![]() (Showing once again, it's better the devil you know than the one you don't.) It got so bad, the client states of the Three Part Alliance, who had to supply the bulk of the sacrifices, despite massive depopulation due to disease, basically revolted as soon as Cortez showed up. No apocalyptic justifications apply, they just killed a bunch of people for their religious rites. Human Sacrifice, and lots of it, were common in pre-columbian Mesoamerican cultures: not just the Aztecs, but the Mayans and a bunch of others, too. It goes into many important details, as well. A mix of augury and science.Įdit: this excellent paper, on ixiptla and Toxcatl, was published by Izabela Wilkosz. In my paper, I present evidence that the priestly classes saw the sacrificial practice as a way to glean necessary insights about the future of the civilization. The way that songs were written, and evolved over time, about these ixiptla, we can infer that people took this practices as vital, if not serious, part of the cycle of life. Certainly, it is known that these people (ixiptla) were drugged. Whether this was a way to 'clear out undesirables' is not yet clear. No one charged toward it.īeing chosen for one of the lesser Divine Powers was probably even less attractive, to the individual. The Aztecs saw that representing yourself as one of these Divine Powers ("teotl") was a 'holy' thing - but only those representing the 'big 4' divinities had the national stage, and even then the selection process was something of a random lot. For a comprehensive overview of the Aztec Empire, including its military, religion, and agriculture, click here.I wrote a paper related this topic, for peer review.īasically, the general story (maybe "propaganda") of state ritual sacrifice was that those sacrificed were becoming god-like, and so were elevated to the holiest status achievable - perhaps (in a distant way) like suicide bombers today. This article is part of our larger resource on Aztec civilization. As Aztecs were fierce warriors, the threat of war was often enough to cause other Mesoamerican cities to surrender. The local leaders would be left in charge, but heavy tribute had to be paid. The city itself was left alone, but the temple was burned or razed. When the Aztecs won, they would take defeated warriors, women and children as slaves or sacrifices. When the armies closed into melee, razor-sharp obsidian clubs, swords and daggers were used. When the attacking and defending forces sighted each other, the first weapons used were projected weapons-atlatls or dart throwers, slings, spears and bow and arrows. This dangerous occupation won them much honor and respect in Aztec society. Some pochteca acted as spies, disguising themselves as the natives of the city to be conquered. Intelligence was gathered through the pochteca, ambassadors, messengers and spies. ![]() Military commanders conveyed messages to allied cities regarding troops and provisions needed for the upcoming war. When a message went out from Tenochtitlan, runners could convey the information to the farthest flung outpost. The emperor established a group of well-trained runners every 2.5 miles throughout the empire. The Aztec system of communication required regular messengers. At the end of school, boys wanting to be warriors received further training in the army on the battlefield as weapon carriers and messengers. The boys endured hard exercise to build up muscles and received military training as they grew. TrainingĮvery boy received military training at their schools, both telpochcalli and calmecac. After a second refusal to become a tributary, the Aztec army marched. If, after 20 days the city declined, the ambassadors returned with threats of what would happen if they continued to refuse. The emperor’s ambassador would first tell of the advantages of being a tributary member and ally of the Triple Alliance. The next step was to send a formal ambassador to the area or city state. The military intelligence conveyed by these merchants could enable successful campaigns, especially in lands distant from Tenochtitlan, the capital. In this sense, the pochteca were invaluable to the emperor. When the Aztecs started to eye a land for conquest, they first asked the pochteca, the long-distance traders of the empire, to investigate the area and report on what they found. Captives of the war would be sacrificed to the gods, ensuring continued benevolence from the gods to the Aztecs. Everyone in Aztec society benefited from a successful battle or campaign. The primary objective of most Aztec warfare was to subjugate other cities and lands to extract tribute. The Aztec Empire depended on tribute, trade and agriculture.
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