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Example research essay topic: Aztec Empire Mayan Civilization - 2,261 words

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Comparing and Contrasting Mayan and Aztec beliefs and how it influences their behavior. The main goal is paper is to provide information that facilitates the cross-cultural study of Mayan and Aztec beliefs and the influence which this beliefs had on their behavior. I hope that my research will not bore you to death. From the historical point of view religion and beliefs are an undeniable parts of culture.

Religion is an unprecedented way to explain everything while using minimum range of knowledge. Religion became a basis for future social structure. Religion is not just some beliefs united in one solid structure; it is also a way of development. Beliefs reflect the essence of the nation or force the nation to change under their influence.

Beliefs regulate social relations, influence on the forming of society, and sometimes determine the tendencies of future development of the nation. Nowadays religion and beliefs dont play such an important role as it was in Middle Ages, but we must admit that some beliefs has influence even among Hi-tech cultures. That is why beliefs are complicated system with great number of hidden layers and its influence may bring both negative and positive factors. Lets examine the Mayan and Aztec culture Im sure that this will help to understand their beliefs better. Mayan civilization is a historical Mesoamerican civilization, which extended throughout the northern Central American region which includes the present-day states of Guatemala, Belize, western Honduras and parts of El Salvador, as well as the southern Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco and the entirety of the Yucatan peninsula. (Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2004) Mayan culture is defined by the boundaries within which Maya was spoken in pre-Hispanic times.

This culture is still alive today with approximately 6 million speakers of nearly 30 extant Maya languages inhabiting large portions of the Maya Regions. (Overview of Maya and Aztec Civilizations) Mayan culture was a very good developed one. Imagine only that they were very skilled in mathematics, technology and science. Their civilization also developed art. Scientists contend that Mays style of art was very realistic and displayed arts of contemporary life in murals. They had hierarchical structure of society and many Mayan sculptures and murals represent their rulers and leaders.

These murals display their rulers on royal thrones and benches. These types of artifacts strongly suggest that the Mayas had a highly civilized and organized society with castes and classes. (Overview of Maya and Aztec Civilizations) The social structure was very understandable: in charge of the government were people of high society. Judges, priests and public administrators were also from high society and the farmers, artisans and commoners were represented by the lower classes. According to Overview of Maya and Aztec Civilizations Musical instruments have been discovered and suggest that festival type activities took place within Mayan communities.

Ritual feasts were given in honor of their gods. The Mayas also enjoyed playing sports. Maya had an incredible numerology system which lead to the creation of zero. Maya also had calenders and marked with dots special events in town. It was very high developed civilization which flowered up until the beginning of the Spnaish intrusion in Mexico, the were very keen astronomers.

The Maya writing system (often called hieroglyphics from a vague superficial resemblance to the Ancient Egyptian writing, to which it is not related) was a combination of phonetic symbols and logograms. It is most often classified as a logographic or (more properly) a logo syllabic writing system, in which syllabic signs play a significant role. It is the only writing system of the Pre-Columbian New World which is known to completely represent the spoken language of its community. (Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2004) It was very high developed civilization which flowered up until the beginning of the Spnaish intrusion in Mexico.

The Aztecs also were a Mesoamerican people of central Mexico during the 14 th- 16 th centuries. (I want to add that the word Aztec usually is used as historical term, I want to underline that some Nahuatl speakers also consider themselves Aztecs. The civilization Im trying to describe has no relation to them and deals only ancient Aztecs) Aztecs had very rich mythology (which played rather cruel joke with them) and great cultural heritage. Their capital Tenochtitlan started on the place of modern Mexico. Aztec society as well as Mayan had class structure but it differed the macehualli (people) or peasantry and the pills or nobility. Nobility was not originally hereditary, although the sons of pills had access to better resources and education, so it was easier for them to become pills. Eventually, this class system took on the aspects of a hereditary system. (Aztec, 2005) The Aztec cities were parts of Aztec Empire which was not very similar to European Empire because it was more a system of tribute than a single system of government.

Aztec Empire can be compered to Assyrian empire and an interesting fact is that Aztec Empire became the reason of the biggest demographic explosion in Mesoamerica, in other words provinces of Aztec Empire flourished. According to Overview of Maya and Aztec Civilizations The Aztecs were people who were had strong religious beliefs. They were cultured people who also had strong beliefs about their heritage. They carried their strength in the knowledge and worship of their pluralistic gods.

Aztecs would often bring gifts to the capital Technotitlan to decorate and honor it. Some of these gifts were food, feathers, salt, arrows and luxuries from trade. Religious activities were mainly focused on within the temples. These walled precincts contained dorms, schools, sacred pools, altars, gardens, arsenals, and ball courts.

These temples usually contained the shrine to the deity in which it was dedicated to as well. All of the mentioned achievements in science and art did not prevent (or maybe they helped? ) Aztec from human sacrifices on each of their 18 festivities. Maya as you remember had not practiced human sacrifices. I would say that Maya was more highly developed in moral assets. Im not saying that all sacrifices was human sacrifices. It was an ordinary thing to show the respect to gods by bringing small sacrifices (dogs, butterflies, hummingbirds).

But we must remember that blood played an important role (one of the leading, I may say) in Mesoamerican culture. In one of the creation myths, Quetzalcoatl would offer blood extracted from a wound in his own penis to give life to humanity and there are further several myths, where Nasa gods offer their blood to help humanity. In the myth of the find sun, all the gods sacrifice themselves so humanity could live. (Aztec, 2005) In Mayan civilization rulers also figured in many religious rituals. From time to time such rituals demand bloodletting such as using sculpted bone or jade instruments to perforate their penises, or drawing thorn-studded ropes through their tongues. Mayan rulers were also relied upon religiously to organize the building of temples and monuments. (Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2004) As for me, I prefer to watch some ruler cut him with sculpted bone than to watch at human sacrifices to pagan deities.

