...COR 130 Individual Research Paper The Aztecs and the role of Human Sacrifice The Aztec was a culture that dominated the Valley of Mexico in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. All the Nahua-speaking peoples in the Valley of Mexico were Aztecs, while the culture that dominated the area was Tenochca. At the time of the European conquest, they called themselves either "Tenochca" or "Toltec," which was the name assumed by the bearers of the Classic Mesoamerican culture, stated in Manuel Aguilar-Moreno’s book, Handbook to Life in the Aztec World. Sadly, many of the Aztec didn't survive after the arrival of the Europeans. But during the earlier years, the Aztec became one of the most advanced civilizations because of their religion, war, and agriculture. The Aztecs gained an infamous reputation for their bloodthirsty human sacrifices with explicit tales of the beating heart being ripped from the still-conscious victims, decapitation, skinning and dismemberment. All of these things did happen but it is important to remember that for the Aztecs the act of sacrifice was a strictly ritualized process that gave the highest possible honor to the gods and was regarded as a necessity to ensure mankind’s continued prosperity. The Aztecs were not the first civilization in Mesoamerica to practice human sacrifice; human sacrifice was practiced to some extent by many peoples in Mesoamerica and around the world for many centuries. But it was the Aztec empire that really took the ritual...
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...The clip somewhat resembles the reality. Cannibals, as caribean people were called, sacrificed people. Men dominated the Clip 1: (1:25) In this clip, counterpountial music is used. The scene seems a bit hectic due to the use of short clips. The swinging seems humorous with the music. The vertical cliffs resembles how nature is supperior to human-beings and that they have to compete with it to survive. The cage is in contrast to the background, being dark with a the bright background. This makes us focus on the cage rather than anything else. The scenery seems very idylic. There is a great contrast between the music, the environment and the pirates’ situation. When the pirates climb the mountain, all lines seem to point downwards, towards the concequences they risk experiencing. (2:23). A cannibal is framed by the lines to make him stand outThe music stops here, because they don’t sway in cages anymore. The snake is a symbol of evil, and evil makes the cage fall to the underground. (3:03) Obviously they have used a green screen to manipulate the fall of the pirates. The cage is placed in the center of the screen to make our eyes focus there. Also, the gap between the cliffs seems infinite, due to the fog. It is rather comical, they are almost laughing. Again, the clash between the silent nature and the hectical cage creates clear division. The cliffs devour the pirate cage and this displays how different Man is to nature. (3:06) The painting on the cannibal, example...
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...Jeremy Drummond History of World Civilizations Dr. Israel December 9, 2014 Horrible Aztecs or Hypocritical Spaniards? Since the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492, many other “explorers” sought to conquer the various native tribes and exploit the resources the Americas had to offer. When discovered by the European explorers, it was only a matter of time the not-so-great- Spanish conquistadors arrived with their plans to take over the Americas – even if it meant generating rumors and propaganda about how horrible the Aztecs were. The conquistadors would bring back reports to Europe saying the Aztecs were a brutal, human sacrificing cult who needed to be destroyed. While there is some archeological evidence to back up these claims, the Spanish strongly exaggerated the truth about such to coerce the Christians in Western Europe into thinking their invasion of the Americas was okay. Upon arriving in Mexico, Hernando Cortes, a famous Spanish Explorer who unbeknownst to many gave California its name, was an enslaver and murderer of not only the Aztecs, but his own people as well. “He was known to dismantle his own ships in an effort to force his followers had no choice but to follow him inland (Jaffee).”1 The sheer self-righteousness of he and his followers, none can fathom. At first, Cortes was mistakenly thought to be “Quetzalcoatl,” or the “bearded god of the Aztecs” because of his light skin and beard. On the contrary, Cortes is nothing close...
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...This question is particularly controversial. There’s the option of trying to save a person in a heroic way, or simple saving yourself and sacrificing the other person, and avoiding death yourself. I believe that in it is acceptable to sacrifice the life of one person, to avoid two people dying. I think this because even though there is a chance of you saving the other person, but in most situations it is very unlikely and rational of the person to try and do so. Therefore, making the event of two people dying instead of one seems like a silly, stupid option, and all that for the off chance that you might save the person. Also, it is the duty of any person or society that when given a situation where at least one person will die, we should try to save as many people as possible. Therefore, we take the choice where there is the least amount of sacrifice: we sacrifice one innocent person, so that 1 may live. It's only common sense; better to have one dead than two. As humans, our moral duty is to save as many lives as possible in any given situation. Surely we should always you try to keep as many people alive as possible. On the off chance that the person risks their life and does save the other person, and then it was still a risk taken, but a risk also worthwhile. In terms of people’s morals and ethics, no-one would ever consider sacrificing the life off another person, as it would be against most people’s natural instinct. In the book ‘touching the void’, Simon...
