Aztec architecture: Difference between revisions
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The Aztecs designed their buildings to be functional for everyday life as well as religious practices. The architectural style of the Aztecs reflected relationships with a higher power. In Tenochtitlan, the layout of the city represented the birth of [[Huītzilōpōchtli|Huitzilopochtli,]]<ref>{{Cite thesis|title=Towards an understanding of Aztec architecture and urban planning|url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0228255|publisher=University of British Columbia|date=2016|first=García Ocampo|last=Rivera}}</ref> the Aztec god of the sun and war.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Boone |first1=Elizabeth |title=Incarnations of the Aztec Supernatural: The Image of Huitzilopochtli in Mexico and Europe |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1006524?seq=5 |website=JSTOR |publisher=Transactions of the American Philosophical Society |access-date=6 March 2023}}</ref> |
The Aztecs designed their buildings to be functional for everyday life as well as religious practices. The architectural style of the Aztecs reflected relationships with a higher power. In Tenochtitlan, the layout of the city represented the birth of [[Huītzilōpōchtli|Huitzilopochtli,]]<ref>{{Cite thesis|title=Towards an understanding of Aztec architecture and urban planning|url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0228255|publisher=University of British Columbia|date=2016|first=García Ocampo|last=Rivera}}</ref> the Aztec god of the sun and war.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Boone |first1=Elizabeth |title=Incarnations of the Aztec Supernatural: The Image of Huitzilopochtli in Mexico and Europe |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1006524?seq=5 |website=JSTOR |publisher=Transactions of the American Philosophical Society |access-date=6 March 2023}}</ref> |
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The [[teocalli]], or pyramid-temples, were significant to Aztec religious practices. They were the sites of religious celebrations and rituals.<ref name=":0" /> The temples represented ascension. There were multiple torn levels, which each correlated with different classes. The Aztecs believed that ascension was the |
The [[teocalli]], or pyramid-temples, were significant to Aztec religious practices. They were the sites of religious celebrations and rituals.<ref name=":0" /> The temples represented ascension. There were multiple torn levels, which each correlated with different classes. The Aztecs believed that ascension was the process of preparing oneself to please the gods. At the top was the main temple where sacrifices took place, since that was considered to be closest to the gods. |
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Aztec households were simple and uniform to the rest of the civilization. The Aztecs did not want a mismatched society. This could displease the gods in the eyes of the Aztecs.{{fact|date=January 2020}} Houses could be one to two stories tall.<ref name=":2" /> |
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=== Separation of classes === |
=== Separation of classes === |
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Aztec culture had class stratification. The highest social rank was that of the priesthood, which permitted access to the temples and more exclusive quarters. Members of the priesthood lived near the temples while people of lower classes lived increasingly further away according to their status. The sizes of domestic structures reflected differences in wealth, power, and status.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Smith|first1=Michael E.|last2=Heath-Smith|first2=Cynthia|last3=Montiel|first3=Lisa|date=1999|title=Excavations of Aztec Urban Houses at Yautepec, Mexico|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/972199|journal=Latin American Antiquity|volume=10|issue=2|pages=133–150|doi=10.2307/972199|jstor=972199|s2cid=163928344 |issn=1045-6635}}</ref> |
Aztec culture had class stratification. The highest social rank was that of the priesthood, which permitted access to the temples and more exclusive quarters. Members of the priesthood lived near the temples in the central areas of the city, while people of lower classes lived increasingly further away according to their status. The sizes of domestic structures reflected differences in wealth, power, and status.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Smith|first1=Michael E.|last2=Heath-Smith|first2=Cynthia|last3=Montiel|first3=Lisa|date=1999|title=Excavations of Aztec Urban Houses at Yautepec, Mexico|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/972199|journal=Latin American Antiquity|volume=10|issue=2|pages=133–150|doi=10.2307/972199|jstor=972199|s2cid=163928344 |issn=1045-6635}}</ref> |
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== References == |
== References == |
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Revision as of 16:29, 7 March 2023
Aztec architecture is a late form of Mesoamerican architecture developed by the Aztec civilization. Much of what is known about this style of architecture comes from the structures that are still standing. These structures have survived for several centuries because of the strong materials used and the skill of the builders.[1]
Influences
Aztec architecture reflects the migration of the Aztec culture across present-day Mexico.[2] The style of early Aztec pyramids was influenced by those of Classic and other Postclassic Mesoamerican societies.[2] Aztec architecture subsequently influenced later Mesoamerican styles.[3]
The ancient Aztecs focused on cosmology, astronomy, and religion as their main sources of inspiration. Aztec religious beliefs are reflected in the designs of the religious structures as well as domestic structures.[2]
History
Some of the most well-known architecture of the Aztec Empire was located in the capital city Tenochtitlan, which was destroyed after the Spanish conquest in the 16th century.[2] Materials taken from the city were then used in the construction of Mexico City.[2] Because of the construction of Mexico City, not much archaeological evidence remains at important Aztec sites such as the Aztec Temple Square.[4]
Aztec architectural sites include Malinalco, Tenayuca, conquered by the Aztec circa 1434. This site is the earliest known example of the typical Aztec double pyramid -- joined pyramidal bases supporting two temples -- and the Templo Mayor, the biggest building in the Aztec city Tenochtitlan.
