social chapter 7 Flashcards
how is Japan and Aztecs similar
both love and believe in nature. aztecs live in northern mexico
what was the power of mountains
- gave protection but brought lots of weather
- brought them close to gods (their temple is also shaped as a mountain)
Lake Texcoco
surrounded tenochtitlan
created a chinampa- three causeways linking lake to mainland
whats a causeway
transports things and keeps out invaders
chinampa
“floating islands” bulit in water to grow crops
aqueducts
the Aztecs lived by salty water and had flash floods, they created a aqueduct to make sure they had plenty of clean drinking water. This structure brought in fresh water from underground springs outside of the city.
aztec god huitzilopochtli
Huitzilopochtli told Aztecs to leave their ancestral homeland and settle in the Valley of Mexico. The Aztecs believed he needed blood of sacrifice to give him the strength to overcome the night’s darkness. He was the
Aztec’s tribal god and had warlike aspects.
aztec god Tezcatlipoca
The most powerful of the gods. Tezcatlipoca’s name means “Smoking Mirror,” from the black mirror he used to see visions of the future. Also called Lord of the Night Sky, he was locked in an eternal struggle with the god Huitzilopochtli.
aztec god Quetzalcoatl
The god of wind. birds. He left Mexico after a fight with
Tezcatlipoca. The priests thought he would return from the east in the year “One-Reed,” bringing destruction to the Aztec empire.
aztec god Tlaloc
The god of rain, Tlaloc could unleash deadly floods or withhold the rains for years, causing drought and famine. The Aztecs feared him because he controlled their survival.
what did the Aztecs believe
The Aztecs believed that the gods controlled aspects of their world and they looked to the gods for signs on how to live.
The Aztec Calendar emphasized what
the close connection between gods and humans. They had two calendars: a solar and a sacred. Their great stone calendar was dedicated to Huitzilopochtli.
aztec calendar
a sacred element= religious element
what was in the middle of the calendar
Tonatiuh the god of the fifth sun has his tongue sticking out showing that he wants to be fed blood.
explain importance of sacrifice
was the strongest expression of their devotion to the gods, since they believed that the victim’s blood actually nourished the gods. (religious aspect)Without it, the gods would grow sick and die.
eagle perching on a cactus
Huitzilopochtli commanded the people to migrate south and told them to look for an eagle perching on a cactus. The Aztecs had finally found their home, called it Tenochtitlan
new fire ceremony
religious event called the “new fire” ceremony took place every 52 years. The people would fast and would let their fires go out. They waited on rooftops to see the sacred
flame lit near Tenochtitlan. A courier would then carry this flame from house to house to relight the fires.
Expanding Through War
By 1519, the Aztecs controlled an empire larger than any in North America.
- They were prepared to sacrifice their own life as they
believed the group (their society) was more important
than the individual.
- Military service was compulsory. This means the law
required every young man to serve in the army.
- When the Aztecs conquered another group, they
collected a tribute (valuable gifts and taxes)
Tenochtitlan- The Center of the World
The Aztecs believed the earth was flat and in the centre of the world was the Tenochtitlan, their capital city. believed the gods has assigned them a special place in the universe.
Expanding the Empire
They often formed trading and defensive (military) alliances with the peoples around them.
- The Aztecs traded for tropical fruits such as avocados,
papayas, and cacao, tropical birds, and deposits of gold
and silver.
- The merchants also acted as spies for the Aztec army.
why was war important to the Aztecs
One of the reasons war was so important to the Aztecs was because it gave them the opportunity to capture new victims for sacrifice.
the great temple
-The Great Temple was in the middle of Tenochtitlan. This was the physical and spiritual center of the universe for the Aztecs. dedicated to hutiz
