The Aztec Civilization

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the Aztecs were known as "the people of the sun", which captures the meaning placed on the sun by the Aztecs and their way of life. The author points out that one interesting belief of the Aztecs, from their oral teachings, is their adaptation of the Nativity, as found in the Christian Bible, which the Aztecs called the "Spirit Child" and was recited accompanied by drums. The paper relates that one of the most mighty leaders of this civilization was Montezuma (1502-1521), who was an extraordinary builder; however, one week after the arrival of the Spanish, Emperor Montezuma was captured and the Spanish had gained total control of this great civilization.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Adaptation of the Nativity
Conquering Tenochtitlan
Montezuma
Everyday Life
Characteristics of the People
Religion
Human Sacrifice
Spanish Conquest

From the Paper:

"Everyday life in this city was also spectacular and unlike any day in present times. They awoke every morning to the sound of the giant drums. They would bathe in the canals of the city and the women would begin to make corn cakes for the day, today known as tortillas. They rarely ate breakfast, and would immediately set out to the fields to work. .... All of Aztec life depended on the peasant farmer. He had to grow all of the basic foods of the nation; corn, beans, peppers, and squash. This he did with no expensive machines, or extra workers, and he produced the same amount of crops that the southern sharecropper makes today."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Caso, Alfonso. The Aztecs: People of the Sun. Trans. Lowell Dunham. Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1959.
• Davies, Nigel. The Aztecs. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1974.
• Fagan, Brian M. The Aztecs. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 1984.
• Keating, Bern. Life and Death of the Aztec Nation. New York: G. P. Putnam's Son's, 1964.
• Spirit Child: A Story of the Nativity. Trans. John Bierhorst. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1984.

More papers on The Aztec Civilization:

• Essay # 35026 : "The Aztec Civilization"
• Analytical Essay # 114469 : "The Aztec Civilization"
• Research Paper # 115686 : "Aztec Civilization"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: