Although this was the case, it was also true that commoners had a great deal of control over their lives and in most cases they had enough to meet their basic needs and the needs of their family.
Religion
One of the most interesting aspects of Aztec civilization is Aztec religious practices. According to an article found in the Journal of the Southwest, the Aztec religious system dominated the way of life for the Aztec people. The research indicates that the religious system of the Aztec people was very much associated with the Aztec Calendar. This calendar was based on the yearly agricultural cycle.
For instance when the winter solstice occurred the Aztec people would participate in fire festivals. The purpose of such festivals was to persuade the sun to return so that the days or sunlight hours would not be so short.
The Aztec people also participated in a large ceremonial race during the winter solstice. The ceremony involved was held to imitate "the sun's circular route through the cycle of the day and of the year, followed in early March, the first month of the Aztec year, by the Feast of the Sun (Duran 1971:414)." These rituals took place during an influential time in the agricultural year and lasted until the summer solstice. This was an important time on the Aztec Calendar because it coincided with the planting of seeds during the arrival of the rains.
As such the lives of the Aztec people were very dependent upon these ceremonies and what they represented.
The author further explains that that Aztec year was composed of eighteen months that contained 20 days each, totaling 360 days. The research explains that five days were added on during the final month of the year. During each of the eighteen months certain ceremonies were held, usually to honor one of their many deities.
The deities were believed to be responsible for different aspects of agricultural success including fertility and rain. The deities were also important to success in hunting and in warfare. The author further explains that for the Aztec, the spring planting cycle fell between the third month of Tozoztontli and the sixth month of Etzalqualitztli (roughly 10 April-28 June), and although each month had prescribed ceremonies specific to it, together they formed integral parts of a continuing cycle that saw the fields planted and the setting up of the first fruits. Tozoztontli was the time of the sacrifice of the blood of children, both in comparatively minor, localized wounds of ears, tongues and shins, and actual child sacrifice of a group of chosen victims. Concurrent with this sacrifice of blood was the letting of childish tears which mimicked the rain, inducing it through sympathetic magic to fall."
The sacrificing of human-beings was the most disturbing aspect of Aztec Religion. Research has indicated that not only were there human sacrifices but also cannibalism in Aztec civilization. Amongst researchers there are debates as to the purpose of such sacrifices. Some argue that is was indeed a religious practice and the human sacrifice was offered because they believed that the gods required such a sacrifice. However some anthropologists and sociologists have suggested that human sacrifice in Aztec Civilization occurred as a result of both demographic and ecologic dynamics which resulted in shortage of protein and there were also population pressures. The article explains that there were adverse agricultural circumstances along with seasonal crop failures a lack of domesticated herbivores, a decrease in the presence of wild game in the area, famine, and environmental issues that developed as a result of limitations concerning the growth of agriculture.
The author explains that even though crops such as corn and beans provided complementary vegetable proteins, they do not contain fatty acids and because these crops were seasonally scarce what the Aztec people would have available would have been insufficient. As such it has been hypothesized that cannibalism occurred because it was a way to provide a significant source of protein. The author also points out that in most cases the Aztecs would not eat individuals that were members of their own social group or community. Instead they practiced a type of warfare known as "flowery wars," as a way to acquire sacrificial victims. Whatever the case, Human Sacrifice was a significant component in Aztec life and religious ritual.
In addition the aforementioned ceremonies, there were also elaborate ceremonies in the fourth and fifth months of the Aztec year. The largest ceremony was held in the sixth month of the...
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