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...Peter Nichlas Soetaniman Professor Valery Taylor Fall15 Art 007 1 November 2015 Should Aztec Society be understood as (A) Civilized or (B) Barbaric? 1. Aztec society displayed many attributes that displayed intelligence and sophistication. Yet at the same time, they also portray a rather barbaric behavior that made me question my opinion. However, Del Castillo describes that upon entering the city of Coyoacan, they spotted tower-like buildings (which were their shrines); they met by many Caciques and dignitaries wearing very rich cloaks (Del Castillo, 216). These alone already describes a little of their sophistication. Moving over towards the great Montezuma, he had with him, fine gold jewels of various shapes. In sign of respect, he gave, to each of the four captains, small gold objects and three loads of cloaks of rich feather work; and to the soldiers he gave two loads of cloaks each, with a princely hair. These demonstrate skilled workmanship and knowledge of how to properly provide proper gifts. It is also a sign of politeness and good manners, which even some civilizations do not have with them (De Castillo, 221). Moreover, Cortes and Montezuma exchanged bows, and clasped hands. These simple gestures are a simple signs of sophistication in due to each other’s presence as different ranks. Both showed respect to each other (Del Castillo, 221). At this point in time, Montezuma is about 40 years old, and he was very neat and clean, and took a bath every afternoon....
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...theme to the story that is overlooked by the reader. The story The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry is about value and sacrifice. The author uses point-of-view and situational irony to support and bring meaning to the various themes. Theme The theme of a story tells you what the story is about (Clugston, 2014, section 6.1). It is essential for the reader to establish the theme of the story so that he/she is aware of what the writer is trying to convey. In The Gift of the Magi the main theme of this story is sacrifice. Each character sacrifices something for the other person. Also, in addition to sacrifice, value and love are themes as well. Both characters felt a deep love for the other and therefor sacrificed something that held great value to them. It is immediately apparent that the main theme is about sacrifice and value when the author writes, “One dollar and seventy-eight cents. And the next day would be Christmas” (Clugston, 2014, section 4.4). Also the author writes, “Now there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride” (Clugston, 2014, section 4.4). One of those items was a pocket watch Jim had that belonged to his father and the other was Della’s hair (Clugston, 2014, section 4.4). From these few sentences the reader is able to extrapolate that the characters value these items and that Della is going to sacrifice her hair to earn money to buy Jim a gift. Point-of-view be becomes very important when trying to relate to the characters...
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...violence, brutality and tragedy faced by the soldiers that are sent to the battlefield. However, war doesn’t only tell that story, but rather looks at the survival and sacrifices that soldiers must face in order to survive – and uncovers the true reality of war. This can be seen in selected stories from Tim O’Brien’s novel the things they carried and Wilfred Owen’s WWI poem Dulce Est decorum. Through the individual stories the man I killed and the things they carried, we are able to explore how the author struggles to deal with the effects of war, surviving through the guilt and heartache of expected murder and sacrificing individual dreams in order to keep his team safe. Similarly, Owen’s poem explores how individuals have to survive through the ghastly environments associated with war at the cost of individual lives. Both texts reveal how men at war are forced to sacrifice their hopes and dreams in order to survive the demands of war. In Tim O’Brien’s novel, the things they carried, the composer gives us an insight into the mindset and the emotional depth of soldiers in war, and the difficult sacrifices needed to make in order to survive. The theme of sacrifice is most evident in the chapter the things they carried, as the main character Jimmy Cross faces a moral dilemma; to either sacrifice his dreams, or to sacrifice the safety of his team, after the death of Ted Lavender in which he felt responsible for. The quote “He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender...
