Assignment Module 5.2

 

Group 1 Members: Kyle Mitsunaga, Jessica Fontenot, Kayla Pollard, Karina Myles, and Jonathan Shoemaker

 

Question 1:

Both the Incas and the Aztecs not only built single structures for religious purposes but often had sacred areas or sacred sites.

 

The Incas and Aztecs had a lot of similarities in the way that they constructed their cities. From the way they broke them into quadrants, how the layout was done for religious purposes, their agricultural ingenuity, the great skill and remarkable craftsmanship that went into the construction of the great temples and pyramids and the way they incorporated astronomy and engineering.  When refurbishing the cities both used a grid like pattern when creating streets, they were at 90 degree angles (1). Both civilizations had religions that were strongly rooted in astronomy, the sun being a main component. The higher parts of the temples were also used as observation spaces (2).

Some differences are also apparent in the way they used their temples and pyramids: the design, where they were located and the way and materials that were used to build the structures.

The Incas broke their empire into four quadrants that connected at the Capital with a grand temple (3). All of the structures that they built were very complex and intricate, this shows that they took their time to plan for issues so that the structures would be solid and last a long time. Religious decorations and layouts were incorporated in most of the great buildings. Besides buildings they also built and maintained an intricate highway through the vast empire (4), devised intricate agricultural systems and built suspension rope bridges. Incorporated in the way they constructed their empire was astronomy, religion and engineering.  For the two equinoxes in March and September the Intihuatana stone lines directly up with the sun at noon creating no shadow.  During these times there were ceremonies at the rock where they would “tie the Sun” (5).

The Aztec’s laid their city out symmetrically and it was divided into four city sections, which were interlaced by canals (6). The city center was were they built the great pyramid.  They worked their way out from the center and after the pyramids came the temples and palaces and on the outside were the houses and agriculture. The pyramids, temples and palaces were all made of stone (7) and built with better craftsmanship so that they were more structurally sound. They were also extravagantly decorated with religious arts. In front of every temple is a plaza, this plaza was home to their religious arts.  At these sites it was common to slay enemies, see sacrifices, and watch performances while the nobility sat in a higher space (8).  Houses were built with wood and loam, with roofs made of reed (9). The structure and surrounding areas that they built were complex and intricate systems, which showed a lot of planning and thought to potential issues. Throughout their construction you can see that religion, astronomy and engineering are all incorporated (10).

 

Coricancha- Inca

 

 

Templo Mayor – Aztec

 

Question 2:

For the Aztec’s it’s interesting to see that they were culture that took serious pride about their religion and many aspects of daily life. For example the Aztec’s built Templo Mayor for two of the major gods in their belief (11). Aztec people practiced these beliefs with a large amounts of value anchored in them, now these values must have an origin. The origin is something rather unique and crazy to think could happen but a large portion of Aztec belief came from a mix of different cultures and some of their own (12).The main gods in Aztec belief where Ometecuhtli and his female counterpart Omecihuatl, Quetzalcoatl, Huitzilopochtli, Xipe totec, and Tláloc. The list of gods all stem from believing that human life and the survival of human life depended on the balance between the gods (13). This is why the building took place and why those built were so perfectly constructed.  

 

If we dive into the beliefs of the Inca’s we understand that they have this moral code, which states, “ama suwa, ama llulla, ama quella” (14). This was something that they lived by. Simply it means, “Do not steal, do not lie, and do not be lazy” (15). This code is apart of every Inca, it’s how they lived their lives they were hardworking and honest. This reflects in Machu Picchu “Old Peak” or “Old Mountain” (16), which is their entire city. This temple, or entire city is very thought out. This city is divided up into an upper and lower section. You would find the temples in the upper section and the warehouses in the lower (17).  Everything that the Inca’s did was through this city that they had. They were hardworking people and we see that through their irrigation system that irrigated their fields for their agriculture (18). This didn’t happen by accident, they were not lazy in building this city. They took great pride in how they lived and the values that they had and it is relevant in the Machu Picchu. The Inca’s were dedicated to the Sun God, within the city you can find the Temple of the Sun. Just another symbol of their beliefs and culture is reflected in their sacred structures. Getting back on the fact that the Incas were not lazy. “No wheels were used to transport heavy rocks for the construction of the city” (19). Not only was the construction of this site difficult, but the way they were able to harvest crops and maintain a working city on this mountain takes a lot of work and determination by all the Incas as one. As we see in the Machu Picchu the Inca’s were dedicated to their beliefs and their culture and it is shown in their sacred structure.

 

The Aztecs were very connected to their culture, gods, and the earth. They believed in many gods and worshiped them in sacred places. The also believed in the supernatural. The two structures that stood out to me were the Templo Mayor (The Great Temple) and the Aztec Calendar Stone (Sun Stone).

