than a comma including slave children. It is hard to imagine that this grand empire is highly associated with their practices in human sacrifice. When the Spanish invaded and took over, many believed that the Aztecs will killed ^were killed by this ^the Spanish conquest, but ^;but, the truth is that il lnesses brought by the