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Calendar and Dates
The Aztec's system of tracking days was very intricate and their calendar system was derived from the Mayan one. The Aztec people followed two main calendars. One was a more sacred calendar consisting of 13 months of 20 days, while the other was an agricultural or solar calendar with 18 months of 20 days. The solar calendar, being the scientific one, should add up to 365 days, yet it only adds up 360. Every year the Aztec people would have an extra unlucky 5 day period called nemontemi. Every 52 years these calendars start on the same day, which causes a great ceremony of fire. This ceremony is only one aspects of how religion was tied to the calendar. Worshipping gods was a very important aspect of the calendar for daily life since one was expected to give tribute to a different gods. It depended on the day, month, year, and religious cycle of the calendar. The Aztec sunstone, a very famous calendar, weighs 24 tons and is 13 feet in diameter. It contains information on the days that begin and end months as well as the gods related to the days. The center of the stone contains a god called Tonatiuh. Surrounding it are four squares containing symbols that represent the ages preceding the time of the Aztecs (tiger, water, wind,rain). Lastly, around the squares, there is a ring that possesses 20 segments for the 20 days of the month. Each day has it's own unique symbol and god. |
Math and Number System
Instead of the modern day decimal system, the Aztec number system was a vigesimal one, which means they used 20 as a base number. In their arithmetic calculations, there were symbols that were used to represent different values. A dot meant the number 1, a bar meant 5, and there were many other symbols for 20 and its various multiples. It was also clear that the Aztecs had a very clear understanding of multiplication and division in the sense of geometry. Their standard unit of linear measurement was called land rod, equivalent to 2.5 meters. If an object was not an exact amount of land rods, certain symbols were added to indicate the remaining length (less than a land rod). These symbols were related to body parts as the human body was very well understood. For example, the heart symbol would represent a similar length to the distance between one's fingertip and heart. The hand symbol would stand for an identical length of the distance from one's right fingertip and one's left fingertip. |
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Hieroglyphs
The Aztecs language was called Classical Nahuatl and it wasn't written as an alphabet but as a series of glyphs. Each symbol represented only one sound. The language of the Aztecs were eventually developed into an alphabet, yet they used to simply be a series of pictures used in three different ways. The first way was pictograms. This was simply about the symbol meaning what it looked like. So a picture of a snake would mean the word "snake". This method was easy understand but it required hundreds and thousands of symbols to have meaningful language. The second way is ideograms. Ideograms are related to idea behind what the symbol represents. A picture of footprints could represent a trip or even a passage of time in a certain direction. The last way is phonograms. This is finally how a picture can represent a certain sound such as a picture of a bee could represent the sound of "b". All these components came together in the Aztec glyphs. Not only were the picture important, but color played a key role too. In order to tell a story, there wasn't a line of several glyphs but rather a few colorful glyphs positioned properly. |
Science
The aztecs had a great understanding of science. This is very evident as their calendar reflects their extensive knowledge and understanding of the sun and our world. They also built entire structures, such as buildings, around particular aspects of the sun, moon, and stars. Several Aztec traditions were also influenced by or centered around stars and planets. The fact that the Aztecs excelled at science helped them have the ability to invent amazing things. One of their inventions includes the idea of compulsory universal education. They decided to make it mandatory for children to attend school and receive education. From age 12 to 15, kids attended a type of school called cuicalli, also known as house of song. This was a place where they learned ceremonial songs and the cosmology of their people. Most girls ended their education there at age 15, however boys went to a type of school called telpochalli from ages 15 to 20. They slept at this school, but if that wasn't an option the boys went to another type called calmécac. Calmécac taught of a variety of subjects as well as trained them for the military as the school offered opportunities for a government position. The Aztecs also invented something called the floating garden with the help of their knowledge of math and science. Their farmland was not rich so they adapted to grow crops better. The Aztecs stuck four stakes around strips of land and joined them with reeds, twigs, and branches. To raise it above the lake, the enclosure was filled with mud and decaying plant matter. Willow trees around the lakebed helped keep it anchored as the Aztecs had been able to create a somewhat floating garden. Lastly, the Aztecs were able to develop a sort of medicine. They practiced advanced medicine due to how well they understood the human body. The aztecs used antispasmodic medication, which prevents muscle spasms and relaxes them. They also used the Passion flower as a herbal remedy for insomnia, epilepsy, and high blood pressure. |