AZTEC MOSAIC THE AZTEC EMPIRE DOMINATED MOST OFMESOAMERICA

AZTEC MOSAIC

• THE AZTEC EMPIRE DOMINATED MOST OFMESOAMERICA BETWEEN 1345 AND 1521 WHEN THE EMPIRE COLLAPSED. • NOT ONLY THE POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS CAPITAL, TENOCHTITLÁN WAS ALSO A HUGE TRADING CENTRE WITH GOODS FLOWING IN AND OUT SUCH AS GOLD, GREENSTONE, TURQUOISE, COTTON, CACAO BEANS, TOBACCO, POTTERY, TOOLS, WEAPONS, FOODSTUFFS (TORTILLAS, CHILE SAUCES, MAIZE, BEANS, AND EVEN INSECTS, FOR EXAMPLE) AND SLAVES

AZTEC ART WAS INFLUENCED BY RELIGION • MOST OF AZTEC ART HAD RELIGIOUS CONNOTATIONS, WHICH INCLUDED THEIR POLYTHEISTIC MYTHOLOGY. • WHAT IS POLYTHEISTIC?

• THE AZTEC PANTHEON INCLUDED A MIX OF OLDERMESOAMERIAN GODS AND SPECIFICALLY MEXICA DEITIES. THE TWO PRINCIPAL GODS WORSHIPPED WERE HUITZILOPOCHTLI (THE WAR AND SUN GOD) AND TLALOC (THE RAIN GOD) AND BOTH HAD A TEMPLE ON TOP OF THE TEMPLO MAYOR PYRAMID AT THE HEART OFTENOCHTITLAN. OTHER IMPORTANT GODS WERE QUETZALCOATL (THE FEATHERED SERPENT GOD COMMON TO MANY MESOAMERICAN CULTURES), TEZCATLIPOCA (SUPREME GOD AT TEXCOCO), XIPE TOTEC (GOD OF SPRING AND AGRICULTURE), XIUHTECUHTLI (GOD OF FIRE), XOCHIPILLI (GOD OF SUMMERTIME AND FLOWERS), OMETEOTL (THE CREATOR GOD), MICTLANTECUHTLI (GOD OF THE DEAD) AND COATLICUE (THE EARTH-MOTHER GODDESS).

AZTEC ART IS ALSO KNOWN FOR ITS MOSAIC • MOSAIC IS AN ARTFORM CONSISTING OF SMALL PIECES OF STONE, GLASS, TILE, ETC, ARRANGED CLOSELY TOGETHER TO FORM ONE UNIFIED PIECE.