But I may underlying, that Aztec beliefs in good time prepared people for Human sacrifice, a very important ritual which usually took place on the top of the great pyramid, where victim was laid on a stone slab, his abdomen ripped open with a ceremonial knife (an obsidian knife could hardly cut through a ribcage) and his heart taken out and raised to the sun. Sun played a very important role in Aztec mythology. The heart would be put in a bowl held by a statue, and the body thrown on the stairs, where it would be dragged away. The sacrifice was supposed to be voluntary, but if faith was not enough, drugs could be used. Afterwards, the body parts would be disposed of various ways: the viscera were used to feed the animals in the zoo, the head was cleaned and placed on display in the tzompantli, and the rest of the body was either cremated or cut into very small pieces and offered as a gift to important people. Recent evidence also points to removal of muscles and skinning. (Aztec, 2005) Ive notice one distinct feature among the Aztec and Maya civilizations.

While surfing through the large amounts of information about Maya I never met some hints about cannibalism among the Maya. On other hand there many indirect facts about cannibalism among Aztec but nobody knows whether it took place or not, and if took, to what extent. Cortes wrote in one of his letters that his soldiers had captured an Aztec who had a roasted baby ready for breakfast. (Aztec, 2005) But I dont consider Cortes a trustworthy source of information because his point of view is prejudiced. Bernardino de Sahagun mentioned in his books of an Aztec being cooked by an unknown tribe. There are some others description of cannibalism among the Aztecs but they do not give the concrete answer as well. Aztec was no doubt a great civilization.

Aztec culture was not as overwhelmingly eschatological as it may seems. Like Mayans they believed that the universe was created free times and destroyed four times. All of the five epochs was called Sun. Upon the whole, Mayan and Aztec civilizations have very much in common.

Richard Hooker states, We can barely read Mayan writing, but we do know how to read Aztec writing. Like the Mayans, the Aztecs developed a true system of writing. Aztec writing isn't phonetic but rather a loose system of rebus writing Aztec writing was used for many purposes: calculation, calendrical counts, chronicles, diaries, and even history. Many theories have been presented for the development of a widespread literate tradition among the Aztecs, while the same didn't occur for the Mayas. (Civilizations in America, 1999) Cultural influence on the behaviour of the Aztec and Maya is evident. They lived in severe environment and that is why the culture reflects this severity. In turn high development of arts and science alleviated the barbarian bents, suppressed them and subjugated to social rules.

Sorry, that Im not able to say the same about Spanish conquistadors which conquered Maya and Aztec or in other words destroyed great civilizations. It appearance so that European culture in some aspects was not as well developed as Mesoamerican. As for the conquering of Aztec I want to emphasize an interesting fact Aztec beliefs helped conquistadors to conquer Mexico. According to a legend, once upon a time the god named Quetzalcoatl, as he was known in Mexico, lived on the Each. He was the god of creation, he taught the natives their religion, art and science. Aztec believed that Quetzalcoatl traveled to the land of death and that once he would return.

The Mesoamerican's believed that Quetzalcoatl lived on earth with the people who worshiped him, teaching religion, moral, art and science. He brought good laws and sound doctrine, as well as prosperity to the people. One Aztec poem says, "Truly with him it began, truly from him it flowed out, from Quetzalcoatl all art and knowledge. " (Aztec Beliefs Helped Conquer Mexico, 2005) The discription of the Quetzalcoatl's appearance is more than unusual for Mesoamerican's. Quetzalcoatl is described in the legends as tall and light-skinned with blonde hair and a beard, in contrast to the natives who were short, dark skinned and dark haired.

He is said to have worn a long, flowing robe. (Aztec Beliefs Helped Conquer Mexico, 2005) As we all know Cortes fully correspond to the discription given in legend he was tall, light-skinned and based. When he appeared Aztecs were living ce act" or 1 -reed year. It was a potential time for returning of their god Quetzalcoatl. Cortes began to impersonate Quetzalcoatl when he found out about the legend.

Using implicit belief of Aztecs in their god and powerful weapon conquistadors conquered Aztec. There were few thousands of conquistadors and thousands of Mesoamricans but they couldnt fight against their god. When they understands in celestial origin of Cortes and his people it was to late and cruel oppressor destroyed their culture. As I have said both Mayan and Aztec civilizations was very high developed and in some aspects they even exceed the culture of Medieval Europe but they as well were to naive comparing to Europeans. Im not saying that there were only kind and honest people among the Mesoamricans, of course now. But their societies were simple and lived according to the simple rules and laws.

For example all crimes (from adulterine to death) was punished by death. If I remember correct, the adultery in Medieval Europe wasnt punished with death (as if it were punished at all). I cannot say which culture I prefer the most, but if European culture formed our future society and Mesoamerican lead them to destroying. I think it is very indicative example of cultural influence and the influence of beliefs on the social development. Bibliography Martin, Simon, and Mary Miller, Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2004.

Retrieved 20 November, 2005 from web " Amanda Better, Kamis Courtney, Share Welch, Jennifer Wells, Overview of Maya and Aztec Civilizations. Retrieved 20 November, 2005 from web Aztec, 2005. Retrieved 20 November, 2005 from web Richard Hooker, Civilizations in America, 1999. Retrieved 20 November, 2005 from web Armando Barbara, Aztec Beliefs Helped Conquer Mexico, 2005. November, 2005 from web


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