4. Since the mural depicts Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs capital city, and if you knew that the Aztec civilization arose in the 15th century, you could assume that the mural portrays Tenochtitlan in the 15th or 16th century.
5. I think Rivera wanted to show a normal day for the Aztecs in Tenochtitlan. Which is, work, and sacrifice. But I think his main goal was to show the Aztec sacrifices, since there is that one pyramid sticking out with blood on the stairs. During the Aztecs time , the sacrifices were taken to the tops of the Aztec pyramids and laid upon a flat stone. There, their chests were cut open and their hearts were ripped out. The bodies were then thrown down the steps of the pyramid.While human sacrifice was practiced throughout Mesoamerica, the Aztecs, if their own accounts are to be believed, brought this practice to an unprecedented level. For example, for the reconsecration of Great Pyramid of Tetnochtitlan in 1487, the Aztecs reported that they sacrificed 84,400 prisoners over the course of four days. I think that this mural depictsTenochtitlan during the late 15th century, early 16th century.
6. I think Rivera did a great job representing Tenochtitlan. Even though the main purpose of this mural was the temple with the blood, I think Rivera did a great job not only making it about that. He also shows other aspects of the Aztecs life, and the beauty of Tenochtitlan and it's surrounding volcanoes and snow-capped mountains. We did not learn a lot about the Aztecs, only that they lived in Tenochtitlan and they made sacrifices, so I consider it a fair recreation of life in Tenochtitlan at the time.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Answer: Tenochtitlan was the capital of the Aztec Empire. It was a bustling city, a market center where foods and “all kinds of merchandise” were bought and sold. This impressed Cortes when he arrived in 1519.…
- 507 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
d. Bill discovered mural in looter’s trench. 2. San Bartolo contains the earliest Maya mural, and only the second relatively complete Maya mural ever found. ~100 BC.…
- 1306 Words
- 67 Pages
Good Essays -
“So far archeologist have found 139 offerings and more than 9,000 objects, including children’s skeletons, bones of marine fish, turtle shells…masks, musical instruments… and cotton textiles.”22 Archeologist even discovered what appeared to be a “…god of death statue… bathed with large quantities of blood from sacrificed people…”23 A reminder of gory rituals practiced by the Aztecs. What is interesting about some of the more obscure and less exciting items is not the items themselves but where they came from. Objects that were unearthed were found to have come from places such as the Gulf Coast, Guerrero24, and “…the modern states of New Mexico and Arizona.”25 This shows the extensive lengths that the Aztecs travelled for trade. Their power, influence and strength reached far beyond the boundaries of their capital in Tenochtitlan. Many of the more significant offerings and objects found at the temple are reminders of the importance of the two deities of the Templo Mayor to the Aztec people. Every layer of fill contained offerings to the gods, most of which were related to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc.26 Leonardo Lopez Lujan and Judy Levin believe that the arrangement of the offerings in the fill “… can tell us how the Aztec people understood the world and what they were trying to say to the gods through their…
- 1788 Words
- 8 Pages
Better Essays -
Each of these cities had complex social class systems, economic market places and trade, highly developed means of growing food for the large population, and extensive religious temples and rituals. Farmers were drawn from their fields into urban craft production for a growing trade network. The construction of religious architecture is evidence of its importance as the center of religion. Pyramids built along the central avenue were dedicated to the sun, moon, and other gods. Tenochtitlan was laid out in the shape of a puma and also developed breakthroughs in agriculture such as chinampas.…
- 542 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
11. The artist of the Valley of Mexico is Jose Maria Velasco, the significance of this series is that they captured the mood and grandeur of the Mexican landscape; it also symbolized the modernisms of Mexico.…
- 482 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
The actions of the Aztecs when compared to what some other people are doing currently aren’t…
- 1494 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
Rivera’s painting are often controversial and spark debate in all kinds of circles, whether it be for his political affiliations or the subject matter of the paintings themselves. In a way, Pan American Unity avoids some of this controversy with his themes of unification and harmony. One might think that the North and South, in this case the United States and Mexico, stand diametrically opposed to one another, but Rivera sought to unite them in common themes. He showed how the labors of the Mexican farmers and ingenious people were not that dis-similar from the backbreaking work of the Detroit autoworkers. Most, if not all, scenes depicted show Mexicans and Americans side…
- 687 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Orozco’s painting Hidalgo was painted in 1949 at the governor’s palace in Guadalajara. The ceiling painted mural at the governor’s palace is very intimidating when one first looks at it as you ascend its stairs. Father Hidalgo was a Mexican Catholic priest that advocated for the war of independence from Spain. In the mural Orozco is wielding a torch and is standing over several other scenes that tie into his vigilance against…
- 483 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
After the Mexican Revolution of 1910, Mexico experienced a period of artistic expression known as the Aztec Renaissance. This era led to an increase sense of nationality and promoted a glorification of Mexican Culture. The various art forms emphasized Symbolism and indianism while also using the history of Indian culture as motifs for their art. Firstly what arose was an exploration of the visual arts, which painters such as Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco and David Siqueiros undertook. They were known as Los Tres Grandes and were commissioned by the government to create murals that would define Mexican identity. Not only were visual arts celebrated but musical arts were encouraged as well. Around the same time a Mexican composer named…
