Aztec College Essays Samples For Students

In the life of the Aztecs religion occupied an extremely important role. It was interrelated with all spheres of their everyday life: advancements of their architecture were related to the necessity of building huge temples for appraising their gods, wars were conducted with a view of enslaving people for sacrificing them to their deities, their culture was tightly connected with religion which was the source for new ideas and was the background for developing new cultural concepts, etc..
The religion of the Aztecs was polytheistic. They believed that the deities commanded the forces of nature and human actions. Aztec ...

The Aztec community, who are the modern Mexica, are considered to be one of the most famous and important civilization of the Mesoamerica. Back in the Postclassical period, they are said to have moved to the Centre of Mexico and there is where they have settled ever since. They are known to control most of Mexico for most part of their stay in Mexico. Their rich history is explained by many documents and artifacts found in these sites including the Annals of Tlatelolco, Florentine Codex and excerpts of Oaxaca and Yucatan.
Florentine Codex is a manuscript of the 16th ...

Part IV Question

Colonization of America by the European countries began in the late 15th century. The colonization was mostly motivated by the Europe desire to acquire wealth. The European colonialists justified their move by stating that they wanted to civilize indigenous people. The famous phrase “God, Gold and Glory” incredibly summarizes the colonialists’ motives. Explorers, Amerigo Vespucci, Diego Alverez Chanca, Hernando Cortes, and Samuel de Champlain spoke on their aspiration to extend the political boundaries of Europe and to advance European economies. Vespucci, Chanca, Cortes, and Samuel de Champlain emphasized their intent to convert Indigenous people to Christianity. Some of the ...

Hernan Cortes’ pre-conquest assessment of the Aztecs is one of the famous episodes in the history of the Spanish conquests. In the second letter to Charles V, Cortes gives an account of the pre-conquest assessment of the Aztecs. To start with the Aztecs had an unpleasant tribute system, which was not popular among the Mexicans. The harsh tribute system allowed Cortes to play the role of a liberator. Moreover, the Spanish were immune to several diseases they brought into Mexico, but the Aztecs were not. The spread of dangerous diseases, such as small pox reduced the population of the Aztecs ...

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1. Aztec was a term that the foreigners introduced for Mexicans in reference to their political alignment. Kings led the people of Aztec Empire who came from the ethnic group called Mexica. The Aztec believed in a god called Quetzalcoatl. The Empire had several ethnic groups in living in different cities a factor that made them susceptible to the attacking Europeans. It had a standardized tax system with proper collections and expenditure accounts.
The Africans had kingdoms as their systems of governance before the coming of Arabs and Islam as well as Europeans and ...

Aztlan is the mythological home for the Nahua people. These people trace their originality back to Mesoamerica, the Aztec people’s legendary home. Aztec is the word that was used to refer to the people who came from Aztlan. When literally translated, Aztlan refers to a “Place of the Herons” or “Place of Whiteness” which meant that it was a wholesome and sanctified place. According the Chicano, Aztec and Nahua people, Aztlan was likened to the Garden of Eden. It was deemed to be a location where all originated from. According to them, Aztlan meant ‘home’ since a majority of the natives accepted ...

The interpretation that the pachuco resistance is tied to the “assimilation to political consciousness Chicano movement of the 1960s and 1970s [] achieved national popularity following Luis Valdez's celebrated play "Zoot-Suit"” (Mazón 118). Like a majority of Valdezs works, a Chicano family in crisis has been dramatized in this play. Although the play revolves around Henry Reyna but he is not the only central figure. Henry has a rather suave alter ego by the name of El Pachuco who embodies the stereotypical “Chicano” and “Pachuco.” Henry is a misunderstood figure in the play, and unlike his familia, El Pachuco brings another dimension to ...

The Inca Empire contained military, political and administrative in Cusco which is now known as Peru. It was actually the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. Their main language of communication was Quechua. They had many forms of worship though their leaders advocated for the worship of their sun god. The king was considered as the child of the sun. Their economy incorporated central planning of a very high degree. There was no evidence of external trade in their culture. In terms of art and technology, the Inca culture, architecture was one of their most important form of art. In addition, ...

