The Aztec Indians

The Rituals, the Sacrifices, and the Myths

The Aztec culture was filled with creativity and beauty. Among the craftsmanship valued by the Aztec Indians was art, music, poetry & tattoos. Their art functioned as an expression of religion and warfare and many examples of this aspect of the Aztec culture can be found in the form of paintings on the walls of temples, masks and pottery.

This sense of loyalty, respect, and even fear lead the Aztecs to perform a variety of rituals, including human sacrifices, in order to appease their gods. Their belief was that by performing these rituals, they could avoid being harmed in any way by the gods. Therefore, Aztec temples were built in order to perform these precise and elaborate rituals and sacrifices.

With religion playing such a vital role in the Aztec culture, it is interesting to learn how Aztec life was impacted by these beliefs. In fact, nearly every act in which the Aztecs engaged was linked in one way or another to their gods. For the Aztec Indians, life was a constant struggle of hard work meant to please the gods in order to keep the universe in balance. The temples are one of the few remaining signs of
the Aztecs and their grandeur signifies
how important religion was in this
ancient society.

The Aztec civilization has been credited for many advances of the Mesoamerican cultures, including the development of two unique calendar systems, a complex mathematical system, and an intriguing form of astronomy. The Aztec history is quite extensive, and the story of the Aztec people and their journey toward power
and wealth and their subsequent fall,
has intrigued scholars for years.

The Aztec daily life was quite simple and perhaps not so much different from how many modern day cultures function. The men engaged in farming, making homes, weapons, craft work and war. The woman were responsible for the food and clothing. Games and sports, besides having a religious
meaning, were a means of entertainment.