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| Sunday, 31 October 2004 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Aztecs: the lost people
We have often heard of various species in the animal kingdom and the plant world disappearing from Planet Earth but people? I'm sure you would find it hard to believe that an entire civilization could die out over the years. Imagine if it happens to us someday? Have you ever heard of the Aztecs? They were ancient American Indians who lived in Mexico from A.D. 1200 until 1521. Even today there are descendants of the Aztecs living in small villages in Mexico.They are very different to their forefathers even though they still speak their language.
On October 15, an exhibition titled the Aztec Empire was held at the Guggenheim Museum in NewYork ,giving the people of today an opportunity to have an insight into the art and culture of these 'lost people'. The exhibition displayed more than 435 works from public and private collections and is considered to be the most comprehensive survey of the art and culture of Aztecs ever assembled. You may be curious to know more about this ancient Mexican people whose civilization still fascinates the modern world. The Aztec Indians had a highly powerful and advanced civilization. Their cities were large and well-planned and they had organised governments.
Outside the cities, the Aztecs lived in simple houses made of adobe (mud bricks) with thatched roofs. (like the ones we see in our villages .) The chief city of the Aztecs, Tenochtitlan was built where the modern Mexico City stands today. The Spanish explorer Hernando Cortes who discovered the Aztec Empire in 1519 and was responsible for the collapse of the Aztec civilization, called the city of Tenochtitlan, 'The Venice of the New World because it was built up from the lake of Texcoco. The city was a wonder of ancient engineering with many canals, causeways and moveable chain bridges.
The Aztecs are famous all over the world for their work with precious metals like gold and silver. They carved many fine pieces of jewellery from jade, dyed cloth in the most beautiful designs, turned out pottery and sculptures in stone. The most famous sculpture is the Aztec Calendar stone, twice the size of a man, showing the Sun-god Tonatiuh. It also outlined the Aztec version of world history, myths and prophecy.
The Aztecs built many temples too as they worshipped many gods. The favourite Aztec god was Huitzilopochtli or Hummingbird Wizard, god of war and of the sun. The god of learning and of the priesthood was called Quetzalcoatl, the plumed Serpent. Their civilization came to an end when the Spanish Explorer Cortes imprisoned the Aztec Emperor and after much fighting conquered the Aztecs in 1521. Many of the Aztec people died from European diseases brought by the Spanish and along with them their empire.
***** Fact file - Aztecs * They were sturdy people with dark skins and straight dark hair - very like the Indians who still live around Mexico. * They spoke the Nahuatl language from which we have taken such words as tomato, chili and chocolate. * Their clothes were made from fibres of the century plant. Men wore loin-cloths, capes and sandals and the women wore short skirts and sleeveless blouses. They were beautifully decorated with designs which indicated their position in society. * The Aztecs had special schools called calmecacs where young girls and boys were trained in religious duties and also schools called telpuchcalli (houses of youth) where history, traditions, crafts and religious observances were taught. But the Aztecs did not know to write. They formed picture-writing symbols on books made of leaves, rolled into scrolls. Some still exist. * The Aztecs did not have money. They paid taxes in food, clothing, skins, pottery, gold and silver. * All men had to serve in the army. Historians believe the Aztecs were the first men to use swords. |
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