WEBVTT

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almost. Oh best of you.

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These words, What

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now? Medicine was a part of religion
in Aztec, Mexico and the indian

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doctors were competent in their
profession. They were skilled at cleaning

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wounds, setting broken bones at
healing. The injuries of war, infection of

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a wound was rare. Whereas in 16th
century Europe it was a common

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occurrence.

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Medicine also played a role in curing
disease. Village medicine, women

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with a good knowledge of herbs and
ointments, cured animal bites and minor

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ailments. Many of these ancient
remedies made of herbs and ointments are

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the basis of modern antibiotics. The
Aztecs believed the disease was

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caused by evil spirits, herbs and
ointments were used to overcome these

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spirits. Similar beliefs were common
in Europe when the black plague

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killed thousands of people in the 14th
century. In Indian Mexico, one cure

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for disease was a sweat bath or
temescal similar to a finish sauna bath.

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The patient sweated in a stone room
and was beaten with bundles of herbs.

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After the appropriate prayers were
recited, the patient dashed out of the

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bath and jumped into a cold stream
which was supposed to wash away the

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illness. The cure was a ritual just as
elaborate ritual surrounded all

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aspects of religion. The greatest
ritual of all was human sacrifice, which

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we talked about briefly in our last
lesson to be sacrificed to the gods

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was a great honor for the sacrifice
victim was ensured a quick passage to

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paradise. Mm. The people believe that
sacrifices would gain favor of the

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gods, but more important, they believe
that in some mysterious way the God

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entered the body of the victim at the
moment of sacrifice, the victim in

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fact was reborn as the God. And so the
Aztecs sometimes practiced ritual

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cannibalism. They believed that by
eating of the flesh and drinking the

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blood of the sacrificial victim, they
could share the power of the God. Mm.

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There were other rituals that we know
less about than human sacrifice.

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There were ritual games. One called
plucked lee was a ball game played on

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a court shaped like the letter I Two
teams tried to pass a hard ball

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through a ring, never touching the
ball with their hands.

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We don't know what the significance of
the game was, but we assume that it

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was a religious one because the courts
were located near each of the major

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temples. The ritual games were an
example of giving one's best for the

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gods. Just as the olympic games of
ancient Greece were not for individual

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excellence, but as a mark of religious
devotion. There were other games,

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elaborate ritual was central to the
religion of the Aztecs and served to

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remind people constantly of their
obligations to the gods.

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Religion played an important part in
every phase of life from birth to

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death. Religion was the factor that
controlled the lifestyle of the

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indians of Mexico and the family life,
which was the basis of Mexican

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society was bound in every way to
religion.

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It began when a child was born, the
parents consulted a priest who knew

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the sacred calendar to see if the day
of birth with auspicious or not, to

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read the fate of the newborn child.

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If the day was a good one, a feast was
held four days later to celebrate

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the birth and name the child. But if
the day was not a good one, customs

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simply postponed the feast until a
more favorable period the child was

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named and the guests of the feast
sprinkled food and pulled an alcoholic

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beverage over a sacred fire. At this
time, the newborn child officially

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entered the family. The child's
education began at an early age. At that

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time, parents began to train their
Children for adult life. Fathers taught

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their sons, mothers, they're
daughters. Part of the child's education was

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a strict discipline to ensure that a
person's actions would always reflect

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honor on the family until a child was
eight years old. He was only

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admonished when he misbehaved, but the
harsh words of his parents taught

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him that misbehavior was a sin against
the gods and might result in

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disaster to the family. After the 8th
year, discipline took the form of

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severe painful punishment. The threat
of punishment was frightening and

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few Children misbehaved Children who
did were often sold into slavery by

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parents who feared that the actions of
the child would displease the gods.

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Girls were educated by their mothers
to prepare them for the day when

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they would start their own households
and families in the home, they

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learned the duties of housekeeping.
They learned the technique of grinding

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Corn two flour with the maturity and
mono. The ancient tools developed by

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their ancestors. But boys at age 15 or
16 went to special schools. One

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kind of school was called to tell push
or house of youth. It was

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maintained by the kalpoe and here the
boys learn citizenship, arts and

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crafts, religious observance, history,
the bearing of arms, not for the

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individual but for the glory of the
gods and the family. Yeah, if the boy

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came from a noble family, he was
trained to be a warrior, prepared for a

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military career When he was 20 years
old, he went into battle for the

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first time. Under the watchful eye of
an older soldier. If he captured a

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prisoner, he was considered brave and
was rewarded perhaps by the emperor

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himself. But if after several battles
he had failed to capture a prisoner

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, he was branded a coward. He had
failed to bring honor to the family and

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to serve the gods.

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The second kind of school was the
Kalma cock associated with the major

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temples. Boys were instructed in
priestly duties. Anyone could study to be

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a priest and the boys learned to read
and write to interpret the calendar.

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They learned to endure hunger, cold,
even self mutilation to show their

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dedication to the gods. When boys
finish their schooling at about the age

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of 20, they were considered adults and
ready for marriage. Girls were

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expected to be married at 16 and so
the young man searched for a wife with

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strength and the ability to spin,
weave and cook

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with the consent of the young people.
The parents employed matchmakers to

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arrange the marriage. Such a system
was common in many societies until

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recent years. Remember young people
were less interested in self assertion

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than in fulfilling the will of their
parents. A priest was consulted to

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determine if the fates of the young
man and woman were harmonious. If all

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went well. The wedding took place as
part of the ceremony. The clothing of

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the bride and groom were tied together
in a knot symbolizing the marriage

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and they became a family with all the
rights and obligations of citizens.

