Aztec life had many unique aspects. Their life was connected to their religion and so was their art. Their society was very advanced for their time.

Aztec people divided themselves into families and clans. Clans sent officials who were part of a council, the council appointed officials to govern the four phratries. The Aztecs elected a supreme chief during times of war, and created an early democracy. Education was also very important to the Aztecs who made every child over 15 go to school every day, called Telpochalli. The customs controlled everything about them, even how many tortilla’s were fed to children.(Devan)

The societies were divided into 3 classes; slaves, commoners, and nobles. City councils had the most power in Aztec government and within each council was an executive council. Around the mid 1400s, three powerful city states became the famous Triple Alliance. Eventually, Tenochtitlan controlled all of the empire. The leader, like in Rome, was called Huey Tlatcani or Great Speaker. He was a divine emperor who was supported by the city council, priests, governors, and other officials. (Devan)

Aztec life was extremely influenced by their religious activities. They were a polytheistic society that was ruled by a god king. Most of their religion involved death and sacrifice . They would sacrifice prisoners of war and even themselves in hope that their gods would be pleased. They worshipped the god of war and death the most. His name was Tezcatlipoca. He was a bloodthirsty god that demanded human sacrifice. The Aztecs would take their victims to the top of a pyramid and cut out their hearts. Blood would flow down the steps of the pyramid and into the ground. The Aztecs hoped that the blood of their victims would nourish their gods and bring good fortune to the land.(Leo)

Since the Aztecs would use prisoners of war as sacrificial offerings, the priests demanded a steady income of captives. This caused the Aztecs to carry out new conquests and change their battle strategies so they were less lethal and they could provide live prisoners of war. Other than sacrifice, priests would also carry out ritual dramas, dance and songs in order to win the gods’ favor. (Leo)

Aztec art was extraordinary and detailed. Certain aspects of their art was mostly a form of religious expression and a way of paying a tribute to their gods. The gods were characterized a lot as forms of animals in the paintings. Most of the drawings of the gods were sharp and angled. They were colored brightly as well. They made sculptures with stones which even further showed their dedication to their religion. They spent many days carving their idols so they would be put inside their temples. The stones were mostly made for representation of their gods or the sacrificed people. There are other aspects of their art that were not influenced by religion such as their counting system in which they used their drawings to represent numbers. This system allowed them to create written records in which we are able to use today to understand how this ancient civilization flourished. (Samantha)

Aztec Sacrifice http://dkersting.wikispaces.com/file/view/aztec-indians-3.jpg/31233219/aztec-indians-3.jpg

Think Questhttp://library.thinkquest.org/27981/god.html Aztec Historyhttp://www.aztec-history.com/ancient-aztec-government.html http://www.famsi.org/reports/99025/index.html McDougal Little World history: patterns of interaction