The Spanish and Aztecs Comparing Cultures

Artifact #1

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Calendar

The calendar consisted of a 365 day calendar cycle called xiuhpohualli (year count) and a 260 day ritual cycle called tonalpohualli (day count). These two cycles together formed a 52 year century, sometimes called the calendar round. The tonalpohualli or day-count has been called a sacred calendar because its main purpose was to be a divinatory tool. It divides the days and rituals between the gods.

The Aztec Calendar Stone was carved from solidified lava in the late 15th century. It somehow got lost for 300 years and was found in 1790 buried under the zocalo, or central square of Mexico City.

Artifact #2

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The Stone of Tizoc is a large, round, carved Aztec stone made of basalt. It is thought to have been a Cuauhxicalli (an altar-like stone vessel used by the Aztec to hold human hearts extracted in sacrificial ceremonies.), in which the hearts of victims of sacrifice were placed. The importance of the Stone of Tizoc is that it was used during the human sacrifices, which Tizoc the emperor wanted glorified through his name. The reason they sacrificed people on this stone was because they believed their gods needed blood an sacrifice to stay healthy and not punish them. They believed to keep the sun moving across the sky and preserve their lives the Aztecs had to feed Huitzilopochtli with human hearts and blood.

Sacrifice Stone

Artifact #3

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The throne was carved in 1507 from volcanic stone and measures 1.23 metres in height and around 1 metre in both depth and width.

The back of the seat of the throne carries a large sun disk on which are indicated the cardinal and inter-cardinal points. On the left of the sun disk stands the figure of Huitzilopochtli ( the god of war and the sun), wearing his usual hummingbird headdress and with his left foot in the shape of a fire serpent whilst on the right stands Motecuhzoma II performing a sacrifice to the god. The seat of the throne has a relief of the earth monster Tlaltecuhtli of Aztec mythology. This way when Motecuhzoma sat on the throne he was in contact with both the earth and sun and so was fulfilling his role as sacred guardian of both, separating them with his person and preventing the sun from collapsing onto the earth. The Aztecs had a soical hierarchy and the one that sat on this throne was the highest one the triangle. They gave this position to someone who was wealthy, had good war succesion and was a good leader.

Throne

Artifact #4

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One of the Aztecs war weapons was a part of their geography because that was what they made and if you were to go there you would see these. This one is called a Macuahuitl, it is a wooden club with several embedded obsidian blades. The name is derived from the Nahuatl language and means "hand-wood". Its sides are embedded with prismatic blades traditionally made from obsidian. Obsidian is capable of producing an edge sharper than high quality steel razor blades. The weapon resembled a cricket bat in that the bulk of it consisted of a flat, wooden paddle with a handle on one end. The blunt portions of a Macuahuitl could knock someone unconscious. This would allow Aztec warriors to then drag the unlucky victim back for a ceremonial human sacrifice to their gods. They would use these in wars and their victim would then be used to please their gods. The Aztecs believed that taking over an empire with war and conquest would make their nation stronger.

Macuahuitl

Artifact #1

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The harquebus (also known as early stage musket) was undeniably effective against any one opponent, but they are slow to load, heavy, and firing one is a complicated process involving the use of a wick which must be kept lit. The harquebuses were most effective for terrorizing native soldiers, who thought the Spanish could create thunder. The weapons they had on the boat were given to him for his expidition.

Musket

Painting of Mary

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The religion of the Spanish were a very important part of the whole conquest because they tried to convert the Aztecs to Christianity. Their religion carried the whole expidition and that they did what they did to the Aztecs not only for gold but because their religion was evil and the Spanish was not because their God was the only one. Their paintings were made by artists in Spain and they brought crosses with them throughout he conquest. The artist is unknown.

Mary Painting

Spanish Artifact #3

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Gold

The reason gold is an artifat of their knowledge is because they valued gold and that was one of the main reasons they came to the Aztecs. They found gold but didn't know that the gold had no meaning to the Aztecs because for them it was just another thing to build with. The Spanish found the gold inside one of the walls of the temples they were invited into.

Painting #1

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Once the Aztecs were taken over by the Spanish their worldview in society changed because they were put at the very bottom of the social hierarchy as slaves of the Spanish this was called the Spanish's Encomienda (a grant by the Spanish Crown to a colonist in America conferring the right to demand tribute and forced labor from the Indian inhabitants of an area.). The slaves were not treated well by the Spanish and were being used for their gold supply. While them being slaves wasn't good, meeting the Spanish had a positive effect on Aztec civilization because they helped modernize the society. They introduced the Aztecs to domestic animals, sugar, grains, and European farming practices.

Society Painting

Painter is unknown.

Painting #2

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Once the Aztecs met and were conquered by the Spanish they were given a choice: either convert to being a Catholic or be killed. In this painting you can see that the Aztecs are being converted, sadly not all Aztecs chose to convert and got killed. The Aztecs struggle was not over yet, the ones that were converted would be tortured so the Spanish would see if they gave in and said they didn't believe in Catholicism. The Spanish put an end to their human sacrifices.

Beliefs

Painter is unknown.

Painting #3

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Weapon

This painting represents knowledge because the Aztecs learned about their weapons and animals. The horses were bran new to them and they thought they were giant deer. The weapons they had were no compare to the Aztecs because they had guns, cannons, lances, swords and bow and arrows. While the Aztecs only had up close weapons and for that matter was not an advantage to them causing their fight to not be fair game.

Artist is unknown.