what was sacred to the aztecs

Key Takeaways: Coatepec

• Coatepec (Cerro Coatepec, or Serpent Mountain) was a mountain sacred to Aztec mythology and religion.
• The central myth of Coatepec involves the murder of the god Huitzilopochtli's mother by her 400 siblings: She was dismembered and thrown off the mountain.
• The Templo Mayor (Great Temple) at the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan is believed to have been a ceremonial replica of Cerro Coatepec.

Full Answer

What gods did the Aztecs worship?

In the great cities of the Aztec empire, magnificent temples, palaces, plazas and statues embodied the civilization’s unfailing devotion to the many Aztec gods, including Huitzilopochtli (god of war and of the sun) and Quetzalcoatl (“Feathered Serpent”), a Toltec god who served many important roles in the Aztec faith over the years.

What is the Aztec god of the Sun?

Prominent in the Aztec pantheon were Huitzilopochtli, god of war; Tonatiuh, god of the sun; Tlaloc, god of rain; and Quetzalcóatl, the Feathered Serpent, who was part deity and part culture hero.

What was the Aztec religion?

Updated July 28, 2018 The Aztec religion was made up of a complex set of beliefs, rituals and gods that helped the Aztec/Mexica to make sense of their world's physical reality, and the existence of life and death.

Why did the Aztecs sacrifice humans to the gods?

In the Aztec creation myths, all the gods had sacrificed themselves repeatedly to bring the world and humans into being. Thus, human sacrifice and blood offerings were necessary to pay the gods their due and to keep the natural world in balance.

What was important to the Aztecs?

MATOS MOCTEZUMA: The Aztec was fundamentally a culture based on war and agriculture. Their two most important deities were Huitzilopochtli, the god of war, and Tlaloc, the god of rain. The duality of war and agriculture was crucial for the Aztec economy.

What was the most precious thing to the Aztecs?

SG stressed the equal value placed on jade and quetzal feathers (often mentioned together as the most 'precious things' in Aztec life), noting, along with Camilla Townsend, that the Aztecs compared a child to be born to a precious jade, a precious quetzal feather.

What were the Aztecs obsessed with?

“[The Aztecs were] a culture obsessed with death: they believed that human sacrifice was the highest form of karmic healing. When the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan was consecrated in 1487 the Aztecs recorded that 84,000 people were slaughtered in four days.

What food was sacred to the Aztecs?

MaizeMaize was the single most important staple of the Aztec diet. It was eaten at almost every meal by all social classes. In fact, it was so revered, that women often blew softly on maize before putting it in the cooking pot so it would not 'fear the fire'.

What Crystal did the Aztecs use?

One of the most popular stones used by the Aztec was turquoise, which was imported from the far north in what is now the Southwest of the United States.

What was the Aztec human sacrifice?

The most common form of human sacrifice was heart-extraction. The Aztec believed that the heart (tona) was both the seat of the individual and a fragment of the Sun's heat (istli). The chacmool was a very important religious tool used during sacrifices. The cut was made in the abdomen and went through the diaphragm.

What do Aztecs do when someone dies?

People who died from lightning, drowning, certain diseases, or particularly violent deaths went to Tlalocan, a paradise presided over by the god Tlaloc located within the Aztec's thirteen heavens. In contrast, those who died of most illnesses, old age, or an unremarkable death went to Mictlan, the Aztec underworld.

Who was more brutal the Aztecs or Mayans?

The Aztecs led a more brutal, warlike lifestyle, with frequent human sacrifices, whereas the Maya favoured scientific endeavours such as mapping the stars.

Did Aztecs believe heaven?

The Aztecs believed in a heaven and an underworld. There were thirteen levels of heaven and nine of the underworld. There were also four horizontal points which corresponded to the directions of the compass and were associated with the four creator gods.

What alcohol did the Aztecs drink?

pulqueThe liquor with which the Aztecs were acquainted was called octli (sometimes identified as pulque), and it was obtained by fermenting the sap of the maguey.

Why was corn important to Aztecs?

