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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.
Some of these altars were believed to be bases for skull racks used to display victims of sacrifice. Others may have been dedicated to female fertility and curing, areas commonly associated with the tzitzimitl deities in Aztec culture. Still others may have served as offerings to the god Tezcatlipoca. [20] Houses were uniform throughout most of ...
The two institutions seem to be common to the Nahua people, leading some experts to suggest that they are older than the Aztec culture. [ citation needed ] The telpochcalli or House of the Young, taught history, religion, military fighting arts, and a trade or craft (such as agriculture or handicrafts).
Sacrifice was a common theme in the Aztec culture. In the Aztec "Legend of the Five Suns", all the gods sacrificed themselves so that mankind could live.Some years after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, a body of the Franciscans confronted the remaining Aztec priesthood and demanded, under threat of death, that they desist from this traditional practice.
The Aztec culture in Mexico produced some dramatically expressive artworks, such as the decorated skulls of captives and stone sculpture, of which Tlazolteotl (Woods Bliss Collection, Washington), a goddess in childbirth, is a good example. Aztec art, similar to other Mesoamerican cultures also focused on deity worship and portraying values in ...
Coiled Serpent, unknown Aztec artist, 15th–early 16th century CE, Stone, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States [1] The use of serpents in Aztec art ranges greatly from being an inclusion in the iconography of important religious figures such as Quetzalcoatl and Cōātlīcue, [2] to being used as symbols on Aztec ritual objects, [3] and decorative stand-alone representations ...
The Aztecs: A History. University of Oklahoma Press. Evans, Susan T. (2008). Ancient Mexico and Central America: Archaeology and Culture History, 2nd edition. Thames & Hudson, New York. ISBN 978-0-500-28714-9. Hassig, Ross (1988). Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-8061-2121-1.
It is said that the Aztec god, Huitzilopochtli, instructed the Aztecs to found their city at the location where they saw an eagle, on a cactus, with a snake in its talons (which is on the current Mexican flag). The Aztecs, apparently, saw this vision on the small island where Tenochtitlan was founded.