Aztec
Growing up in southern California, I was surrounded by rich Mexican culture. I thought that I knew who the Mexican people were until my first trip to Mexico. I saw women and children on the streets of Tijuana who looked different from the Mexican Americans I had become accustomed to seeing in southern California. Their faces were more square and flat. I asked myself, "Who are these people?" I soon noticed in my shopping adventures that every store in Tijuana sold a similar version of the same piece of artwork. Why was this subject so important? I finally asked a Mexican merchant about this artwork. She explained to me that it was called the Sun Stone and that it was the most accurate calendar in the world. She informed me that this calendar was engineered by the Aztecs and the original Sun Stone could be seen in Mexico City. Later I found out that the women and children on the streets of Tijuana, with the square, flat faces, were Aztec descendents. Who where these Aztec people? The Aztec people ruled Mexico during the late postclassic period. The Center of the Aztec empire was the city of Tenochtitlan, known today as Mexico City. In the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan the Templo Mayor was home to famous religious
Although some may believe that private farmers worked their own land, it is more commonly believed that all of land was considered either the property of the state or of nobility. Everything Tecciztecatl had was luxurious-his "bloody thorns," for instance, were coral -while Nanahuatl made only humble but true offerings-instead of coral he offered his own blood, while his incense was the scabs from his pustules. At midnight a new fire was sparked on the chest of a human sacrificial offering whose very name contained the word "year" (xiuitl) (Read 1998:103). Artisans and merchants were not required to work the land, as they served the nobility in their own right. Using the flint knife the heart was cut out of his chest and fed to the fire. Then Nanahuatl jumped onto the brazier, followed later on by Tecciztecatl, and both were consumed. These three elements together played an important role in Aztec culture. The Aztec people were polytheistic, they believed in many gods. The most intriguing element of their culture was their religious sacrificial ceremonies. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. To understand these sacrifices one must gain an understanding of the Aztec religious belief. This month marks the approaching nadir of the sun. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. The Aztec people would become well known for their invention of the Sun Stone.
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Acceptance Essays