Crops. The most common crop grown by the Aztecs was maize, also known as corn, and it was also the most important. Maize could be stored for long periods of time, and in addition to being eaten as it was, it could be ground into flour and made into other foods.

Did the Aztec have sugar?

It was used to make bread and cheese type foods. The Aztecs also grew and ate chocolate, with drinks of cacao mixed with ground maize believed to provide stamina and reserved for the elite. They did not use sugar, instead adding peppers, corn meal and spices to form the drink, still found in modern day Mexico as atole.

What did the Aztecs value?

Aztec parents valued hard work and humility. As their children's first teachers, they tried to pass on these values. The Codex Mendoza, which was painted few years after the Spaniards arrived, says that parents “instructed and engaged them [children] in personal services…

Why did the Aztecs have so much gold?

The Source of Their Gold The Aztec gold originated from parts of Oaxaca and Guerrero that were under Aztec control. The raw gold imported as dust and ingots to the Aztec kingdom. In addition, the rulers of these areas gave gifts of gold items to the Aztec Emperor as a tribute.

How much is Aztec gold worth?

The treasure is believed to be made up of an enormous quantity of gold bars, silver, precious stones, jewelry, and other Aztec artifacts. Historians estimate the value of all of these items to be worth over $3 billion dollars.

Did the Aztecs have a lot of gold?

The Aztecs certainly had lots of gold, but nowhere near as much as the conquistadors believed. It turned out that all that glittered was not necessarily gold – much of it was an alloy called tumbaga.

Who was the Aztec god of sacrifice?

human sacrifice to the Aztec war god, Huitzilopochtli. Aztec priest performing a sacrificial offering of a living human heart to the war god Huitzilopochtli, illustration from a reproduction of the Codex Magliabecchi. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (neg. no. LC-USZC4-743)

What was the Aztec religion?

In Aztec. Aztec religion was syncretistic, absorbing elements from many other Mesoamerican cultures. At base, it shared many of the cosmological beliefs of earlier peoples, notably the Maya, such as that the present earth was the last in a series of creations and that it occupied a…. Read More.

What is the Aztec culture?

The Aztec culture, successor of earlier civilizations, together with the associated Maya culture, laid great emphasis on astronomical observation and on a complex religious calendar.

What was the most elaborated aspect of the Aztec culture?

In pre-Columbian civilizations: Aztec religion. Perhaps the most highly elaborated aspect of Aztec culture was the religious system. The Aztec derived much of their religious ideology from the earlier cultures of Meso-America or from their contemporaries. This was particularly true during the final phase of their history, when….

What did the Virgin represent in Chicomecóatl?

A virgin chosen to represent Chicomecóatl, after having danced for 24 hours, was then sacrificed and flayed. The celebrant, dressed in her skin, reenacted the same ritual dance to identify with the victim, who was viewed as the goddess. Read More.

Which two cultures worshipped the gods of fire?

The Aztec of Mexico and the Inca of Peru worshiped gods of fire with sacred flames, which the Inca ignited by concentrating the Sun’s rays with a concave metallic mirror.

Where is the Tlaloc statue?

Tlaloc, pre-Columbian statue at the entrance to the National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City.

What were the Aztec gods?

In the great cities of the Aztec empire, magnificent temples, palaces, plazas and statues embodied the civilization’s unfailing devotion to the many Aztec gods, including Huitzilopochtli (god of war and of the sun) and Quetzalcoatl (“Feathered Serpent”), a Toltec god who served many important roles in the Aztec faith over the years.

What was the name of the Aztecs?

The Aztecs were also known as the Tenochca (from which the name for their capital city, Tenochtitlan, was derived) or the Mexica (the origin of the name of the city that would replace Tenochtitlan, as well as the name for the entire country).

How many people did the Aztecs have?

By the early 16th century, the Aztecs had come to rule over up to 500 small states, and some 5 to 6 million people, either by conquest or commerce. Tenochtitlán at its height had more than 140,000 inhabitants, and was the most densely populated city ever to exist in Mesoamerica.

