Aztec religion including beliefs, temples and sacrifice (OCR GCSE History B (Schools History Project)): Revision Notes
Aztec religion including beliefs, temples and sacrifice
The Aztecs' beliefs and religion were closely tied to their politics. Their life, especially of the ruling class, was highly driven by prophecies and the creation of the universe.
Roots of Human Sacrifice
The ritual of sacrifice among the Aztecs, or Mexicas, was rooted in the creation story known as the Five Suns.
1 Aztecs believed in a cyclical process of the world through the concepts of birth, death, and rebirth.
2 The five births of the world was because of the five suns - Jaguar Sun, Wind Sun, Rain Sun, Water Sun, and Earthquake Sun, which were all gods who were sacrificed for rebirth.
3 According to the Aztec worldview, in order to nourish the fifth and successful Sun, rituals of human sacrifice were the only way to delay the end of the Sun or destruction through massive earthquakes.
Anthropologists believe that the Sun of Movement monolith was carved in 1512 and was used as a circular platform or temalacatl for gladiatorial sacrifice to the sun god.
4 Rituals like human sacrifice were performed in religious temples and platforms. Inside the temples was Aztec art painted and carved on walls. Palaces were the home of emperors.
5 Aside from pleasing the gods, offering warriors who had shown bravery in battle was considered the most prestigious sacrificial ritual.
6 In addition to human sacrifices witnessed by the public, the Aztecs performed self-sacrifice by piercing parts of their body to release blood onto the earth. Many believed that this kind of sacrifice was a daily duty.
7 They believed in the 13 heavens and 9 underworlds of rebirth, wherein a person's destination in the afterlife depended on how the individual died and not on how s/he lived.
Tezcatlipoca was the god who turned into a jaguar and destroyed the world
Nanahuatzin was the humble god who sacrificed himself and became the final sun
Ehecatl sacrificed the other gods so the sun could move
Quetzalcoatl the feathered serpent who created humans out
of bones from the underworld.
The Aztec Sun Stone depicting the Five Sun Creation Myth and Prophecy
Aztec sacrificial rituals could take three main forms: removing the heart, decapitating the victim, and fighting against elite warriors.
Image showing Two Aztec priests piercing their tongue and ear, Codex Magliabechiano
Exam Practise
Task 1: Analysis
Source A
Analyse the source and write a well-substantiated essay on this Aztec tradition. Highlight the significance of this ritual for the Aztecs.
Aztec ritual of human sacrifice illustrated by Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias
Task 2: Interpretation
Source B
Make your own interpretation of the song. Relate the source to the Aztec nature of warfare. How significant was this aspect of the empire?
The battlefield is the place:
where one toasts the divine liquor in war,
where are stained red the divine eagles,
where the jaguars howl,
where all kinds of precious stones rain from ornaments,
where wave headdresses rich with fine plumes,
where princes are smashed to bits.
- Nahuatl song.