Mhm.
Yeah
Right.
The most influential of the theocratic societies developed in the valley
of Mexico About 25 miles northeast of what is now Mexico. It's customs
institutions, art its glory and achievements influenced every society that
followed just as the roman empire influenced european societies for
centuries.
Its center was at Teotihuacan. The house of the gods. Teotihuacan was a
ceremonial center. Only the priests, nobility and people directly
concerned with the maintenance of the city lived there. Most
archaeologists believe that the common people lived in surrounding
villages.
It was a good location in which to settle because unlike much of the rest
of Mexico the soil of the valley of Mexico was rich. There usually was
enough rain to water the crops.
At least 20 centuries have passed since Teotihuacan was settled. But the
valley of Mexico is still the Heartland of Mexican society. The population
center of the nation,
we know very little about Teotihuacan. The oldest dated remains are about
2000 years old. But some of the temples are probably older. Teotihuacan
may have been the largest settlement in Middle America.
We know that it covered an area of 700 acres before 350 a. D. And that it
grew to 2000 acres by 6:50 a. D. About the size of san Francisco. The city
was destroyed probably by fire, which burned the wooden columns and
interiors and abandoned forever. About 880,
our knowledge of Teotihuacan is based on the ruined temples and art that
survived many of its traditions are thought to have been continued by
later peoples.
There's was a truly advanced civilization. The people were great
architects, carpenters, mechanics and engineers. Their city was one of the
first in the world to the planned, with broad streets and thoroughfares
aligned almost perfectly And zoning two separate living quarters from
civic and religious buildings. Their achievements are all the more
remarkable because they were accomplished without the use of metal tools.
We also know that the social system of Teotihuacan was totally controlled
by the religious leaders. The very best artistic work was applied to the
temples and in effect the priests harness the labor of virtually the
entire population for the fantastic religious constructions.
The massive pyramid of the Sun is one of the greatest engineering
achievements of the ancient world. It's 700 ft at the base and 200 ft high.
It's terrorist with variation in slope to give the impression of
limitless mass walking up the steps, one has the feeling he will reach the
stars or the sun at the top.
There were many other temples at Teotihuacan and unfinished remains. Tell
us that the building was never truly finished. The major temples were
rebuilt several times
like its architecture. The art of Teotihuacan was distinctive early in the
city's history. The people shaped little figurines and incised pottery
from clay and used hard stone tools to carve crude idols out of stone
during the first great building period. A Teotihuacan art style developed
a style that lasted for hundreds of years.
The people fashioned a lustrous pottery of black and brown vases of red
and yellow household utensils that today are considered the highest
expression of art.
Ultimately, the quality of the art deteriorated, mirroring the decline of
Teotihuacan society, there is evidence of the decline also in religious
ritual. The ceremonies had become more important than the gods themselves.
Why did Teotihuacan fall? We are not sure of the answer,
but one answer may be that the social structure of Teotihuacan broke down
, that there were divisions within the society which ultimately ended in
revolt. Perhaps it was caused by a religious reformation. For the
rebuilding of the temples is some evidence of extreme changes in religion
and the change in religious attitudes was accompanied by the first
evidence of human sacrifice. We can speculate that new gods were demanding
offerings more valuable than corn or figurines. Or perhaps in a period of
great misfortune people were anxious to appease the angry gods and they
came to offer man's most valuable possession. Life itself,
we must remember that human sacrifice is not the invention of Teotihuacan
at some stage in its development. Every society on earth has practiced
human sacrifice. The rhythm of birth and death and rebirth seen in nature
and in the existence of man himself has prompted societies to copy the
process by sacrificing humans. The people of Teotihuacan were not
different from the ancient Greeks or gauls or Germans in this respect.
Another explanation for the fall of Teotihuacan is that pressures of the
growing population led to famine. Perhaps the rains failed and drought
destroyed the crops. The society simply was not able to feed itself. Mass
graves of Children found at Teotihuacan support the theory that people
were starving.
Another factor is that new people with new ideas began to appear around 7
50 A. D. Perhaps they overran Teotihuacan or perhaps they're new ideas
contributed to the dissension within the state.
At any rate, Teotihuacan was destroyed and abandoned but the people did
not disappear. They continue to live in outlying villages. Some nearby
cities grew enormously and continue to exist for many years. The
Teotihuacan culture and with it the principle of theocratic society was
officially dead, but its traditions were to affect all the succeeding
societies of Mexico.
The new peoples in the valley of Mexico introduced a new era in Mexican
history. The militaristic period. The militaristic societies were
characterized by warfare and intensive agriculture. The fall of a dominant
society is always followed by a period of trouble, even chaos, as in
europe. After the fall of Rome
in Mexico war became a way of life. The military role took precedence over
religious functions. The militarists fought wars to defend themselves.
Wars of revenge, but mostly the wars were motivated by economic factors
for defeated tribes had to pay tribute to their conquerors.
The toll. Tex or master builders were responsible for the formation of the
first great militaristic states in middle America. The center of their
empire was at tula which began to grow up before the fall of Teotihuacan
and which borrowed much of the knowledge and culture of the theocratic
societies.
One of the legends of Tula were significant in the future of Mexico. It
was about a great and good king who was devoted to peace. He took the name
of Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god. He had a quarrel with scotty
poca. The warrior god Kessel Kuwata lost and was forced into exile.