What was the Aztec civilization?

The Aztec civilization was also highly developed socially, intellectually and artistically. It was a highly structured society with a strict caste system; at the top were nobles, while at the bottom were serfs, indentured servants and enslaved workers. Recommended for you. 1943. The Harlem Riot of 1943 begins.

What did the Aztecs do when they saw an eagle?

When the Aztecs saw an eagle perched on a cactus on the marshy land near the southwest border of Lake Texcoco, they took it as a sign to build their settlement there. They drained the swampy land, constructed artificial islands on which they could plant gardens and established the foundations of their capital city, Tenochtitlán, in 1325 A.D.

Where did the Aztecs come from?

The Aztecs, who probably originated as a nomadic tribe in northern Mexico, arrived in Mesoamerica around the beginning of the 13th century. From their magnificent capital city, Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs emerged as the dominant force in central Mexico, developing an intricate social, political, religious and commercial organization ...

Who was the leader of the Aztecs?

In 1428, under their leader Itzcoatl, the Aztecs formed a three-way alliance with the Texcocans and the Tacubans to defeat their most powerful rivals for influence in the region, the Tepanec, and conquer their capital of Azcapotzalco. Itzcoatl ’s successor Montezuma (Moctezuma) I, who took power in 1440, was a great warrior who was remembered as the father of the Aztec empire. By the early 16th century, the Aztecs had come to rule over up to 500 small states, and some 5 to 6 million people, either by conquest or commerce. Tenochtitlán at its height had more than 140,000 inhabitants, and was the most densely populated city ever to exist in Mesoamerica.

Who sent the omen to the original Aztecs?

According to the myth, it was Huitzilopochtli who sent an omen to the original Mexica/Aztecs, demanding that they leave their homeland at Aztlan, and settle in the basin of Mexico. While on that journey they stopped at Cerro Coatepec.

What is the name of the mountain in Mesoamerica?

in Mesoamerican archaeology with fieldwork experience in Italy, the Near East, and throughout Mesoamerica. Coatepec, also known as Cerro Coatepec or Serpent Mountain and pronounced roughly "coe-WAH-teh-peck", was one of the most sacred places of Aztec mythology and religion.

How long did the Aztecs stay in Coatepec?

According to different codices and to Spanish colonial-era historian Bernardino de Sahagun, the Aztecs stayed at Coatepec for almost 30 years, building a temple on top of the hill in honor of Huitzilopochtli.

What is the significance of the Coyolxauhqui statue?

The location of the sculpture at the base of the temple is also meaningful, representing Coyolxauhqui's fall to earth. Excavation of the sculpture by archaeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma revealed that the monumental sculpture (a disk measuring 3.25 meters or 10.5 feet wide) was in situ, an intentional part of the temple platform which led up to the shrine of Huitzilopochtli.

Where was the Coyolxauhqui statue found?

Archaeological evidence of this mythical correspondence was found in 1978, when a large stone sculpture of the decapitated and dismembered Coyolxauhqui was discovered at the base of the Huitzilopochtli side of the temple during some underground utility work in the heart of Mexico City.

Where is the Temple of the Feathered Serpent?

The Temple of the Feathered Serpent at Teotihuacan, dedicated to the god Quetzalcoatl, has also been proposed as an antecedent to the Aztec mountain of Coatepec. The true location of the original Coatepec mountain is unknown, although there is a town called that in the basin of Mexico and another in Veracruz.

Who is Huitzilopochtli's mother?

According to the version of the story told in the Florentine Codex, Huitzilopochtli's mother Coatlicue ("She of the Serpent Skirt") conceived the god miraculously when she was doing penance by sweeping out a temple. Her daughter Coyolxauhqui (goddess of the moon) and her 400 other siblings disapproved of the pregnancy and together conspired ...

What is the name of the Aztec deity?from thoughtco.com

Codex Magliabechiano /Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain. Quetzalcoatl (pronounced Keh-tzal-coh-atl), “the Feathered Serpent”, is probably the most famous Aztec deity and is known in many other Mesoamerican cultures such as Teotihuacan and the Maya.

What did the Aztecs worship?from worldhistory.org

The Aztecs of northern Mesoamerica (c. 1345 and 1521 CE) worshipped some of the weirdest, most fantastic and downright scary gods seen anywhere in history . The Aztec civilization and the empire it created revolved around winning special favour with these gods in order to ensure a measure of balance in nature, the continuance ...

What were the Aztec gods' sacrifices?from worldhistory.org

The Aztec gods were appeased through offerings, rituals, festivals and, of course, the infamous blood-thirsty human sacrifices which included beating hearts being ripped from the still-conscious victim, decapitation, skinning and dismemberment. It is perhaps important to remember, though, that the Aztecs believed several major gods had sacrificed themselves for humanity's good. Consequently, blood sacrifices were regarded as a payment back in kind and only one part of the Aztecs' worship. There were plenty of other ways the gods were kept happy, such as giving flowers, foodstuffs, precious objects, and the burning of incense and tobacco.

Why did the Aztecs sacrifice blood?from worldhistory.org

It is perhaps important to remember, though, that the Aztecs believed several major gods had sacrificed themselves for humanity's good. Consequently, blood sacrifices were regarded as a payment back in kind and only one part of the Aztecs' worship.

What is Xipe Totec?from thoughtco.com

Xipe Totec (pronounced Shee-peh Toh-tek) is “Our Lord with the flayed skin.”. Xipe Totec was the god of agricultural fertility, the east and the goldsmiths.

What month was Tezcatlipoca worshipped?from worldhistory.org

In the month of Tóxcatl, the sixth month (or 5th) of the Aztec solar year, Tezcatlipoca was worshipped in special ceremonies. As with other Aztec religious rites an important part of the ceremony was the impersonation of the god, most often by a prisoner of war, typically the best looking and most courageous one.

What does Tezcatlipoca mean?from thoughtco.com

Tezcatlipoca, God of Night. Codex Borgia /Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain. Tezcatlipoca (pronounced Tez-cah-tlee-poh-ka)'s name means “Smoking Mirror” and he is often represented as an evil power, associated with death and cold.

What are the names of the Aztec gods?

The main Aztec gods can be classified in this way: 1 Primordial Creators and Celestial Gods 2 Ometecuhtli (Two Lord) and Omecihuatl (Two Lady)—the divine male/female creative force permeating everything on earth 3 Xiuhtecuhtli (Turquoise Lord) 4 Tezcatlipoca (Smoking Mirror—Fate and Destiny) 5 Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent—Creator, Wind and Storm) 6 Gods of Agriculture, Fertility and Sacred Elements 7 Tlaloc (Rain) 8 Centeotl (Maize, Corn) 9 Xipe Totec (Our Flayed Lord—vegetation god) 10 Huehueteotl (Old, Old Deity–fire) 11 Chalchiutlicue (She of the Jade Skirt—deity of rivers, lakes, springs and the sea) 12 Mayahuel (Maguey cactus goddess) 13 Gods of Sacrifice and War 14 Huitzilopochtli (War and Warrior god) 15 Tonatiuh (Sun god) 16 Tlaltecuhtli (Earth god)

What did the Aztecs do?

Aztecs were a devoutly religious people, to the extent that no Aztec made a decision about any aspect of his or her life without considering its religious significance. The timing of any event large or small required consulting the religious calendar. No child was named before a special priest, a diviner, could consider what name might best fit the child’s tonali or fate. Religion permeated every aspect of Aztec life, no matter what one’s station, from the highest born emperor to the lowliest slave. The Aztecs worshipped hundreds of deities and honored them all in a variety of rituals and ceremonies, some featuring human sacrifice. In the Aztec creation myths, all the gods had sacrificed themselves repeatedly to bring the world and humans into being. Thus, human sacrifice and blood offerings were necessary to pay the gods their due and to keep the natural world in balance.

What are the gods of agriculture?

