Period+5+Aztec

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Lifestyle
written by Jayla

Religion
written by Sophie

Religion was a very important and violent part of the Aztec culture. The Aztecs were [|polytheistic]but the most powerful god was Quezalcoatl. Quezalcoatl was the most significant god. This mythological figure represented the main aspects of life. Another group of people who shared that central god was the Mesoamericans. The Mesoamericans started the tradition of human sacrifice and the Aztecs carried it out. The citizen or prisinor would be sacrificed on a stone. One of the four priest would remove the beating heart and would be put in a bowl being presented in a statue of a gods hands. In both cultures the people sacrificed humans to please their gods. Quezalcoatl was a kind god who believed in mercy and did not care for human [|sacrifice]. On the other hand another main god Huitzilopochtli was the god of war and demmanded the most blood. Preists sacrificed prisinors to Huitzliopochtli on massive [|temples]. Another place of worship was in their homes. In most Aztec homes there was [|shrine] fire places. Also in their dwelling there was normally a religious books called Codices. Overall religion had a huge part in Aztec’s daily lives and their history.  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Huitzilopochtli_telleriano.jpg This is a painting of the god Huitzliopochtli    http://www.plu.edu/~westgale/img/quetzalcoatl-human.jpg Quezalcoatl the Aztec god was portrayed like this    http://www.richard-seaman.com/Travel/Mexico/Teotihuacan/PyramidOfTheMoonFromTheSouthWest.jpg As you can see many travlers come to this pyramid called the Pyramid of the Moon. Only the highly important people were burried in these pyramids

Government
written by Stephanie :) The government was important for the Aztecs just like any other tribe. The emperor, or Chief of Men was the most powerful ruler of all. The Aztecs called themselves that because they named it after their legendary homeland, Aztlan. They launched many military campaigns against surrounding people. The Aztec armies were well organized and armed. They conquered many places. For example, the Aztecs conquered their neighbors for economic purposes. Also through conquest, the Aztec empire came to [|comprise] 5 million people. Land ownership was [|communal] for the Aztecs. The government is split up into 5 groups called calpullis. They had to pay taxes in the form of crops grown on land. The Aztec priests shared their power with nobles. Now you (the readers) can see how government was a very important part for the Aztecs, from land ownership to sharing power.

** http://www.ccboe.net/it/middle/sstudies6th.htm **

http://www.solarnavigator.net/history/aztecs.htm

http://michaelfairchild.com/world_faces/

http://www.crystalinks.com/aztec1.jpg

 http://www.granitegrok.com/pix/Aztecs.jpg

http://www.cuttingedgesandcarving.com/4%20in%20Aztec%20bird%20tile.jpg