More than 20,000 people are sacrificed each year, but the Aztecs were a civilization that focused on universal education for children.
Aztec is the name given to certain peoples of central Mexico, especially those who speak the Nahuatl language. The Aztecs dominated much of Central America from the 14th to 16th centuries, forming one of the great civilizations of mankind.
They left humanity with many interesting things and many mysteries.
The Aztec capital Tenochtitlan.
The word “Aztec” was given to this people by Europeans to refer to the city of Aztlan in northern Mexico, where the Aztecs lived in the 20th century.
However, the group of people now known as the Aztecs often referred to themselves as the Mexica. This is also the origin of the name Mexico.
Like many ancient civilizations, the Aztec civilization followed polygamy. Accordingly, an Aztec man can have many wives at the same time, but only the first wife can have a wedding ceremony.
Like some other societies, the Aztecs believed that the more wives a man had, the higher the status and power in society.
Image on the Mexican flag – (Image: Wiki Commons).
According to an ancient prophecy, the capital of the Aztecs would be the place where an eagle perched on a cactus. Since then, the ancient Aztecs went around looking for this phenomenon.
Finally, the eagle perched on the cactus also appeared, but ironically, this was a small land in the middle of Lake Texcoco. It was the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan.
Since ancient times, the Aztecs were often referred to as Tenochca, so they named the capital Tenochtitlan.
Today, the flag of Mexico still retains this iconic image from the past.
Education was very important to the Aztecs.
The Aztecs were one of the first civilizations to implement universal education for children of all classes from nobles to commoners, even slaves.
Students are taught huehuetlatolli, a huge collection of lessons about Mexica legends and lessons on how to behave in contemporary society.
However, there are still differences in education. Specifically, young men from the aristocracy will be focused on teaching history, astronomy, art and management.
Low-class young men will be educated to become soldiers serving in the army. And women will be taught housework.
Ullamaliztli playing circle – (Image: Flickr).
The Aztecs were famous for the sport game Ullamaliztli.
The rules of the game are simple, each team of 2-5 people must put a ball through a fixed circle, similar to today’s basketball.
Regulations that the ball must not touch the ground, players must not touch the ball to the head, elbows, knees and hips.
Evidence shows that captains are often beheaded if their team loses.
The Aztecs had the custom of burying the dead right under the house. For people of great social stature, the Aztecs often cremated because they believed that cremation was the fastest way to heaven.
Not only that, they also kill a dog and bury or cremate it with the deceased. They do so because of the belief that the dog will guide the deceased to the afterlife.
Before the Spaniards arrived in the Aztec region, horses were not present in the Americas. Some Aztecs mistook the Spanish cavalry for monsters.
Most of the Aztecs died from disease.
The Europeans brought horses and spears to the Americas to invade the Aztec territory, but the Europeans also faced fierce resistance.
The most powerful weapon that the Spaniards used was the pathogen . Historians estimate 20 million Aztecs died from diseases such as mumps, measles, and smallpox in just five years since the Spaniards brought the disease.
Sacrifice was an important part of Aztec culture.
According to anthropologists, about 20,000 people are sacrificed each year to make offerings to the gods and ask for protection.
In the beliefs of the Aztecs, a solar eclipse occurred when the Sun had run out of life force to exist, at this time they had to hold sacrifices to pray to the gods. After the ritual is completed, the sacrificed victims will become the meal of the tribe.
People who were about to be “eaten” were fed a hallucinogenic mushroom or drank an alcohol made from fermented cactus juice so that they no longer sense what is about to happen.
Anthropologist Michael Harner (USA) again put forward an interesting hypothesis, that due to the lack of animal protein in the diet, the Aztecs considered human meat as a nutritious food that they always craved.
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