Gods of Agriculture, Fertility and Sacred Elements. Tlaloc (Rain) Centeotl (Maize, Corn) Xipe Totec (Our Flayed Lord—vegetation god) Huehueteotl (Old, Old Deity–fire) Chalchiutlicue (She of the Jade Skirt—deity of rivers, lakes, springs and the sea) Mayahuel (Maguey cactus goddess) Gods of Sacrifice and War.

How many days did the Aztecs have?

The Aztecs used two systems for counting time. The Xiuhpohualli was the natural solar 365-day calendar used to count the years; it followed the agricultural seasons. The year was separated into 18 months of 20 days each. The 5 extra days at the end of the year were set aside as a period of mourning and waiting.

Where were the Aztec temples built?

Aztec Temples. The Aztecs built temples at the top of sacred mountains as well as in the center of their cities. The temple we know most about is the Templo Mayor in the heart of what was Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City. At the top of this 197 foot tall pyramid stood two shrines, one to Tlaloc, the god of rain and one to Huitzilopochtli, ...

What is the name of the divine male/female creative force permeating everything on earth?

Ometecuhtli (Two Lord) and Omecihu atl (Two Lady)—the divine male/female creative force permeating everything on earth

What was the attire of the Aztec warriors?

The audience, little accustomed to a public spectacle of semi-naked bodies, could easily appreciate the muscle contractions in these players’ bodies, as their only attire was their maxtlatl -the loincloth traditionally used by men- and leather protectors for their buttocks, knees, and ankles.

What is the Aztec ball game called?

What these men were playing is what we call Prehispanic ball game or ulama, the Aztec word derived from ollin, which means movement, struggle, and union of opposites, which in turn is derived from the root ulli or rubber. Other names for this game are tlachtli and pok-ta-pok, depending on the area where it is played.

What is the sacred space for ulama?

The Tlachco or Ball Court , a sacred space. Although present-day ulama players can play in open areas or esplanades and before any type of audience, in Pre-Hispanic times this ritual’s symbolism necessarily required a sacred and closed space that reproduced the celestial setting where the solar movement took place.

Where are the sacred balls?

Ulama, the Sacred Ball Game. In the area belonging to the present day state of Oaxaca, for example, the most well-known ball courts, such as the ones in Monte Albán, Dainzú and Yagul, have the peculiarity of lacking stone rings; some have niches in the cabezales and circular disks in the patio, upon which the balls were thought to have been bounced.

Where were sacred ball games played?

Sacred Ball Game Players. Mexico-Tenochtitlan, the center of the Aztec empire, had numerous courts for this ritual sport, the largest of them in the Templo Mayor. The inhabitants of El Tajín, on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, for their part, erected many courts (seventeen) in their city, the same as the people of Toluquilla and Ranas, ...

Why was the death sacrifice used?

It was used to divine the Sun’s destiny, in order to guarantee the preservation of the cosmic and universal order. Death by sacrifice was integrated into the symbolism of Pre-Hispanic religion and cosmogony and was an essential part of some of ancient Mexicans’ sacred rituals.

What is the Aztec name?

Alternative Titles: Culhua-Mexica, Mexica, Tenochca. Aztec, self name Culhua-Mexica, Nahuatl-speaking people who in the 15th and early 16th centuries ruled a large empire in what is now central and southern Mexico. The Aztecs are so called from Aztlán (“White Land”), an allusion to their origins, probably in northern Mexico.

Where are the Aztec ruins?

Aztec ruins of the former city-state of Tlatelolco (foreground) and the Church of Santiago de Tlatelolco (background), Mexico City.

What was the surest path to advancement in Aztec society?

Valour in war was, in fact, the surest path to advancement in Aztec society, which was caste- and class-divided but nonetheless vertically fluid. The priestly and bureaucratic classes were involved in the administration of the empire, while at the bottom of society were classes of serfs, indentured servants, and outright slaves. Tlatelolco.

How many people lived in Tenochtitlán?