Accounts of historical events often vary depending on who is telling the story or which side is being favored. This short essay discusses the events surrounding the initial contact of the Europeans with the American Indians and briefly tackles the issues raised by a couple key documents. Further elaboration of one issue about the conquest is presented in the second half of the paper.

Initial impressions

As far as I can remember, my idea about the “discovery” of Mesoamerica by the Spaniard has been of a superior race coming over a new land to improve the lives of the people here, teaching them to ...

There is a great contrast in these 16th Century documents between the way a European observer described the wealth, power and confidence of the Ottoman Empire at its height, and how the Aztec records in The Broken Spears were filled with a sense of doom and despair as the relatively small Spanish force under Hernan Cortez approached their capital of Tenochtitlan. In the former case, the Turks already had conquered the Near East and the Balkans, and the Europeans were not at all certain they could ever defeat them or even fight a successful defensive action against their large and powerful forces, while ...

Religious change among the Aztecs

Annotated Bibliography
Berdan, Frances, Aztec Archaeology and Ethnohistory, pp. 215-296. NY: Cambridge University Press (2014).

The source tells of the history and religion of the Aztec people.

Burkhart, Louise. “The missionary missionized.” In her The Slippery Earth: Nahua- Christian Moral Dialogue in Sixteenth-Century Mexico, pp. 15-45. Tucson: University of Arizona Press (1989).

This source tells about the implementation of Christianity on Aztec society.

Cervantes, Fernando. “The Indian response.” In his The Devil in the New World, pp. 40- 73. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press (1994)
The source reminds one that they should be looking at the paper through an objective lens, rather than proscribing any ideals onto the Aztecs or the Spaniards.
Florescano, Enrique, “Transformation of indigenous memory and resurgence of ...

The paper discusses two societies; the Mali Empire in North Africa and the Aztec Empire by comparing and contrasting their governments’ efforts to promote culture and the biggest challenges to their political stability. The government of Mali, over a long period has played a major role in maintenance and promotion of the Malian culture with the aim of ensuring that its culture is not eroded by either foreigners or citizens with unclear interests and ambitions. The national anthem of Mali which was composed by Seydou Badian has, over many years since her independence, acted as a symbol that unites ...

The Aztecs formed a great and wealthy empire in the ancient civilization. The ancient world knew them for their bravery and persistent will. They believed in conquering and success. Don Hernando Cortes recognized this fact and wanted to see for himself by wanting to fight Aztec messengers upon arriving at the shores of the Mexican city. Once a destitute tribe, the Aztec managed to build and establish their empire in Central America through hard work. They built a great city-metropolis on an otherwise uninhabitable island. The organization of the empire was so rich, magnificent and orderly. Upon entry into the city, the ...

Introduction

The analysis of Ecological Basis for Aztec Sacrifice by Harner looks at the article that Harner has projected. The Aztecs have conducted sacrifices so as to enhance their diet by use of cannibalism. This is emphasized through the ritualized human sacrifice plus the absolute numbers of victims that are involved. This has been documented as evidence for the cultural behaviors in the ethnographic record, in the world. The paper has proposed an evolutionary and ecological theory for the explanation of the strange behavior and maturity of the Aztec sacrificial multifaceted. This is seen as an accepted significance of the ...

Abstract

The study describes phonological pluralization of nouns and adjectives in Nahuatl. It is based on selected groups of substantives and adjectives taken from Nahuatl and is focused on comparing their singular and plural forms in the phonological context. The groups are presented by the following semantic domains: Animals, Natural force (weather), Number, Perception visual colors, Physical artifact (dress and tool weapon), Physical celestial body, Physical condition form change, Physical somatic, Physical somatic body part, Physical spatial, Physical substance, Plant and Plant part, Quality, Social clan and Social kin, Time phase.
The purpose of the paper consists in revealing phonological ...

Archaeology gives us a better understanding of humans’ past historical events. It provides us with details of how people lived, their routines, rituals, culture and society. In addition, it helps is determining whether certain misconceptions about communities are factual or true. The integration of archaeology to anthropology is a way to gain more understanding of history. By studying past communities using their artefacts and structure, we gain more information on how we are similar to the past communities or the influences such history has on people descended from the same communities. A lot has been learnt by discovering ancient ...

