Aztec Religion
The Aztecs believed in gods that controlled every aspect of their daily lives. They believed that they had to give the gods gifts to please them. The most precious gift was life, so that’s what they gave. When the Spaniards came in 1519, the Aztecs were sacrificing about 20,000 people per year.
The Mayans had many gods controlling different aspects of life, such as creation and death. They made human sacrifices to their gods in three different ways, Well, Arrow, and Heart. Suicide was common among the Mayans, because they believed they were giving their lives to the gods and would go to heaven.
The Aztecs believed that war was essential for the Empire. The Wars made the Aztecs rich and supplied them with prisoners to sacrifice. The Aztecs sent ambassadors to the Empires before they attacked them.
The Mayans were a peaceful group of people. The most violent time in Mayan history was during the Mayan Period, when civil wars swept the nation. These wars divided it into four states. The Spanish fought the Mayans and eventually conquered them in 1524.
The Aztecs wrote in glyphs. The glyphs showed the objects they represented. They were written in order of importance. They also used phonograms, which were sounds put together to make words. Only a few Aztec scribes knew how to read and write.
The Mayans language system used pictures and phonetic sounds. Their language was rich in synonyms and homonyms. The pictures or glyphs were made up of a sign and additions to the sign.
Aztec number system was based on twenty. Fingers were the symbol used to represent 1-19. 20 was a flag, 400 was a feather, and 8,000 was a bag of cacao beans.
The Mayan number system was based on twenty (fingers and toes.) Sticks and dots were used to represent the numbers. The Mayans had a concept of addition, subtraction, and of the number zero.
The Aztecs had two calendars, the solar calendar and the sacred calendar. The two calendars met once every 52 years....