At its height, Tenochtitlán itself covered more than 5 square miles (13 square km) and had upwards of 140,000 inhabitants, making it the most densely populated settlement ever achieved by a Mesoamerican civilization. The Aztec state was a despotism in which the military arm played a dominant role.

What is the Aztec round dance?

See also pre-Columbian civilizations: Aztec culture to the time of the Spanish conquest. Aztec round dance for Quetzalcóatl and Xolotl (a dog-headed god who is Quetzalcóatl's companion), detail from a facsimile Codex Borbonicus (folio 26), c. 1520; original in the Chamber of Deputies, Paris, France.

How many days are in the Aztec calendar?

The Aztec calendar was the one common to much of Mesoamerica, and it comprised a solar year of 365 days and a sacred year of 260 days; the two yearly cycles running in parallel produced a larger cycle of 52 years. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now.

What city was Tenochtitlán in?

Overview of the history of Tenochtitlán, forerunner of Mexico City, Mexico.

What are the Aztec day signs?

Aztec Calendar Day Signs. On the Aztec calendar, different signs or images are used for the day counts which are also associated with one of the four cardinal directions. The day signs start with 1 cipactli meaning crocodile, with an actual image of the crocodile used to represent it. This image is associated with the east.

What was the Aztec calendar?

Aztec Calendar. Aztecs used a sophisticated calendar system for the calculation of ordinary days and religious ceremonies. The Basic structure of Aztec calendar was also used by other ancient civilisations of Mesoamerica. The Aztecs added their own features to this calendar and adapted it to their own needs. This Aztec calendar had two parts: one ...

How many periods of 13 days are there in the Aztec calendar?

20 periods of 13 days were used to organise the total of 260 days on the sacred Aztec calendar. Each of these 13-day periods is known as trecenas. The calendar date of the first day of the 13 days in a specific trecena is used to name that trecena.

What was the first day of the Aztec calendar?

The accepted reconstruction of Aztec calendar is the one proposed by Rafael Tena which asserts that the first day of the Mexica year was February 13 of the old Julian calendar of February 23 of the Gregorian calendar. Various other aspects of the calendar have been varied using the same count.

Who influenced the Aztec calendar?

The Aztec calendar, in particular, was influenced by one of the earliest of Mesoamerican people, the Olmecs. YouTube. Smarthistory.

How often did the Aztec calendars coincide?

While both agricultural and religious calendars are more or less independent, they coincided after every 52 years. According to the Aztec beliefs, sacrifice needed to be offered to gods at the end of this 52-year cycle, in the absence of which a cataclysmic event could take place. The calendar system thus bore heavy religious influence, just like several other aspects of the Aztec culture.

When was the sacred area of Mexico-Tenochtitlan?from hmdb.org

The Sacred Precinct of Mexico-Tenochtitlan. This map shows how the sacred area of Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City, appeared prior to 1521 as described in the marker text.

What is the sacred precinct of Mexico?from hmdb.org

English: The Sacred Precinct of Mexico-Tenochtitlan. The most important political-religious buildings were clustered in the Sacred Precinct of Mexico-Tenochtitlan. A wide 460 by 430 meter platform with four entrances surrounded this sacred space. In this space, the Mexicas congregated to. By J. Makali Bruton, October 12, 2018.

How many temples are there in the Tenochtitlan precinct?from hmdb.org

Click or scan to see. this page online. witness religious ceremonies and political events. According to historical sources, the precinct had seventy-eight temples in its interior, some uncovered by archaeological excavations.

Where is the marker in Guatemala?from hmdb.org

Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Centro Histórico, Ciudad de México 06000, Mexico. Touch for directions. Other nearby markers.

Migrating from Aztlan

A Replica of Cerro Coatepec

• Once they reached the Valley of Mexico and founded their capital Tenochtitlan, the Mexica wanted to create a replica of the sacred mountain at the heart of their city. As many Aztec scholars have demonstrated, the Templo Mayor (Great Temple) of Tenochtitlan, in fact, represents a replica of Coatepec. Archaeological evidence of this mythical corresp...

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Coatepec and Mesoamerican Mythology