The Aztec Empire dominated in a large part of Mesoamerica and was one of the mightiest nations on the American continent. The Aztecs’ capital Tenochtitlan was the biggest city in the Pre-Columbian Americas. It located on an island in Lake Texcoco that made it difficult to be captured by enemies. But in 1521 the Great Empire was ruined by the small group of Spanish conquistadors and eventually 90 percent on Aztecs – one of the most aggressive, combative and highly developed Indians – were wiped out. How did it happen?
Hernán Cortés was a highly ambitious man. He craved ...

It used to be fun to visit museums when in school with friends and school groups. However, my visit to Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) was different, as now I was in college and going there not just because everyone is going, or that your school or teachers have organized a tour, but I was going there based on my own plans and decisions. I had heard a lot about LACMA and decided to get more information about the museum online.
I explored the website of LACMA and learned about the history of the museum. I learned ...

Aztecs` Human Sacrifice as the Example of Cannibalism

Cannibalism is a phenomenon that has always wondered people with its ambiguous nature. Despite the fact that cannibalism is now perceived as a deviation from the norm, yet there is documentary evidence that human flesh eating existed in the past. And now, the only difference is in the explanations that people find to cannibalism. In most cases, people believe that it was either way to survive in conditions of hunger, or a part of the culture and sacrificial rituals of the past. Time goes by and scientists put forward new explanations for this phenomenon. Nevertheless, each person creates his ...

The Spanish conquistadors defeated the powerful Inca and Aztec Empires quickly despite the low numbers of the Spaniards invading America. The Spaniards defeated the Aztecs in the year 1519, under the leadership of Hernan Cortes. In the year 1533, the Incas were defeated by the Spaniards under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro (HJ, 2015). Some of the factors that enabled the Spanish conquistadors to defeat the Aztecs and the Incas include superior technology; alliances with the natives; high training and education; infecting the Aztecs and Incas with diseases such as smallpox; the use of well trained animals such as ...

The Code of Hammurabi – it is one of the oldest monuments in the sphere of ​​legislation. It is a black basalt pillar on which cuneiform inscriptions on the classic Babylonian dialect of Akkadian are located, which include two hundred eighty-two articles from various areas of law. The Code of Hammurabi was created by the king of Babylon Hammurabi, who reigned in round 1793-1750 years BC and made Babylon the biggest cultural, economic and political center of Asia Minor of those times. The Code of Hammurabi – is one of the most important sources of the ancient Babylonian law and of the ...

There is little room to debate the general outcome of the interactions between the Spaniards led by Hernando Cortés and the Aztecs in the first quarter of the 16th century, but there is good reason to suspect that the story long associated with the Spanish conquest is more myth than true story. Examining and comparing a range of different narratives from around that period quickly reveals significant evidence that the belief that the Europeans were gods did not exist at the time of the conquest and was perpetuated both by Europeans and indigenous Americans in the centuries that followed ...

Sensing the possibilities of America, Spaniards started their American expedition in earlier sixteenth century under administration and support of Spanish monarchy. Christopher Columbus started his mission in the year, 1492. He sailed to America with a motive to sell, buy spices as well as other goods and to hunt for the potential trade opportunities of the new places. Spanish sailors were among the first explorers of different new places of the world including the North American territory. This paper discusses the Spanish mission, establishment of Spanish colonies and other related aspects of the story.
Spanish colonies were established in ...

World Literature

Answer to Question 1 Dante’s Divine Comedy

Dante had his fifteen minutes of fame during a deeply contentious time in Florence, Italy just at the beginning of the new century, the century of the 1300s that is. The Whites and the Blacks were had split the city with their rigid partisan views. Dante was an outspoken member of the Whites; the side that supporting the “Ordinances of Justice” and the government. The Blacks political leanings were towards the aristocratic and they were backed by the Pope. Dante was a Prior, a powerful elected civil servant position for two months. The committee ...