- 840 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The main reason, however, was likely to boast about Cortes’ counter-ambush after the tribe’s plan kill the Spanish became known. In hindsight, this could have been predicted; Cortes does begin his letter with a description of a traditional dance or activity, which involved both religious figures and activities usually performed within a temple. Since human sacrifice is not a part of Catholicism, a ritual like this likely did not alarm the Spanish. However, the Spanish also noticed many concerning signals and signs that allied natives pointed out, such as barricaded roads and piles of stones on the rooftops; both of these suggest that the natives of the city set up traps and barricades as a part of a plan to slaughter or sacrifice the conquistadors before they can reach Tenochtitlan. However, the Spanish were able to act first; they captured the leaders of the city, and started a preemptive assault, killing thousands, razing several buildings, and forcing many Natives to flee. Moctezuma’s messengers within the city likely informed him of the Spanish threat and actions as…
- 568 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The chinampas should be the center of attention due to their tremendous size and scale of the farms. As seen in the magnificent Diego Rivera mural, Document C, one can see chinampas “as far as the can see”. Diego Rivera is simply showing what everyday life was like for the Aztecs. According to Peter Stearns and other historians, there were approximately twenty thousand acres of chinampas that were constructed to grow four corn crops per year, document B. This helps suffice the great population of the Aztec people. Document B gives us the impression that the chinampas were thought out and designed very carefully by the Aztecs Similar to the great pyramids of Egypt, this was not an easy task for people who were only using wooden tools, their bare hands, and whatever useful they might have thought of to make the job easier, as seen in document C. Document C shows us the view point of a worker and how the people farmed. One can infer from that image that the Aztecs were well governed people with powerful rulers, which led to the great triumph of conquering others as seen in Document A. The chinampas…
- 758 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The social effects of the Aztec & Incan Empires clearly emphasized the superb cultural development that occurred there (documents 1,6,7,8,10,11). The Mendoza Codex exhibits the daily activities and customs of the Aztec realm (doc. 1). It depicts the type of work depending on gender roles, in which men performed more of the hunting activities and the women were taught how to work with crafts. The picture also shows how the older generations taught their young the new techniques and traditions. (Insert authors’ pov/bias here).The page from the Codex Mendoza shows the advanced marketplaces they had because of the great variety of goods (doc. 6). The numerous manufactured wares also show the type of work and materials that were needed to be done in order to produce the items. (Insert authors’ pov/bias here). In the memoirs of the conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo, he describes the quality and vast amounts of goods sold at the Aztec marketplace (doc. 7). He takes not of how the items were displayed and the policies that enforced order throughout the market. However, he does show bias because he compared the Aztec marketplace to that of Portugal, and is truly only interested in gold, silver and slaves. He was also surprised by the way the slaves were able to walk around the city without being restrained. The photograph of the Chinampa system shows the importance of the agricultural method as well as…
- 1168 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Horace Hall Professor Sansome Latin America Humanities March 7, 2016 Diego Rivera: 1 Mexican Painter Diego Rivera was a big man, and not only because he stood over six feet tall and weighed, at times, more than three hundred pounds. Rivera dominated the Mexican art world from soon after the end of the country's revolution in 1920 until his death in 1957. At the age of seventy. 1 Rivera revived, and put to use, the antique medium of fresco painting. Fresco painting used pigments impregnating a paste of marble dust or sand and water-treated lime, which dries rock hard. His energy and his optimism charmed all sorts of people, from Parisian avant-gardes to American captains of industry.…
- 648 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Teotihuacán was an ancient Mesoamerican city in Mexico. Teotihuacán gets its name from the Aztecs meaning “place for the Gods.” The ancient city thrived around 300-550 CE, but it began its era around 150 BCE and ended it in 600 CE spanning over 700 years. The city itself is about 30 miles from current day Mexico City. The city itself is over 20 square kilometers with a gridded layout and a walled exterior. The Avenue of the Dead outlines the length of the city, starting at the crop fields and pointing towards Cerro Gordo, a sacred mountain. Along the way, the Avenue of the Dead passes many of its most beloved architecture today. It passes the Pyramid of the Sun, the Citadel, some thousands of smaller temples and buildings, and ultimately, the Pyramid of the Moon. Teotihuacán is located in between a mountainous area that…
- 587 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
El Castillo was constructed by the Maya at approximately 1050 A.D (National Geographic). It is a marvel of ancient engineering; not only the size of the pyramid, but the intelligence needed to creat a structure like it. First of all, there are 91 steps on each of the four sides of the pyramid, and with the top step it totals 365 (National Geographic). This represents the 365 days of the year. Another feature developed into the pyramid is the Serpent of the Equinox. Every spring and fall equinox the light reflects just right on the pyramid, and forms a huge serpent that appears to be moving down the pyramid (ancient.eu). El Castillo is a very complex and sophisticated pyramid that symbolizes the entire Maya…
- 568 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays