Aztec Achievements

The Amazing Aztecs is the second exhibit in the museum. The Aztecs were one of the most famous pre-Columbian cultures. Located in present day Mexico and Central America, the Aztecs presided over a vast empire. Ultimately destroyed by the Spanish Conquistadors, the Aztec empire was still at the height of their power and culture when they fell. There are several similarities between this empire and other cultures of Mesoamerica. The Aztecs had a complex culture of their own, of which religion was an important part. The first artifact is a picture of Aztec priests removing a person’s heart in a ritual sacrifice. “In Aztec society ritualistic sacrifices were believed to be a means of appeasing the gods”(Aztec Priest Performs Sacrifice to the Sun
and War God Huitzilopochtli). The most important Aztec god, Huitzilopochtli, who was the Aztec god of the sun and war, was offered human hearts and blood each day so that the sun would rise(Aztec Priest Performs Sacrifice to the Sun and War God Huitzilopochtli). The next artifact is another image, this one depicting different Aztec social classes. “Aztec society was divided into five main social classes”(Frey 280). The highest class was the ruler and his family. Under them were the nobility, which was made up of priests, high-ranking warriors, and officials, then the commoners, the largest class, who weren’t nobles, but weren’t peasants either. Then there were the peasants, who worked on farms to provide food for the empire, and then finally the slaves, who while considered property had their own rights, and could own property, even other slaves. Each class was treated differently, but people could move through them, since status in Aztec culture was not fixed(Frey 280). Another artifact shows Aztecs performing multiple daily tasks. “Aztec family members performed daily tasks such as farming, collecting firewood, cooking, childcare, and weaving”(Frey 283). Peasants provided food for the entire empire by farming. Goods that weren’t used could be sold at one of the markets in the city. Children of all classes in society began their education and training at an early age(Frey 283). Aztecs accomplished many remarkable achievements.
The fourth artifact is a picture of Aztecs farming on islands called chinampas in a lake. “The Aztecs of Tenochtitlan built the city and farmed on chinampas, small artificial islands they constructed from timbers, mud, and plants”(Frey 282). Lake Texcoco was filled with islands like these, which helped to support the Aztec capital. These islands were amazing achievements that allowed the Aztecs to build a huge and easily defensible capital in the center of a lake, and to make the most use of space(Frey 282). The fifth artifact is a large stone engraved with markings and designs. This is the sun stone, one of the most well-known Aztec artifacts. Aztec “priests kept an exact solar calendar. An almanac gave dates for fixed and movable festivals and listed the various deities that held sway over each day and hour”(Aztec). They also had a second sacred calendar, which had a shorter year of 240 days. The two calendars only ever lined up every 52 years, a period that the Aztecs used to measure time in a way similar to a century(Aztec). The sixth artifact is a picture of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec island capital, the city that had so dazzled the Spanish who had came to conquer it. A network of canals, paths, and bridges spread through the city, and three huge causeways connected the island to the the mainland. “An aqueduct brought drinking water[to the city] from Chapultepec, a rocky height
nearby”(Aztec). The Aztec were eventually conquered by Hernan Cortes, a Spanish Conquistador.
The seventh artifact shows Montezuma, the Aztec king, meeting with Cortes, as expected by Aztec diplomacy. However, “Cortés soon decided to seize Montezuma in order to hold the country through its monarch and achieve not only its political conquest but its religious conversion”(Hernán Cortés, marqués del Valle de Oaxaca). The next artifact is a picture of the famous Conquistador. When Cortes finally conquered Tenochtitlan, he destroyed most of the Aztec capital. “On the ruins of the ancient Aztec capital, Cortes built his capital, Mexico City. He destroyed Aztec temples and replaced them with Christian churches”(Lanzen). Catholicism is the official religion of Mexico even to this day. The Aztecs quickly disappeared, along with their way of life. However, today there are those who claim descendancy from the Aztecs, and follow their way of life. The final artifact in this gallery is an image of Christian missionaries preaching to Aztecs. The name of Christianity was used to justify many of the conquistadors’ actions. “Many Aztec buildings, statues, and books were destroyed because they went against Christian teachings”(Wilson 55). Christian missionaries gave incentives for the Aztecs to convert to Christianity, such as allowing them to keep their land and property(Wilson
55). The Aztec empire was at its height and still growing when it was destroyed by Spanish conquest. They had a unique culture of their own and impressive achievements, both those that expanded on the ideas of previous civilizations and those that were all their own. When the Spanish conquered them, they did not just leave their influence on the Aztecs, but also on all of what is now Mexico. The Aztecs were truly amazing, from their fascinating culture to their impressive achievements.