The Death Obsession Of The Aztec

The Death Obsession of the Aztec

The ancient Aztec civilization, considered one of the greater empires to have ever existed, was a society rich in practice and belief.   Death among the Aztec was an integral part of their culture, and one could say it ruled over many of their more deep-rooted beliefs.   There are several points I will bring up in an attempt to educate and prove to the reader that this is quite evident in this great civilization’s history.   To begin, I will develop a brief history of the Aztec to give the reader a better understanding of their culture.   Then I will include several main points about the Aztec’s beliefs about death which I believe to be relevant, including the importance of human and blood sacrifices, the Aztec obsession with time, basic burial practices, and the Aztec concept of the afterlife.
The Aztec empire is believed to be the most influential and powerful Mesoamerican civilization of all time.   This was a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual realm that stretched for more than 80,000 square miles from central Mexico to what is now the present day Republic of Guatemala.   The majority of the Aztec peoples spring from a relatively unknown group of settlers known as the Mexica, which, according to legend, moved from an island known as Aztlan to the Valley of Mexico during the 12th and 13th centuries A.D.   Their increasing military strength by the 15th century A.D. made the Aztec a formidable force, and their capital city, Tenochtitlán, prospered indefinitely.   At what could have been the height of their civilization, around the 16th century A.D., the Aztec were conquered by Spanish conquistadors, the most famous being Hernando Cortez.   The Spanish brought with them guns, diseases, and missionaries that basically wiped out the civilization and its practices.
The importance of religious rites and ceremonies in the ancient Aztec civilization were related to the various aspects and needs of life.   The Aztec had many rituals that differed...