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" (James, 2006) The strength and force of this ruthless creator of the sun became a justification of Aztec conquest of neighboring persons, in the name of his spirit. As the Aztecs were generated from the space where time began, and as the sun demanded violence and sacrifice and death to come into being, so did the maintenance of their agricultural way of life and society. Sacrifices of inhabitants and conquered people were made to the god recreating the cycle of destruction and rebirth that gave final rise to the final, great fifth sun. These sacrifices were administered by the priests, and recreated the cycle of birth and death, particularly the giving birth of the final generation of humanity from the bones of the dead persons killed in the wars over the first four suns. Sacrifices performed before altars of fire that symbolized the fiery creation of the world.
Other than the remaining step-like temple structures pointing upwards to the sun, little remains of Aztec civilization. These great conquerors became the conquered and much of their complex civilization was destroyed by Christian conquerors. "Even well-educated bishops could [not] have understood or appreciated or even tolerated a religion which represented its most sacred deities as complicated monsters frequently shown consuming their worshippers. The priests of this religion also performed human sacrifices by excising the living heart from the chest of captives...
Even the neighboring states, who practiced similar sacrifices, regarded the Aztec's wholesale massacres of thousands of victims as abhorrent" and "were willing participants in the burning of the Aztecs sacred books." (James, 2006) Still, even if a contemporary observer cannot condone such practices in a spirit of cultural relativism, what remains known of Aztec civilization is more comprehensible after gaining a better understanding of the function of their creation mythology and their reverence of violence and the sun.
Works Cited
Four Functions of Mythology." 2006. [27 Jul 2006] http://webzoom.freewebs.com/lanzbom/mythology.doc
James, R. "Quetzalcoatl: The Myth." [27 Jul 2006]
http://www.rjames.com/Toltec/myth2.htm
Pacheco, Roxanne V. " Myths of Mesoamerican Cultures Reflect a Knowledge and Practice of Astronomy." Archeology. January 8, 1999. [27 Jul 2006]
http://www.unm.edu/~abqteach/ArcheoCUs/99-01-08.htm
Tartar, Stacey. "The Four Functions of Myth." 2004. West Chester University. [27 Jul 2006]
http://brainstorm-services.com/wcu-2004/mythology.html
Taube, Karl. Aztec and Maya Myths. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. Excerpted by Diana Doyle in "Aztec and Mayan Mythology." Yale University, 1994. [27 Jul 2006] http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1994/3/94.03.04.x.html#a
Works Cited
Four Functions of Mythology." 2006. [27 Jul 2006] http://webzoom.freewebs.com/lanzbom/mythology.doc
James, R. "Quetzalcoatl: The Myth." [27 Jul 2006]
http://www.rjames.com/Toltec/myth2.htm
Pacheco, Roxanne V. " Myths of Mesoamerican Cultures Reflect a Knowledge and Practice of Astronomy." Archeology. January 8, 1999. [27 Jul 2006]
http://www.unm.edu/~abqteach/ArcheoCUs/99-01-08.htm
http://brainstorm-services.com/wcu-2004/mythology.html
Taube, Karl. Aztec and Maya Myths. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. Excerpted by Diana Doyle in "Aztec and Mayan Mythology." Yale University, 1994. [27 Jul 2006] http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1994/3/94.03.04.x.html#a
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