The Demolishment Of Cultural Aspects And Political Structure Of The Aztecs

Situated within Mesoamerica, a historical region mainly referring to modern Mexico and portions of North America, the Aztec empire was the last in a long line of Native American civilizations to blossom within the area. Flourishing from the 13th century to the 15th century until surrendering to the Europeans on August 13th 15211, the downfall of the Aztec empire was brought about by Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes proceeding his arrival in the New World2. The Europeans’ invasion demolished unique aspects of Aztec culture including the Aztec religion, the structure of their social organization, their weaponry, and intricate political system.

The Aztec religion was a polytheistic belief system worshipping hundreds of deities. The Native American tradition had always instructed conquered tribes to include the conquerer’s gods as additions to their original beliefs. To the Aztecan’s surprise, the Europeans lacked an understanding of this concept and forcefully inflicted Roman Catholicism. According to Aztec myths, the gods had offered their blood, and even sacrificed themselves in certain cases, to create the sun, moon, earth, and humanity3. Hence, people owed a huge debt to the gods and were obliged to repay their kindness through human sacrifice and offerings. Offerings included mainly food and incense. Priests were committed to autosacrifice by frequently piercing body parts such as ears or tongues to release blood onto paper strips which were then set aflame. The most common form of sacrifice was by cutting the victim’s chest open with a blade and removing their heart to offer to the gods. Temple pyramids were constructed solely for this purpose.

Afterwards, the victims’ bodies were tossed down the pyramid steps. The most notable Aztecs’ architectural wonders was the sacred Temple Mayor located at the heart of its capital city Tenochtitlan. Atop the temple stood two shrines, one in honor of Tlaloc, the god of rain, and another for Huitzilopochtli, the god of war4. Human sacrifice was considered the most honorable method of death, hence the victims were either willing nobles or captive warriors from enemy empires. Most documentations of these ceremonies were recorded by Spanish observers. Their recordings depicted clear biases against the Aztecs since they aimed to portray them as savage-like and inhumane through exaggerating descriptions of human sacrifices.

The social organization of the Aztec empire consisted of two classes - the nobles and the commoners. The nobility, referred to as pipiltin in Nahuatl, the traditional Aztec language, were in control of economical and political powers. Within the noble class, the Huey Tlatoani, meaning emperor, reigns with absolute power5. Perched at the top of the nobility pyramid is the government. Following that are military leaders whom gain high ranks based their quantity of captive warriors. For instance, one captive awarded the warrior with the title tlamani, two captives was cuextecatl, three captives was papalotl, and four or more captives was cuauhocelotl6. Beneath the warriors were high level priests and lords known as tecuhtli who were landowners, judges, or military commanders. Below the noble class were commoners, also known as macehualtin. Typically, commoners lived in social groups called calpolli where one noble dominated. They worked as farmers, artisans, merchants, and low-level priests. Women possessed limited leadership and could only choose between being housewives and priestesses, similar to other societies of that age. The remaining commoners were either serfs or they became tlacotins, meaning slaves. Social mobility was prominent in Aztec society.

Oftentimes, merchants and priests rose in position. When the Spaniards arrived, they overthrew the ruler Montezuma II. All Aztecan concepts were burned to shreds and replaced when Mexico City was instituted. This information mainly derived from Dr.Michael E. Smith, a professor at the Arizona State University, who wrote the Aztec Culture overview due to the Wikipedia Aztec entry’s poor quality. As a secondary source composed in 2006, 485 years after the fall of the Aztec Empire, there are likely conflicted views on what is viewed as the objective truth.

Aztecan weaponry was a unique cultural aspect that reflected Native Americans in general as well as the Aztecs specifically. Warriors were of high value considering the importance of war for human sacrifice victims. Atlatl was a significant spear thrower. Tlahhuitolli was a 150 centimeter tall bow strung with a the fiber animal sinew. Their quivers could hold up to 20 arrows and all arrows were ornamented with turkey feathers. Slingshots utilized clay balls attached with obsidian spikes. Blowguns named tlacalhuazcuhuitl shot poison darts dipped in tree frog discharge during hunting trips or ambushes. In terms of melees, daggers called tecaptl designed for one-on-one matches and copper or stone axes known as itztopilli were involved. Circular wooden shields were decorated with intricate carvings of the Aztec chimalli badge. Armors were cotton tunics concealed with crystallized salt for protection against obsidian and spears8. This information was gathered from a secondary source called History On The Net where authors remain anonymous and the purpose of the site is to provide educational resources.

The Aztec empire was a nation of unparalleled culture and incomparable ethnology. Ranging from its worship of deities and extensive human sacrificial practices to the labyrinthine social structure. Upon arrival, the Europeans demolished more than simply temples, shrines, and pyramids. They annihilated sophisticated ideologies which shaped a unique religion, political system, economical system, and weaponry. Unearthing the ashes of ruins centuries later, the story about an empire obliterated at the peak of its success may finally be told.