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The Aztecs [a] (/ ˈ æ z t ɛ k s / AZ-teks) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica from the 14th to the 16th centuries.
Aztec society can trace its roots to Mesoamerican Origins. Their language, lifestyle, and technology were all impacted by contact with neighboring cultures. But, while they were impacted by various sources, they developed their own distinct social groupings, political structures, traditions, and leisure activities.
Mexicayotl (Nahuatl word meaning "Essence of the Mexican", "Mexicanity"; Spanish: Mexicanidad; see -yotl) is a movement that aims to revive the Indigenous religion, philosophy and traditions of ancient Mexico (Aztec religion and Aztec philosophy) among the Mexican people.
The New Fire Ceremony (Spanish: Ceremonia del Fuego Nuevo) was an Aztec ceremony performed once every 52 years—a full cycle of the Aztec “calendar round”—in order to stave off the end of the world. The calendar round was the combination of the 260-day ritual calendar and the 365-day annual calendar.
Mexica children were forcibly taken to newly established Christian schools where they were indoctrinated into Christian beliefs and Spanish culture, and the surviving Mexica men and women were sent to work in newly-established Spanish estates, known as haciendas, as well as mines and other civil projects, such as digging canals.
During the Spanish Conquest, Christianity was imposed on the Nahua people, which prohibited many traditions and celebrations linked to Aztec gods, including Netotiliztli. Netotiliztli survived because the Nahua shifted the dance's meaning from a spiritual tradition of celebration and worship, to a dance solely for pleasure.
Pantheism is the belief that everything is Divine and the Divine is everything. James Maffie, in his book Aztec Philosophy: Understanding a World in Motion, argued that the religion of the Aztecs was pantheistic in nature. Maffie believes that the Aztec view of teotl, found in their poetry, is sufficient to constitute a monist pantheism. He ...
An Aztec woman blowing on maize before putting it in the cooking pot, so that it will not "fear the fire" since it is considered a god. Florentine Codex, late 16th century. Maize was the single most important staple of the Aztecs. It was consumed at every meal by all social classes and played a central role in Aztec culture.