Aztec Economy and Beliefs :: essays research papers

Aztec economy flourished so well mainly because of their intricate religious beliefs. Their belief in many different gods, complex rituals, and an odd brand of warfare, all lead up to an flourishing economy because they all required so many different artisans and materials. In Aztec society, a merchant was a man above everyone else. By the 1500’s they rivaled the wealth of nobility. The Aztecs believed that in order to keep the gods happy, they had to build great pyramids, do many rituals, and sacrifice people to appease the gods. The building of these enormous pyramids took thousands of thousands of men and supplies. Those supplies had to be dug up and bought from every person possible. The building of such pyramids also employed skilled artisans to carve the temples into shape, and to carve words and symbols inside the pyramid. The temples also required skilled painters and recorders to paint and inscribe inside the temple. The employment of these artisans ensured that they would have work to do and money in their pocket. Aztec merchants were called pochtecas. They served not only as merchants, but as spies for the priests and king. This required them to go very far to spy on other tribes. When they came back they could come with things and idea’s the people had never imagined. This brought the edges of the world that much closer to the Aztecs simply because believed that their merchants should spy on other tribes to see what kinds of gods they are worshiping. The Aztecs religiously used a great amount of obsidian, a volcanic rock that looked like dark glass, for all walks of life. They used it in warfare to weaken the opponents rather then kill them, so their opponent could then be offered to the gods. They used it for priests as religious necklaces. Finally the used it for knives to cut open their sacrificial victims to offer their hearts to the gods. Obsidian was considered very rare at first but the mass usage of it gave hundreds of skilled artisans the jobs to make things out of it. Aztec Economy and Beliefs :: essays research papers Aztec economy flourished so well mainly because of their intricate religious beliefs. Their belief in many different gods, complex rituals, and an odd brand of warfare, all lead up to an flourishing economy because they all required so many different artisans and materials. In Aztec society, a merchant was a man above everyone else. By the 1500’s they rivaled the wealth of nobility. The Aztecs believed that in order to keep the gods happy, they had to build great pyramids, do many rituals, and sacrifice people to appease the gods. The building of these enormous pyramids took thousands of thousands of men and supplies. Those supplies had to be dug up and bought from every person possible. The building of such pyramids also employed skilled artisans to carve the temples into shape, and to carve words and symbols inside the pyramid. The temples also required skilled painters and recorders to paint and inscribe inside the temple. The employment of these artisans ensured that they would have work to do and money in their pocket. Aztec merchants were called pochtecas. They served not only as merchants, but as spies for the priests and king. This required them to go very far to spy on other tribes. When they came back they could come with things and idea’s the people had never imagined. This brought the edges of the world that much closer to the Aztecs simply because believed that their merchants should spy on other tribes to see what kinds of gods they are worshiping. The Aztecs religiously used a great amount of obsidian, a volcanic rock that looked like dark glass, for all walks of life. They used it in warfare to weaken the opponents rather then kill them, so their opponent could then be offered to the gods. They used it for priests as religious necklaces. Finally the used it for knives to cut open their sacrificial victims to offer their hearts to the gods. Obsidian was considered very rare at first but the mass usage of it gave hundreds of skilled artisans the jobs to make things out of it.