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Just as in many other societies where
frequent warfare decimated the male

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population. A man in Aztec, Mexico
could have more than one wife. But

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whereas even today in some Middle
Eastern countries, all the wives are

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equal in Aztec, Mexico, the first wife
took precedence and only her

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Children could inherit from their
father. Other wives received recognition

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only as members. 2nd class members of
the family

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as tech, women had definite rights,
although they were inferior in status

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to men. Women could own property and
they could enter into contracts and

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they could go to court to obtain
justice. In most of the world, women's

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rights are a development of the 20th
century and their existence among the

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Aztecs is indicative of the
sophistication of the legal system. The courts

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with lawyers, Judges, systems of
punishment reflected an advanced legal

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science, but crime and the necessity
for punishment was relatively rare.

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Religion was the chief deterrent
because criminal behavior was a sin

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against the gods. Serious crime as we
know, it was late to appear in

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Mexico, perhaps the result of contact
with european society. If a crime

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was committed, the court judged and
sentenced, the person involved

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imprisonment was rare. More frequently
the punishment was slavery. A

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common thief could serve as a slave of
the family he had stolen from until

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restitution was made or he could pay a
fine of double the amount stolen,

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one half of which went into the Kalpoe
treasury. But if the crime was

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stealing from the marketplace, the
thief might be killed on the spot in a

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land where crops were so hard to grow
corn, so precious. Such theft was a

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cardinal sin. A man found guilty of
murder received the death penalty, but

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his crime did not affect his life
after death. The religion of Mexico

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included a concept of an after world,
just as other religions do. But it

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attached no moral significance to a
heaven or a hell.

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The type of life a person had after
death depended upon the way he died,

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elaborate ceremonies assisted the
person into the world beyond the person

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who had been put to death for a crime
and the man who died a natural death.

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Both faced a long and dangerous
journey to the underworld of my clan. At

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the end of the journey, they were
assigned by the Lord of the Dead to one

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of 9 different regions. But if death
could be attributed to Talaq, the

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rain god, that is if a person drowned
or were struck by lightning, he was

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buried and his journey ended
immediately at the paradise of Talaq. His

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life after death was one of joy devoid
of all pain and suffering. Warriors

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and women who died in childbirth
received the greatest reward after death.

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They were cremated and transported
directly to the Paradise of the Sun.

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Archaeologists studying the grave
sites of pre hispanic peoples in Mexico

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tell us that elaborate ritual was part
of the funeral ceremony. The dead

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were often dressed with great
ornamentation.

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They were buried with containers of
food and other items to aid them in

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their journey to the after world.
Often they were buried with gifts to

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present to the Lord of the dead. And
so religion and accompanying ritual

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was a vital part of the Aztecs
existence from birth to death. His

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lifestyle was determined by his
religious beliefs.

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The lifestyle of the Aztecs was in
harmony with nature with the

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agricultural nature of Aztec society.
Agriculture, chiefly the growing of

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corn was the very basis of life in
indian Mexico and without rain without

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the favor of the gods man could not
survive. As in any agricultural

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society. There were no factories. The
articles needed for daily use were

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made at home. A fine style of arts and
crafts developed and has served to

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this day in many of the everyday
articles used in the home for an Aztec,

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Mexico. A man's wealth. His prosperity
was in his possessions rather than

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in money. A successful man had fine
things, his house, his furniture, his

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pottery were more than just useful
household articles. They were works of

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art and pottery making became the
greatest new world craft. The height of

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artistic expression among the indians
of the Americas. The pottery of the

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Aztecs was complex in form and design,
and it was produced without the

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advantage of the potter's wheel. For
the new world. Indians had not

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applied the principle of the wheel to
the tasks they had to do,

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feather working was probably the
greatest unique Aztec art. These

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craftsmen wove brilliant feathers into
mosaics and into ornate pieces of

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clothing. The feather cape of the
emperor Montezuma the second is only one

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example of the beautiful work. The
indian goldsmiths were unsurpassed in

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their ability to work with gold to
fashion ornaments out of the metal,

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they panned from the streams. When the
gold jewelry of Mexico 1st made its

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way to Europe. The Europeans were
amazed. They had never seen work to

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equal that of the indian Goldsmith.

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In the early years of the 16th
century, Tenochtitlan was a dynamic growing

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city. The Aztecs had not yet reached
the peak of their power, but they had

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evolved a social system which was
unequaled for its organization, a

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religious system which adequately met
the needs of the people, a military

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ability which virtually made them the
rulers of middle America, The

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powerful Aztec state was doomed from
far across the sea. Strange people

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were coming toward the Aztec land. It
began in 1492 when Christopher

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Columbus, under the auspices of the
Queen of Spain, discovered the islands

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of the Caribbean Sea, curious and
brave, often greedy. The strong spanish

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adventurers were not to be content
until most of the new world was theirs.

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The first step was the subjugation of
the Aztecs. And in our next lesson

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we'll talk about the spanish conquest
of Mexico, the final years of the

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Aztec empire.

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Give a others body

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loaded models.Poetess