Exam

Introduction
One of the greatest intrigues of the 21st Century is the fact that it is also considered as the information age. People from all corners of the globe are now coming to appreciate their ancient history regardless of whether it is favorable or otherwise. For instance, Christopher Columbus was previously well appreciated as a cultural icon who introduced the America’s to the western world (Carter and Warren 31). However, it has recently come to light that his innate objectives that fueled the determination to discover new lands was primarily imperialist. As such, the manner with which historians ...

Question 1. The Crusades are probably the greatest symbol of the religious enthusiasm of the age. What were the goals of the Crusades? Targets? What motivated people to go on a crusade besides religious zeal? How do we account for their general failure? How were the Crusades viewed by the Muslims, as indicated by the evidence from “Listening to the Past”? What lasting impact did they have?
Answer 1. Modern history judges the crusades as severe and prejudiced and declares the celebrated period of Christian history as morally evil. There have been apologies for the crusades from many ...

RE: Howdy Brewster

I have reviewed your memo regarding the case of Mr. Howdy Brewster. In 2011 Howdy signed a contract with the Aztec oil and Gas Company to build a pipeline across his property for the pipeline to cross over his property so that it can maintain its useful life. He received a given amount of $9,200 after the contract was signed and to resolve the issue with the neighbor paid an amount of $7,500 in so that the boundary can be sorted out with the neighbor as well. In September the same year, Howdy dammed a stream to have more water available ...

With specific reference to at least three readings given, explain how the early modern period can be understood as an "invention" or "discovery" of the modern age?
The early modern period in the world’s history marks significant changes in culture, religion, worldview and people’s perception of themselves in the universe. Symbolically defined as the period between the fall of Constantinople in the late Middle Ages and the onset of the Age of Revolutions in the late eighteenth century, the early modern period is commonly described as the time of invention, the Age of Discovery and the Age ...

The Writings of Hernan Cortes and Bartolome de las Casas

The Writings of Hernan Cortes and Bartolome de las Casas
In the half-century following Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the so-called “New World” of the Western Hemisphere, millions of indigenous peoples were slaughtered, hundreds of villages had been destroyed, and a hundred-year-old empire had fallen. Though all of these events took place at the hands of Spanish conquistadors, contemporary narratives of this tragic moment in history vary. In the early sixteenth century writings of Hernan Cortes and Bartolome de las Cases, two divergent views of the native population of the Americas and the justification for Spanish conquest emerge. This paper ...

According to the Inca religion, they believed in reincarnation, whereby death acted as a passage to the next world, which is similar to heaven that the Euro-Americans believed in them with snow capped mountains and green flower covered fields. Before the Spanish colonization, their myths were oral tradition, however, the Spanish helped in recording this oral tradition. They offered human sacrifices, and killed many of their servants, concubines, and court officials. Child sacrifice was also a common practice in the Inca religion, especially after important events. The Aztec believed in complex interactions between dates, gods and colors. They feared the nature ...

The eight pieces of writing we are analyzing for this assignment have many common themes. Love, war, loyalty, death, and peace are all themes I noticed in the readings. This essay will focus on the theme of peace in the selected readings. Peace is thought of by some as the opposite of war, but it can also be an inner peace, the absence of conflict, or a feeling of calm or contentment. As I read each piece, I was struck with the thought that each story had at least one death in it, and from each death came some sort ...

Introduction

María Candelaria (Mexican: Xochimilco) is a 1943 Mexican film directed by Emilio Fernández. The movie won several accolades for the subject matter, direction, and acting. In 1946, it became graded as a classic in the history of Latin American cinema, when it felled down the linguistic and cultural barriers as the first Mexican film that ever won the Palme d’Or at The Cannes International Film Festival. The film can be simply categorized as a classical romantic-tragedy, but the qualities that truly made it famous were the expressions gender and cultural issues and the hauntingly beautiful cinematography of the film. Today, ...

Apocalypto, 2006 is a movie directed by Mel Gibson. It is set during the age of the Mayan civilization in Mexico. It tells of the time when the Mayan civilization was declining and the rulers recommend offering human sacrifices and building of more temples to appease their gods and restore the civilization to prosperity.