 

The Templo Mayor was the main temple located in the capital city of Tenochtitlan. According to tradition, the location of Templo Mayor is located on the exact spot where the god Huitzilopochtli gave the Mexica people a sign that they had reached the promised land (20). The main temple was dedicated to two gods: god of War Huitzilopochtli and god of rain and agriculture Tlaloc (21). The spire located in the center was dedicated to the wind god Quetzalcoatl (22). In an insert from the book Finger-Prints of the Gods, Graham Hancock talks about the location of the temple and what it meant for the Aztec people:

 

“What Harlestons investigations had shown was that a complex mathematical relationship appeared to exist among the principal structures lined up along the Street of the Dead (and indeed beyond it). This relationship suggested something extraordinary, namely that Teotihuacan might originally have been designed as a precise scale-model of the solar system”(23).

 

The various levels of the Temple also represent the cosmology of the Aztec world. (24) First of all, it is aligned with the cardinal directions with gates that connect to roads leading in these directions. (25) This indicates the place where the plane of the world that humans live in intersects the thirteen levels of the heavens, called Topan and the nine levels of the underworld, called Mictlan (26).

 

The temple was destroyed by Christians in the early 1500’s (27). I wonder if this was because the Aztecs worshiped many gods? As seen in the picture above, this is what it would have looked like when it was still standing. Today you can still visit the site and the museum dedicated to this once sacred structure.

 

The Aztec Calendar Stone, or Sun Stone, is probably the most famous work of Aztec sculpture (28). The stone is 11.75 ft in diameter and weighs 24 tons. In the center of the monolith is the face of the solar deity, Tonatiuh, which appears inside the glyph for “movement” (Nahuatl: ollin), the name of the current era (29). The central figure is shown holding a human heart in each of his clawed hands, and his tongue is represented by a stone sacrificial knife (Tecpatl) (30). The exact purpose and meaning of the Calendar Stone are unclear (31). Archaeologists and historians have proposed numerous theories, and it is likely that there are several aspects to its interpretation (32). The earliest interpretations of the stone relate to its use as a calendar (33). Some of the circles of glyphs are the glyphs for the days of the month (34). Another aspect of the stone is its religious significance (35). One theory is that the face at the center of the stone represents Tonatiuh, the Aztec deity of the sun (36). Modern archaeologists, such as those at the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City, believe it is more likely to have been used primarily as a ceremonial basin or ritual altar for gladiatorial sacrifices, than as an astrological or astronomical reference (37). Yet another characteristic of the stone is its possible geographic significance (38). The four points may relate to the four corners of the earth or the cardinal points (39). The inner circles may express space as well as time(40).

 

Endnotes

1. Sacred Sites https://sacredsites.com/americas/peru/machu_picchu.html  
2. Crystal Links http://www.crystalinks.com/aztecreligion.html
3. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inca_Empire
4. NOVA http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/lost-inca-empire.html
5. Sacred Sites https://sacredsites.com/americas/peru/machu_picchu.html
6. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec
7. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec
8. Crystal Links http://www.crystalinks.com/aztecreligion.html
9. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec
10. Legends and Chronicles http://www.legendsandchronicles.com/ancient-civilizations/the-ancient-aztecs/aztec-architecture/
11. King, Heidi. “Tenochtitlan: Templo Mayor | Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art.” The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. October 2004. Accessed February 13, 2016. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/teno_2/hd_teno_2.htm.
12.  “Aztec Gods – Who’s Who.” Aztec-History. Accessed February 13, 2016. http://www.aztec-history.com/aztec-gods.html.
13. “Aztec Gods – Who’s Who.” Aztec-History.
14. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inca_Empire
15. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inca_Empire
16. “Machu Picchu Facts.” Machu Picchu Facts.

http://www.machupicchu.org/machu_picchu_facts.htm

17. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machu_Picchu.
18. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machu_Picchu.
19. “Machu Picchu Facts.” Machu Picchu Facts. http://www.machupicchu.org/machu_picchu_facts.htm
20. Wikipedia contributors, “Templo Mayor,”  Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Templo_Mayor&oldid=703727184
21. Wikipedia contributors, “Templo Mayor,”
22. Wikipedia contributors, “Templo Mayor,”
23. Graham Hancock, Finger-Prints of the Gods (New York: Three Rivers Press, 1995), 167

24.Wikipedia contributors, “Templo Mayor,”

25.Wikipedia contributors, “Templo Mayor,”

26.Wikipedia contributors, “Templo Mayor,”

27.Wikipedia contributors, “Templo Mayor,”

28.Wikipedia contributors, “Aztec calendar stone,”  Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aztec_calendar_stone&oldid=704342920

29. Wikipedia contributors, “Aztec calendar stone,”  
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