The Contributions of mexicas Focused on various areas such as education, architecture, gastronomy, agriculture and many more. To understand the origins and stimuli of this civilization, it is necessary to know its evolution.
The Mexica was an indigenous people who dominated the Aztec empire. Right in the heart of Tenochtitlan, in the Valley of Mexico, they developed between persecutions, wars, sacrifices, advances and ambitions of power.
Tenochtitlan, founded by the Mexicas.
The Mexica ethnic group dominated the Aztec Empire and determined the flowering of civilization.
But not always everything was glory. Before, they lived in their native place, a region northwest of the valley known as Aztlan (Place of the Herons), which they had to abandon for offending Huitzilopochtli, their god, by cutting a sacred tree.
The term Aztec, refers to the groups that inhabited Aztlán. It is necessary to know that the Aztecs were not an ethnic group, but included about 20 ethnic groups that shared the language Nahuatl , As well as history and culture.
Among them were the Mexicas, whose name means people of Mexico. The word"Aztec"has been used to name the empire and all its ethnic groups.
While the Mexica waited for the direction of the god Huitzilopochtli to receive a new territory, their waiting cost them liters and liters of blood delivered in sacrifices to appease the dire climatic conditions that were presented to them while they were wandering, subject to a promise of habitable earth.
On a small island, the Mexicas found the land they were promised, when they noticed a cactus blooming outside a stone with an eagle perched on top.
Tenochtitlan, means"place of cactus fruit", a city built on water with many channels, which served to develop their engineering, transportation and trade skills; A kind of Mexican Postclassic Venice.
Main contributions of Mexicas
Obligatory education
Compulsory education has not been historically common in the rest of the world, but the Mexicas were at the forefront, not only by presenting an imposed but free educational model, without distinction of gender or social class.
At the same time, other countries were educated but directed only at the upper classes. The individuals of the Aztec civilization were well educated, although the children received more instruction than the girls.
They were taught to run the household and manage finances, also crafts and crafts. Instead they were induced in the struggle, medicine, religion and leadership. Its social structure was so planned that it astonished the Spaniards.
Herbology and medicine
The Aztecs began as doctors and observers of the human body, managed to become herbalists and carried out investigations in large gardens financed by the nobility.
A legacy of the empire over its practices with herbs is the Badianus manuscript, an illustrated manuscript containing over 180 plants and trees to treat pains.
They contributed to modern society with antispasmodic medicine to treat muscle spasms and relax, which also helps insomnia. All through a plant called the flower of passion.
Popcorn and hot chocolate
The popcorn we know today was introduced through the Aztecs. Although it existed, it was through the arrival of the Spaniards that it spread throughout the world, noting that they used it in ornaments and headdresses to worship the corn god and fertility.
An approach to chocolate Hot is due to the Aztecs, who also used the cocoa seeds as currency. High-class people prepared a drink of hot chocolate, chili and cornmeal.
When the Spaniards arrived, they added sugar and in this way the drink became the chocolates and mocachinos that we know today.
High level jewelry
Aztec jewelry was made by artisans dedicated entirely to their work, their designs were oriented to religious symbolism, as well as birds and reptiles.
The garments were worn by the upper classes mostly. The emperors used to wear necklaces and earrings.
Mosaics with diverse materials were very common, mixing metals like gold, copper and silver, that abounds in Mexico; Shells, clay, wood, rock and feathers.
Sometimes they used stones like jade, quartz, opal or turquoise. They hammered the metals very carefully and their finishes were impeccable. They also made bells that hung on necklaces.
farming
In Lake Texcoco, noticing the Aztecs who did not have enough land for their planting, they created the chinampas, which are nothing more than terraces or artificial floating islands, free from drought. They could grow maize, beans and pumpkins.
The chinampas system was really efficient, as they managed to obtain up to seven harvests per year to supply their population.
At the same time, they harvested algae and consumed maguey, and supplemented their diet with insects, animals that managed to hunt and also had domestic animals like turkeys, ducks and dogs, which used to eat on special dates. Mexican cuisine continues to use agricultural products provided by Mexicas.
The poetry
In times of peace, the Aztec warriors gave themselves to inspiration and the muse through poetry.
Aztec captains used to have intellectual evenings that included smoking pure, drinking hot chocolate, sharing and reciting poetry that was accompanied by musical instruments, mostly percussion.
The themes of the texts questioned the reality of life or if they lived in a dream, the life after death and if there can be an approach to the giver of life.
The calendar
The Aztecs measured time by means of a calendar wheel. They used several types of calendars, but one of them coincided with the system that is used worldwide today.
The calendar was called xiuhpohualli, and consisted of 365 days in a year, which was divided into several months of 18 days each, with 5 days to spare at the end of the year.
Aztec style football
Although it is not exactly football that is practiced today, it is very likely that it was a precursor, since it was played in a field called tlachtli in the presence of the public, and consisted of hitting a small rubber ball with knees, Hips or elbows.
The goal of the game was to get the ball into a stone ring representing the sunrise and sunset. This game is known as ollama and could be an extremely violent game.
The red dye
From the advances of the Maya and with the Spanish conquest, the European world could know a color of deep red tissue never seen before.
The dyes used by the Spaniards scarcely made them pale, but when they discovered the secret of the Aztecs by using cochineal beetles, which inhabit the cacti.
The Spaniards did their best to keep the secret, and they began to commercialize the dye in such a way that it became a key element of their economy for three centuries.
The dye was used for the red shields of the British army and for the robes of the Catholic cardinals. To achieve a pound of dye, 70,000 insects were required.
Architecture
Monumental structures, like palaces, great pyramids and temples; Are one of the architectural legacies that left the future generations.
Its four-sided structures, so stable as to withstand earthquakes in the area, had stairs on one side and on their tops, usually shrines were found. Many buildings were built for religious activities or occasional celebrations.
Between some 80 buildings that included pyramids, meeting rooms, shops and bath rooms, there is the Templo Mayor, a sacred area of ancient Tenochtitlan.
The Great Pyramid of Cholula is the largest ever built in the world, has 8 kilometers of expansion and approximately 5,000 tunnels.
Mexico City was built on the remains of Tenochtitlan, which makes it one of the oldest active cities in the continent.
References
- New World Encyclopedia . Aztec Civilization, 2016. Source: newworldencyclopedia.org
- Nicoletta Maestri. The Origins of the Aztec Name. Retrieved from: thoughtco.com.
- John P. Schmal. The rise of the Aztec Empire, 2004. Recovered from: org
- Jaime Cóttrill C. (2006-2017). Aztec culture. Source: aztec-history.com
- Lin Donn & Don Donn. Aztec Achievements & Inventions. Source: aztecs.mrdonn.org
- Aztec Civilization - The Aztecs and Their Region. Excerpted from: allabouthistory.org.