Apocalypto outlines the tale Jaguar Paw, whose village is attacked by Mayans seeking slaves for human sacrifice. He hides his son and pregnant wife in a deep hole and is unfortunately captured. He is spared from sacrifice by an eclipse and has to struggle to survive. He ...

Introduction

The essay chooses works of art in the Museum’s collection belonging to different periods. These include ancient as well as modern examples of art and architecture from different geographical locations.

Art from 200 to 1000 - 6th–7th century

Camel with Packboards and Baggage
The Bactrian camel is about 11 inches in height and is exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum. Made of Earthenware with pigment, the camel carries the right proportions and has been carefully modeled. It is captured in a movement and as it is about to take the next step. Except for the packboard, there is no other object or ornament on the camel. The ...

Indigenous Language

Introduction
Language is a very essential communication tool across the globe. It is defined to be the capability to use and attain different systems of complex communication that people use. There are many different language systems that are used all throughout the numerous races in the world. Linguistics is the scientific study mainly focused on language.
Way back in the 20th century, there had been so many arguments about the origin or language. One is that language arose from the logical and rational thought while the other argument would be it arose from emotions; Immanuel Kant is one of ...

(21st, February 2016)

Ancient Mexican civilization had a great influence in shaping the Chicano Artists, thus, the reason they keep a reference to it. Gonzales illustrates that the Mexican had a long standing history of art beginning from the Olmec civilization to colonial period. The tradition got a boost in the 1920s when the Mexican muralism was formed to promote the art of mural paintings. During this time, the mural paintings were crafted with political and social messages aimed at reunifying the country after the Mexican Revolution. These pictures reminded the Mexicans about their oneness and from the 1920s ...

The archaeological and historical reconstruction of the growth of ancient civilization, though still incomplete, presents a coherent picture of regional development, prosperity and decline across the entire Maya area.
The earliest humans to occupy Mesoamerica were hunters and gathers who lived in small bands that moved from one single area to another in the quest for food. These nomadic hunters never established villages during this period.
One of the earliest known permanent settlements forms the Pres classic period is found in at Chaipa de Corzo, in the Grijalva Depression of Chiapas in south Mexico.
During the Middle Preclassic period, ...

Compare the treatment of indigenous peoples by the Spanish in Mexico and the French and British in North America

The Spanish used techniques that caused the Indian, who were the natives of Mexico during the period, to fight against each other. This enabled them to conquer the Aztecs, who were the most dominant community in the region. When the Aztecs were defeated by the Spanish in 1521, Hernando Cortes placed policies that needed the Indians to give silver and other precious metals to the administration that took over. They used force when it came to forcing the natives to pay their dues. Encomendaros was also responsible with the converting of the Indians to Christianity while under supervision. This ...

The term “hydraulic” refers to waters or liquid in motion and originated from the word “hydra,” a Greek term that means water. A hydraulic civilization is an empire that controls its population through controlling the supply of water. The environment determines the kind of civilization needed in a specific geography. Climate and natural resources play a crucial role in economic processes. Thus, controlling the supply of an available resource allows monopoly and power to be established and maintaine by the government. The government in hydraulic civilizations is a distinct and permanent institution that ensures and monitors that water supply are properly distributed.
...

MAYAN ARCHITECTURE: PRE-CLASSICAL PERIOD TO THE FALL

- Introduction
The Maya people were a people who flourished in Meso-America-- notably the Yucatan peninsula-- prior to the arrival of the conquistadors from Europe. The Mayan people were already in decline when the Europeans arrived, but the European invasion of the Meso-Americas was very devastating for what remained of Mayan culture. As a result of this devastation, the art and architecture of the high classical Maya was lost for a number of years; it was swallowed up by the jungle, only to be later reclaimed and studied extensively.
The Maya are often a source of fascination, as the reasons for ...

In search for a definition for Catholicism, a universally accepted one is “Adherence to the forms of Christian doctrine and practice which are generally regarded as Catholic rather than Protestant or Eastern Orthodox.” (Oxford Dictionaries). In the midst of a world that struggles to survive and live through wars, anxiety, injustice, greed, and devalued relationships, among others, the Second Vatican Council has declared that those that can provide the generations to come with reasons to life for and look life with optimism, hold the future of humanity (USCCB). Bearing that in mind, one can say that Catholicism is a faith and hope-centered religion ...