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...As we may all know the Aztec empire has been around for many years. It is one of the oldest civilizations in ancient history. The Aztec empire was one of those environment’s where they were in a jungle with thousands of animals and canopies. In this research paper I will be discussing the history of the Aztec empire, the religion, and the architecture & art. The Aztec civilization was established around the 13th century. Some historians believe that the Aztec empire existed between 1345 and 1521 CE. Historians also, believe that before the Aztec empire existed they believe that they started out as a northern tribe. The northern tribe homeland was called Aztlan known as the white land. The Aztecs were also, known as the Tenochtitlan. The Aztec...
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...American Empires assignment 15.1 1. The Spanish viceroy would have requested a history of the Aztecs to have a better understanding of the people him and his soldiers would be interacting with. 2. The purpose founding myths is to give the origin of that society, and to give a reason behind why the place exsisted. 15.2 1. Like the Aztecs some societies practiced the cannibalism and human sacrifice for religion, believing that their gods needed the human blood to survive and continue to be pleased with the people of their land. After the heart and blood was sacrificed they saw the body as holy so to them it is understandable why they would want to eat the left over body. But other societies practiced it because it was a source of food, or because when a tribe won a war against another they would eat the flesh of a powerful warrior (of the opposing tribe) thinking that they would gain the skills of the dead warrior. 2. The fact that the source comes from after the Spanish conquest does not particularly change how I approach it mainly because there is other proof of their sacrifices other than the Spanish reports. 3. A way you can tell that the person who drew the picture had never been the Americas is because the Aztecs did not have buildings that had characteristics of roman buildings! 15.3 1. One technological achievement is they had to have drainage systems for high altitude and it being in the mountains they were bound to get some wet weather! Also since it was...
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...She became a Christian at a young age. She enjoyed going to church; it was a getaway from her unhappy life at home. Her older brother, who was planning to go as a missionary, died. Mary decided to go in his place. She embarked on her missionary journey to Calabar in 1875 where her battle for Christianity began. She fell sick from malaria several times and eventually passed away in 1915, nearly forty years after coming to Africa, at the age of 66. Mary Slessor has become an inspiration to all who hear her story. She was not only a pioneer missionary, but also an activist for women in general. Witchcraft and Superstition were prevalent in Calabar when she arrived there because traditional society had been torn apart by the slave trade. Human sacrifice routinely followed the death of a village chief. The custom that broke her heart most was 'twin-murder’. The tribes thought that twins were a result of a curse caused by an evil spirit that fathered one of the children. Both babies were brutally murdered by breaking their backs and cutting them up into pieces and left in the evil forest for the insects and wild animal to devour, the mother was ostracized and kicked out of society. Her missionary viewed the ritual murder of twins as an abomination. Her dedicated effort to prevent this absurd superstition was an outstanding success. She successfully fought against the...
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...constantly slapped in the face by the incandescent standards of the universe and its littlest portion on how women should be. A woman is always portrayed as a gift from the skies, pretty and elegant, or a royalty in distress saved by a hero who makes her swoon, or an evil witch behind every man's failure. But a woman is not a gift, she is not a possession, she is not an asset. A woman is not someone to be saved, if she is to be protected, then from what? And yes, this paragraph is always present on my feminist articles. The most tiring thing about being a woman is the fact that we should still have to battle for our image as individuals, which is an inflection of how I came into the idea that the purpose of human kind is to breakout from the chains of the stereotypical. Humans try to debunk and destroy what exists, from beliefs to lifestyles and even to the right color of pants to match your socks. This urge to be free is the reason why Jose was shot in a park, why Romeo and Juliet died, and why all the revolutions and wars occurred. Grace Ogot or Grace Emily Akinyi, the Kenyan writer who happens to be the author of the story 'The Rain Came' and many other stories, presented the "Breaking-out" moment through the characters' struggle against the binding chains of traditions and culture. Many of her stories are set against the scenic background of Lake Victoria and the traditions of the Luo people. Luo people are interesting, in fact too interesting, specifically their traditions...