Eventually Kessel coital went out to sea and rose into the sky. But before
he left, he told the priests he would return, he gave the exact year And
that year was the equivalent of 1519 on our European calendar,
Kessel Cottle was reputed to be fair skinned and bearded. Remember this
legend in the year 1519
and remember that religion was still the most important element in the
lives of the indians for this legend and the devotion to religion were to
play a great role in the future of Mexico.
Let's look at the city of Tula. They're the militarists divided authority
between a religious ruler and a civil ruler. The religious ruler was
responsible for the spiritual and material well being of the people. The
civil ruler directed the society and was in charge of military matters.
The tall Tex expanded their holdings until their empire included many
diverse groups. Peoples with different cultures, different languages,
prosperity ultimately destroyed Tula. It's once warlike people settled
down to an ordered peaceful existence and Tula was destroyed by the end of
the 13th century, we think that perhaps it was overrun by barbarians
supposedly from the north called chicken necks. Just as much of settled
europe was once overrun by barbarians. At any rate, the destruction of
Tula was followed by a period of chaos, of political disorganization.
In the period after the fall of tula, wandering warrior bands calling
themselves told Tex because it was a proud name, established city states
throughout the valley and each competed with the others.
It was a period when the religion of Mexico took on new aspects, aspects
we usually find when people have just emerged from disorder and chaos into
what they believe will be only a short interlude of peace, the people
began to worship the sun, the moon, the stars as their chief gods above
Pollock, the rain god. There's was a fatalistic religion. They believed
that the world was balanced on the edge of destruction and they lived in
fear of the end of the universe.
Remember we said earlier that every 52 years, the two counts of the
calendar coincided, creating a period of great supernatural crisis.
Well, during those five evil days, at the end of the last year of the 52
year cycle, the people let their fires die out and destroyed their
furniture. The temple fires were extinguished and the entire population
awaited catastrophe.
Then, when the new year began and they believe themselves safe. For
another 52 years, a new fire ceremony was held. The temple fires and then
the home fires were rekindled. Life began again.
But at any time the well being of the people depended upon the favor of
the gods. Man could assure himself of this favor by presenting offerings
to the gods. Man remembered only too well the chaos and death that
followed when he had neglected the gods.
We've talked about human sacrifice at Teotihuacan. But now in this period
of reawakening of his obligations to the gods, man began to give more and
more of his most precious gift. Life itself. The gods had not been
satisfied with gifts of food and the arts. At first, sacrificial victims
came from the community. But as the number of sacrifices increased victims
had to be found in other cities and states and wars were fought for the
purpose of capturing sacrificial victims. It was a vicious circle for the
more sacrifices that were made, the greater the demand of the gods and
thus the necessity for war was increased.
Now, out of the religious political social confusion following the
destruction of Tula was to grow. Perhaps the greatest civilization.
Certainly the greatest empire that Mexico had ever known. The Aztec
empire for through trade and war, the Aztecs eventually would dominate
most of the populated areas of middle America. Even today, most people
outside of Mexico think of the Aztecs as the only people of ancient Mexico.
These people began their role in Mexican history in an unpretentious
manner. They belong to one of the chicken mac tribes, the cola Merica.
Remember the chicken necks were the invaders from the north. Towards the
end of the 13th century, the Cold War America were to be found serving as
mercenaries in the armies of Tula and after the fall of Tula, they were
weak, constantly on the run, avoiding the warlike designs of stronger
tribes
until they found refuge on an island in Lake Texcoco. They're in about
1345, they founded their city Mexico Tenochtitlan, which later was to
become the site of present day Mexico city.
Aztec legend regarding the founding of Tenochtitlan tells us that in a
cave, the wandering tribe found their God Whittle approached lee, the
hummingbird wizard who could speak and gave good advice Witsel approach.
Li told them they were to settle where they found a bird sitting on a
cactus eating a serpent. The symbol also of modern Mexico. Thus the new
God led the Aztecs to Lake Texcoco.
In reality, they probably were driven to the lake by their enemies And
they found it 10ochtitlan in the shadow of another and more powerful city
paul to Loco for many years, the Aztecs lived almost as parasites of that
older city. But all the while they were gathering strength building their
powerful capital and eventually they were able to conquer cloud. To Loco
The emperor, it's coital ruled the Aztecs from 1428 to 1440 during his
reign. Great temples were built and causeways constructed to join
Tenochtitlan with the mainland
during its Cottle's rain. The triple alliance was formed. Tenochtitlan
became an ally of the two other leading city states. Texcoco and click
open. These three powers divided the Valley of Mexico between them.
But toward the end of the 15th century, the Aztecs were powerful enough to
subjugate their allies to defeat Clock Capon in battle and to install a
puppet ruler in Texcoco. By 1500, the Aztecs were a formidable military
state, dominating the whole of the Valley of Mexico.
And within a few years as tech control would be expanded throughout Mexico
Control, which was not challenged until the Spaniards arrived from across
the sea in 1519 control which was not only military but social as well.
For as the Aztecs state grew and its military power increased. A complex
social and political organization had developed an organization which
we'll discuss in the next lesson.
Yeah,
yeah.Mhm