Calender/Dates
There is not one Aztec calender. There are 2 more or less independent systems.
- xiuhpohualli: 365 day claender. For days and rituals related to the seasons, like agricultural year or the solar year.
- tonalpohualli: 260 day calender. Nahuatl, the Aztec langage for day-count.
Called a sacred calender, because it is mainly a divinatory tool,dividing the days and rituals between the gods. To the aztecs this calender was extremlly important, because without it the world would soon end. According to Aztecs cosmology, the universe is a small and brakable equilibrium, important forces fighting over power, causing a spirtiual war between the gods. In order to stop the world from distruction, the gods were givin their own land, time, element, etc. The Aztecs created this calender to seporate the times of each god.
Math/Number System
The Aztecs counted in 20's not 10's. The number 20 some how ties in to their calender. the first for numbers were simple:
- one: ce
- two: ome
- three: yei
- four: nahui
The number 20 was called compoalli. The symbol for 20 was a flag or banner:
To count from 20 to 400, you wrote a flag for each set of twenty and adot for each one, for example one flag and 15 dots would be 35 or 5 flags for 100. the number 400 was called tzontli. The symbol for 400 was a feather:
Counting from 400 to 8000 is simaler to counting from 20 to 400. Use the feather to represent each group of 400. the number 8000 is xiquipilli. the symbol for 8000 is a bag:
Heiroglyphs
The Aztecs used simple pictures for symple things such as a snske was a picture of a snake:
but they also had more complacated words, such as the names of their gods. for insince a picture of a differnt snake could have a differnt meaning, like it could mean iztcoatl-- obsidain snake. The Aztecs also had an alphabet:
science
The Aztecs were a hunter/gatherer group. Meaning they hunted meat and gathered herbs and barries. They formed many citys and conqured the land around them, their biggest city was tenachtalon. Tenachtalon was were modren day Mexico City is. The Aztecs studied astronomy which was were they got their knowlage for their callender. It toke the Aztecs 52 years to build their calender stone, also known as tonalpohualli. The calender stone is three feet thick and 12 feet in diameter, it also had tonalpohualli engraved in the stone. This calender showed that the Aztecs had the same knowladge in the dates and times as we do today.
The Aztecs also specalized in medician. the Atztecs skills in medican made them out rank the Europeans. Aztec medician was based on two things:
The Aztecs also specalized in medician. the Atztecs skills in medican made them out rank the Europeans. Aztec medician was based on two things: