Post on 24-Jul-2020
The Aztecs: History Information Sheet
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What did the Aztecs believe?
The Aztecs believed in lots of different gods who controlled every aspect of their lives. The most important gods were Huitzilopochtli, the sun god, and Tlaloc, the rain god. The Aztecs believed that they had to keep these gods happy by performing different ceremonies, such as dancing, singing, praying and offering gifts.
The Aztecs believed that unless they kept the gods nourished with human blood, the world would end. This meant that every
morning, Aztecs would prick their ear lobes to offer two drops of blood. However, this was not enough. They also offered human sacrifices. This involved cutting out the person’s heart and giving it to the gods.
Did you know...?The Aztecs believed that four other worlds had previously existed but that they had all been destroyed. This fifth world could only be kept alive if the sun god was given enough human blood.
Men, women and children could all be a human
sacrifice. Sometimes, people who were captured in battle
were also used as a sacrifice. Giving your life to the gods was considered to
be a great honour and meant that you would go on to one of the four paradises
in the afterlife.
In the main city of Tenochtitlan, the sacrifices took place at the Templo Mayor (Great Temple). Here, a part of the sacrifice involved throwing the body
down the long steps. This is also where the skull rack was kept. The skull rack held 136,000 human
skulls that had been used in sacrifice.
Did you know...?The Templo Mayor had around 70 different buildings, a ball court for ritual games, the houses of warriors and priests as well as the shrines of the two most important gods, Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc.
Did you know...?The Aztecs believed in more than 200 different gods.
The remains of the skull altar in Tenochtitlan. These skulls are engraved in stone.
Model of Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan
The Aztecs: History Picture Cards
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The actual temple in Tenochtitlan was destroyed but it would have been very similar to these remains.
The Aztecs: History Picture Cards
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The remains of the skull altar from the Templo Mayor
‘Volador’, a ceremonial game
Aztec priests
Aztec gods, Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca
The Aztecs: History Picture Cards
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Tzitzimitl, an evil monster god
Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and of war
Statue of the goddess of maize
Stone disk of the moon goddess. This would have been at the bottom of the
temple steps for the blood of the human sacrifices to fall onto.
The Aztecs: History Picture Cards
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An Aztec mask used in religious ceremonies
An Aztec mask used in religious ceremonies
An Aztec mask used in religious ceremonies. This one is made from a
human skull.
Model of Templo M
ayor in Tenochtitlan
The Aztecs: History Deity Database
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Aztec Gods and Goddesses
Name Title Interesting facts
Quetzalcoatl God of knowledge and creation.
He created humans and is represented by a feathered serpent.
Huitzilopochtli God of sun and of war He needed human blood to survive and beat the forces of darkness.
Xipe Totec God of the seasons of growing things
He peeled his skin off to feed the world. To honour this god every spring, priests would flay (skin) a victim and then wear the skin for twenty days.
Tlaloc God of the rainHe was often shown as having fangs and a curled nose. Children were offered as a sacrifice to Tlaloc as children’s tears were needed to bring the rain.
Chantico Goddess of the hearth and home
She was turned into a dog by one of the other gods for eating paprika which was a banned food.
Mictlantecuhtl God of the dead Those who died of natural causes went to live with this god.
ChalchiuhtlicueGoddess of running water (streams, lakes and rivers)
and fertility
She was the sister of Tlaloc. New mothers often worshipped her in the hope that she would protect their children from being sacrifices to her brother.
Huehuecoyotl God of deceptionHe is a trickster who likes playing pranks on people, often nasty pranks. He is also the god of merriment and partying.
Citlalicue Goddess of the stars She is a creator goddess who created the stars.
Xochiquetzal Goddess of flowers and beauty
She is often shown surrounded by flowers and butterflies. She is patron of the artists.
Chantico Xochiquetzal Huitzilopochtli
TlalocXipe Totec
The Aztecs: History Question Cards
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Who were the two most important
gods to the Aztecs? What were they
the gods of?
How many gods did the Aztecs worship
(approximately)?
What did the Aztecs do every morning as an offering to the
gods?
The Aztecs were scared of the world
being destroyed. How many worlds
did the Aztecs believe had already
been destroyed?
What did the Aztecs believe
happened to the sun every evening?
Where was Templo Mayor and what
was it like?
Why did the Aztecs practise human sacrifice?
Who could be offered to the gods
as a human sacrifice?
What other ways of keeping the gods
happy did the Aztecs have?
Not all gods were ‘good’. Can you
name some gods who liked to cause mischief or pain?
What did Aztec priests look like
and what did they do?
Why did priests flay (peel the skin off) victims and
then wear the skin for 20 days?
Name: _____________________________ Date: ____________________
The Aztecs: History Acrostic Poem
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The Aztecs: History Acrostic Poem
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