Transcript Aztec culture and innovation

Aztec culture and
innovation
© 2011Clairmont Press
Aztec culture
• Polytheism
• The belief in many gods and
goddesses.
• Somewhat like Greek
mythology.
• Nature based society. They
believed humans were just a part
of nature and subject to it.
• Very different from the Spanish
view of humans being
exceptional.
• Their written language was
hieroglyphic, they used symbols
to keep record of events and tell
stories.
Aztec innovation
• Tenochtitlan
•
•
City they built on a lake
Huge stone fortresses
• Large pyramids rivaling those of Egypt
• Irrigation to grow crops
• Chinampas
•
Man made islands used to grow crops
• Sophisticated canal system to deliver the
goods to the market in the city
• Population of Tenochtitlan:
•
200,000-300,000 people
• Upper Class
A model of Tenochtitlan and the map of the
city above it. Note how it is built on an island
in the lake.
Aztec innovation
• Rubber Masters
• It is believed that the Aztecs
utilized rubber hundreds of
years before modern usage.
• Calendar based on the Sun
• Ability to track time and
understand the rotational
basis of nature
• They believed that the
Sun was controlled by
gods and must be fed in
order for it to rise each
day.
Aztec Sun Calendar
Aztec culture and
innovation
• For further information, visit the website:
http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anth3618/
maaztec.html