Style
Aztec architecture is characterized by symmetry and elements like geometric designs and sweeping lines.[2]
There are also many symbolic elements inherent in Aztec architecture, including the four cardinal directions, which each represents a deity, color, and symbol.[2] Animal symbols were also utilized in the architectural style of the Aztecs: eagles represent the sun and warriors, serpents represented water or fire, and conch shells symbolized fertility.[5] The temples themselves represented mountains, Aztec symbols for water and fertility.[2] The architecture, particularly the sculptures on and in the temples, were symbolically painted.[6]
Types of structures
The structures in the city of Tenochtitlan included temples, palaces, and platforms.[7] The temples were terraced pyramids with steep stairs leading up to the main temple. Domestic structures reflected the social and financial status of inhabitants.[8] Elites lived in palaces, which were called tecpans.[9] Houses were uniform throughout most of the empire, only varying in size and ornamentation.
The Aztecs built causeways and chinampas in Tenochtitlan due to its location in the Mexico City basin.[7]
Building techniques
The Aztecs had advanced knowledge of building techniques, and they knew how to adapt their techniques to the local geology and terrain of an area, particularly the soft soil. The builders traditionally constructed stone bases for the temples. J. A. Joyce writes that "[t]he physical geography of Central America was favorable to the rise of the art of building in stone."[10]
The Aztecs were also known to use gravity to create a running water system, bringing fresh water to the city grid. They also employed terracing to enhance agricultural productivity.[11]
Instead of demolishing old temples and building a new one at the same site, the Aztecs sometimes built over the existing structures, which resulted in larger and more detailed pyramids.[2] Some temples have been found to have at least four or five layers.
Relationship with Aztec culture
The Aztecs designed their buildings to be functional for everyday life as well as religious practices. The architectural style of the Aztecs reflected relationships with a higher power. In Tenochtitlan, the layout of the city represented the birth of Huitzilopochtli,[12] the Aztec god of the sun and war.[13]
The teocalli, or pyramid-temples, were significant to Aztec religious practices. They were the sites of religious celebrations and rituals.[2] The temples represented ascension. There were multiple torn levels, which each correlated with different classes. The Aztecs believed that ascension was the process of preparing oneself to please the gods. At the top was the main temple where sacrifices took place, since that was considered to be closest to the gods.
Aztec households were simple and uniform to the rest of the civilization. The Aztecs did not want a mismatched society. This could displease the gods in the eyes of the Aztecs.[citation needed] Houses could be one to two stories tall.[10]
Separation of classes
Aztec culture had class stratification. The highest social rank was that of the priesthood, which permitted access to the temples and more exclusive quarters. Members of the priesthood lived near the temples in the central areas of the city, while people of lower classes lived increasingly further away according to their status. The sizes of domestic structures reflected differences in wealth, power, and status.[14]
References
- ^ Correspondence in Hobart, Okla N. "AZTEC ARCHITECTURE." The Construction News (1897-1916), vol. 21, no. 12, 1906, pp. 220, American Periodicals
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Aguilar-Moreno, Manuel (2007). Handbook to Life in the Aztec World. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-533083-0.
- ^ Rice, Don Stephen (1993). Latin American Horizons: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 11th and 12th October 1986. Dumbarton Oaks. ISBN 978-0-88402-207-7.
- ^ Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture. Conference (2001). Reinventing the discourse : how digital tools help bridge and transform research, education and practice in architecture : proceedings of the twenty first annual conference of the Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture, October 11-14, 2001, Buffalo, New York. Wassim Jabi, Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture. [Place of publication not identified]: Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture. ISBN 1-880250-10-1. OCLC 48456547.
- ^ "Aztec Architecture". Legends & Chronicles. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
- ^ Boone, Elizabeth Hill (1985). Painted Architecture and Polychrome Monumental Sculpture in Mesoamerica: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 10th to 11th October, 1981. Dumbarton Oaks. ISBN 978-0-88402-142-1.
- ^ a b Herzog, Lawrence A. (2001). From Aztec to High Tech: Architecture and Landscape Across the Mexico-United States Border. JHU Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-6643-2.
- ^ Olson, Jan Marie; Smith, Michael E. (2016). "Material Expressions of Wealth and Social Class at Aztec-Period Sites in Morelos, Mexico". Ancient Mesoamerica. 27 (1): 133–147. doi:10.1017/S0956536115000334. ISSN 0956-5361.
- ^ Palaces of the ancient new world : a symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 10th and 11th October 1998. Susan Toby Evans, Joanne Pillsbury, Dumbarton Oaks. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. 2004. ISBN 0-88402-300-1. OCLC 57392889.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ a b Joyce, J. A. (1911). "Some Features of Mexican Architecture". The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs. 19 (99): 154–163. ISSN 0951-0788. JSTOR 858506.
- ^ Arco, Lee J.; Abrams, Elliot M. (Dec 2006). "An essay on energetics: the construction of the Aztec chinampa system". Antiquity. 80 (310): 906–918. doi:10.1017/S0003598X00094503. ISSN 1745-1744. S2CID 162934575. ProQuest 217578329.
- ^ Rivera, García Ocampo (2016). Towards an understanding of Aztec architecture and urban planning (Thesis). University of British Columbia.
- ^ Boone, Elizabeth. "Incarnations of the Aztec Supernatural: The Image of Huitzilopochtli in Mexico and Europe". JSTOR. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
- ^ Smith, Michael E.; Heath-Smith, Cynthia; Montiel, Lisa (1999). "Excavations of Aztec Urban Houses at Yautepec, Mexico". Latin American Antiquity. 10 (2): 133–150. doi:10.2307/972199. ISSN 1045-6635. JSTOR 972199. S2CID 163928344.
Further reading
- Bernal, I; Coe, M; et al. (1973). The Iconography of Middle American sculpture. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
External links
