Aztec religious beliefs and practices

Were the Aztecs poly or monotheists?

Polytheists

Who was the God of rain, hurricanes, fertility, and lightning? What sacrifice was taken out in their name?

Tlaloc, Babies drowned for sacrifice.

Who was the God of war, thunderstorms, fire, and sun? What sacrifice was taken out in their name?

Huitzilopochtli, Blood sacrifice.

What happened in the founding of Tenochtitlan?

Huitzilopochtli appeared to priests in a vision and told them to settle where they saw an eagle perched on a cactus growing from a rock eating a snake. They saw this on the island in Lake Texcoco and founded their city there

What does Tenochtitlan mean?

place of the cactus fruit

Which god was set to return in what year? Why? What are they the god of?

Quetzalcoatl, 1519 to restore peace to the Aztec empire, God of agriculture, arts, love, science, and wind.

Who is the god of death? What are they the lord of?

Mictlantecuhtli, Mictlan

What is the Aztec underworld?

Mictlan

Xipe Totec

God of agriculture, fertility, seasons, and renewal. Flayed himself to give humanity food.

Why did Xipe Totec flay himself?

to give humanity fo

What was the main temple of Tenochtitlan?

Templo Mayor

what was the templo mayor made of?

monumental stone

who was the templo mayor built for?

Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc

Why was Sacrifice important for the Aztecs?

The Aztecs believed that offering blood and human lives to the gods was necessary to prevent the Sun from dying and the world from coming to an end.

Who were sacrificed

prisoners, extreme cases where family might offer someone in order to procure favours from the gods, rebellious slaves

about how many people were sacrificed?

between 10 000 - 50 000

Where did sacrifices take place?

top of Templo Mayor

How many priests were involved in the sacrifice process?

5

What would happen to the body after sacrificing it?

thrown down stairs of temple and taken by owners to be eaten

What would the priests do to the person being sacrificed?

held on stone tablet by four priests, other priest slices abdomen and takes out beating heart

what would be taken during sacrifice process and what would happen to it?

the heart would be placed in a special bowl

What was Tzompantli?

An enormous rack of skulls discovered in Tenochtitlan, consisting of rows of skulls and mortar lined up on vertical posts connected by crossbeams. It was used for display and ritual purposes.

When was Tzompantli discovered?

2015

How big is Tzompantli estimated to be?

35m x 14m x 4.5m

What was the enormous rack of skulls found in Mexico City?

Tzompantli

who was the great priest?

the emperor

at what did noble boys join priesthood?

17

What was the most important honour for a priest?

To perform human sacrifice

Which calendar lasted 260 days?

ritual calendar

What was the purpose of the ritual calendar

track rituals and determined lucky or unlucky days for particular events

Which calendar was used for agricultural purposes?

solar calendar

How long were the months of the solar calendar? What did they mark?

20 days, the beginning of a new festival

How many months were in the solar calendar?

18

What were the 5 days at the end of the Aztec year?

hollow days

What were hollow days?

five additional unnamed days at the end of the year considered to be unlucky

what calendar were hollow days apart of?

solar

What was the 52 year calendar?

a combination of the solar and ritual calendar

What happened every 52 years?

the solar and ritual calendars would end at the same time

When was the 52-year calendar used?

the year that the solar and ritual calendars ended at the same time

What calendar would be used in what ceremony?

52 year calendar, new fire ceremony

Quetzalcoatl

A deity in Aztec mythology who was believed to have made the calendar and books. It was prophesied that he would return as a light-skinned bearded man in the reed year 1 (1519 in the western calendar).

who created the calendars and books?

Quetzalcoatl

What did Quetzalcoatl create?

books and calendar

What was Quetzalcoatl prophesised to return as? When?

light-skinned bearded man, reed year 1 (1519)

The Aztecs believed in a __ view of time, with constant and

cyclical, beginnings, ends