This essay explores how the United States which began as 13 separate colonies formed a distinctive nation of its own. It traces the early evolution of the people of America and the path to American independence from the colonial power.
1. Early Americans: Historians and archaeologists speculate that the early Americans crossed over a broad land bridge (Beringia) during the last Ice Age. As the glaciers melted, the land bridge was submerged, leaving them trapped on this side of the Bering Sea. Those people of Central America i.e., Maya, Aztec & Incas, became centers of innovation and cultural diffusion. They all ...

In and before the 1600s, Indians performed some sort of slavery before the coming of the Europeans. The situation of enslaved Indians varied from community to community. For example, some were adopted into the community to replace slain warriors of battle. Some of these were mutilated or tortured to the point of death as a consolation to the bereaved families. Others were even married off to the widows of the deceased. Other communities, like the Creek, took the offspring of the slaves to become a full part of the community rather than enslaved offspring. Some tribes held them hostages for payment ...

The Spanish established colonial empire in the Americas in the 16th Century in parts of South, North and Central America; a region that later became known as the Latin America. Its empire was among the first and largest global empires in the world. Its territories spanned the Americas, Asia, Oceania, Europe, and Africa between the 15th centuries until the late 19th Centuries, with several other colonial empires in Africa in the late 20th century (Mills, Taylor, & Graham). In 1492, Spain began as one united monarch after the Iberian Peninsula was Reconquista. A Spanish voyager, Christopher Columbus, commanded and exploratory voyage ...

Knowing the history of a place enables a person to gain a better understanding about the contemporary culture of its inhabitants. Tracing the history of Mexico has shown that the population is a combination of European settlers and native inhabitants. Over several decade the groups in Mexico has resulted from intermarriages of different combinations. Residents may be natives, peninsulares, croillos, and mestizos. Further intermarriages result in additional groupings to the existing ones.
Mexico declared its independence from Spain in 1821. Fifteen years later, while still a young nation struggling with political and economic difficulties, Mexico faced a new enemy. In 1836, President James K. ...

- Introduction - Context
In general, I am a person who lives under the sign of “Carpe Diem” – “Live the Moment” and I am doing this every day, living my life to the fullest. This is not to say, however, that I do not have a personal plan, but I am not forgetting to live, to enjoy the little joys and emotions that life has to offer, for the sake of strictly following my personal plan. I never considered too much the expression “You can’t escape your destiny”, until this year. It is probably because I consider that we, ...

1. The proximity of the Silk Road caravan routes allowed Indians to serve as “middlemen” for the East-West trade, and to travel to Southern Asia. In so doing, they imported religions that had long been established on the Indian sub-continent, namely Hinduism and Buddhism. Trade was integral to the spread of Hinduism to Sri Lanka and Borneo, while the ancient tradition of Buddhist merchants and monks carried their religious tradition as far as China; in fact Buddhist philosophy was being transmitted via the Silk Road as early as the 2nd century B.C. (John Carroll University, 2012). Trade was also ...

Pre-Colonial periods in Latin America

Latin America in general refers to the countries south of the United States of America where the Latin derived language known as Romance is spoken. Before the colonization of these regions, there existed indigenous people, some of which, had civilization that were notably advanced such as the Maya, Aztec and Inca. The Latin America countries have an almost similar history in politics, economic and social establishment. The region has always been populated in earlier millennia of which a precise dating cannot be conducted due to scarce sources of documented history. However, in places such as the Andes and the Mesoamerica ...

Columbus and Cortes Indians

The groups of Native Americans, though not well documented can however be found learnt from the writing of the early explorers such as Columbus who had first hand encounter with these groups of people and experienced their ways of life and social structure was largely comprised of fishing, agriculture and hunting. The weapons used by the natives compromised of the bow as and arrows, hooks and nets which were used for fishing as well as spears which were barbed while their sophistry in technology was to be found in the production of objects which included millstones, cloths and baskets ...