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...were the belief in gods, agriculture, architecture that was huge, mathematics, astronomy regarding calendars, the use of their environments and the conquest of populations. The Aztecs and Incas differ in many respects, both cultural and social as religious and economic. “The Aztecs were a people Nahuatl origin that happened and beat other people of the same origin; they dominated almost the entire territory of Mexico ”. One of the important features that should be mentioned is the religion; “The Aztecs were polytheistic, rendered cult the sun and the other stars the sun being the most important. The sacrifices, human and animal, were an integral part of Aztec religion. For warriors the highest honor was to fall in battle or to volunteer for sacrifice in important ceremonies. They were convinced that they should feed their gods with human blood so they performed human sacrifices ”. In the economic side, agriculture was the basis of life of the Aztecs, “the number of cultivated species was abundant. In the other hand, Livestock was very poor, since the number of domesticated animals was very low: the most important were the turkey and several species of dogs, one of which was to consume meat” . One of the techniques developed by the Aztecs were the “chinampas. This was a way Aztec’s demonstrate their ability to organize large amount of labor ”. Unlike the Aztecs, the Incas founded a “massive empire in the Andes in the 15th century, before the conquest of the New World...
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...and practices. “The Aztec religion was a complex set of beliefs, rituals and gods that helped the Aztec/Mexica to make sense of their world, reality and death (Maestri Nicolette, 2013)”. Today, we will explore the famous Aztec world of gods, sacrifice, and magic in an attempt to better understand their culture and worldview. The traditional Aztec religion was on that focused on the services provided by a series of gods, all to whom a debt was owed. The debt was perpetual and came to be when the gods made the decision to sacrifice themselves to enable human life. “Life for humankind was only possible with a moving sun, and this the gods provided. It then became the responsibility of humanity to feed the sun thereafter, lest it stop and the universe stop with it (Holly Peters-Golden, 2012)”. The Aztec’s shared belief in this theory gave rise to a number of traditions and ceremonies involving human sacrifice. These ceremonies were conducted frequently and were often scheduled in accordance with their ritual calendar. These rituals were sacred to the Aztecs and were performed without hesitation or remorse. In every situation, those who were to be sacrificed were held in high regard for their contribution to the continuity of human life entitled them to great honor and the promise of a rewarded afterlife. In addition, the remains of the sacrificed individuals were also seen as divine and were often consumed by nobles during ritual feasts. “Because all the numerous gods...
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...Human Sacrifice; A Religious Right “Then God said, 'Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.'" (Genesis 22:1-2). When one thinks of human sacrifice as in relation to religion, the most often-cited example is the story of Abraham and Isaac. Abraham is asked by god to sacrifice his son, Isaac, to him. To prove his faith, Abraham attempts to. God only stops him at the last moment, impressed by Abraham’s show of devotion. Religion is something that is practiced solely out of faith. To have faith is to believe in what cannot be seen or heard, what cannot be held; a belief that is not based on proof. The bible describes the Christian god as more of a present being, but to the Aztec, their gods were spiritual. Abraham had the voice of god to tell him that sacrifice was not what he truly wished but what if there was no presence there to stop him? For the Aztec there were no voices. They had developed the idea that their purpose on earth was to appease the gods for all that they had given them, and that is life. That being said, the most logical way to repay them for the life they had given is to give it back, bringing the Aztec upon human sacrifice. The number of lives taken by their people is unknown, however what is known, is that the number is much larger would care to believe. The Aztec, as Abraham had prepared himself to do, sacrificed themselves out...
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...Speech to Inform Outline: Temple of Blood Specific purpose: This speech will give my audience the summation of the Aztec Indians in Mexico beliefs and practices of sacrifice. Thesis: To explain the Aztec’s sacrificial philosophy is look into their history, religious beliefs and ceremonial rituals that are constantly misunderstood. I. Introduction: Mahatma Gandhi quotes: “A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act.” According to the Webster’s dictionary, Sacrifice is the act of offering something to a divine being in propitiation, especially the ritual slaughter of an animal or person. When most imagine the Aztec Empire, many will think of pyramids of gold or worse a picture of a blood thirsty murdering priest holding a heart up over a sacrificial victim. These images are ethnocentric (tendency to believe that one's ethnic or cultural group is centrally important, and that all other groups are measured in relation to one's own) because the Aztec Empire was much more than gold or sacrifice. My ancestors, the Aztec Indians lived a spiritual lifestyle based on pleasing their Gods through many religious ceremonies, including frequent human sacrifices. To explain the Aztec’s sacrificial philosophy is look into their history, religious beliefs and ceremonial rituals that are constantly misunderstood. Transition: So, let’s get started with where the...
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