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How Did The Aztec Use Math

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The Aztec were a group of indigenous people that ruled over large parts of what is now known as central and southern Mexico form the late 15th to the early 16th century. They were one of the most mathematically advanced Mesoamerican groups of their time and had some of the most complicated mathematical writings of any other pre-Columbian people. Many historians and mathematicians have put forth vast amounts of effort into studying Aztec mathematics and how they came to be. Math was a big part of daily Aztec life as education was something that was of great value to the Aztec. The Aztec used math when studying the night sky, planing out crop fields, keeping military records, and even created their own elaborate calendar system. …show more content…

They were fascinated by the movement of celestial body's and the gods associated with them. Although most of the information associated with Aztec astronomy has been lost we still have enough to view some of the captivating astronomical discoveries made by their civilization. One of these discoveries being a complex system in which they calculated that the cycle of Venus in relevance to the sun is 584 days (19 months). The Aztec were also able to mathematically calculate the eclipse season despite not knowing the shape or size of the earth. This meant they knew when an eclipse would occur however, they were not able to determine if it would be a full or partial eclipse. Not only did the Aztec calculate the cycle of Venus and the eclipse season they also created a number system in which they kept track of natural disasters. We can view this in the very detailed and well organized documents they left behind. The Aztec were the only early Americans to leave behind technical …show more content…

They became a dominant and powerful force throughout many parts of Mexico and around the 11th century AD. flourished as a civilization. They soon became one of the strongest military groups of their time taking over about 500 small states, and around 5 to 6 million people. The Aztec lead several other groups often times taking grand taxes and people as sacrifices to the gods. In order to keep track of their achievements the Aztec created a mathematical system involving symbols very similar to the one used to find the area and perimeter of their agricultural fields. Symbols stood for numbers for example a diamond symbol represented 10, a flag 20, feathers representing hundreds, and a bag of cacao beans representing

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Over a thousand years ago in the Mesoamerica region the culture that we know as Maya thrived. They had an amazement and intrigued fascination over the technical mastery of their intellectual studies. The Mayan’s history is rich with remarkable human achievements, as well as stories. Some of their most recognizable masterpieces are the Mayan trade network, building Cities, the Mayan number system, and the Mayan calendar.

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According to Document E: The Mayan Number System, the Mayans created the mathematics that people use today. This is showing how Mayans are very intelligent. They not only created a language, but they created a math system that people use 4,000 years in the future. Secondly, according to Document F: The Mayan Calendar, the

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The Aztecs created new technology to help lower the amount of physical labor in their empire. " [Aztecs] were also busy developing a remarkable agricultural system called chinampas. Because of their strong military and agricultural success, Aztec leaders were able to rule some ten million people"(Aztec Intro Article). The Aztec people changed their way of living through their jobs in the fields. They worked everyday to maintain crops that grew "as far as the eye can see".

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The Aztecs were one of the most famous and successful early civilizations of the Americas that we know of, who ruled an empire in the modern day country of Mexico from 1350 to 1519. From their capital city of Tenochtitlan, now known as Mexico City, to their daily routines, the Aztecs had many achievements that they deserve recognition for. Two very important components in the history of the Aztecs are agriculture and human sacrifice. Although they both play huge roles in Aztec culture, historians should emphasize on their methods of farming. The reasons why historians should center their focus on the Aztecs' agricultural techniques are they affected the growth of their empire, were used on a huge scale, and were very unique in comparison to other

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Aztecs had a wide majority of power over Southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Yucatan. Spanish arrived in Mexico in 1519, and wanted to take advantage of the massive amount of silver, the mines produced in the Aztec’s land. In South America, ingitis labor was cheaper, so it was beneficial to the Spanish to use these people to work in the mines to earn them high valued items that they can take back to the Old

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The Aztecs also had a very sophisticated calendar that they measured time with. Their calendar had many connections between their Gods and humans. The Aztecs had two calendars a sacred

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History should say that the Aztecs were politically and technologically advanced. The documents A, B, C, D, F, I, J, K, L, M, N, and O are used. These documents can are into two groups: technology and politics. Documents B, D, F, and K, have ideas in which it includes technology to make agriculture more efficient to simply counting the days on a calendar. In the politics group, it also contains a subgroup with military and beliefs.

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The Aztecs always engaged in warfare to gain territory, and political domain. According to Feder, in The Past In Perspective, the Emperor didn’t force one religion, so the citizens were free to whatever they believed in and continued their practices. They only had to pay tribute to the Emperor

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The Aztec people dominated the 14th through 16th century Mesoamerica. They are one of the most noted cultures recognized in history books today and they deserve as much recognition for their accomplishments and errors as much as any other civilization because their works were much the same. Their religious practices were similar to that of the ancient civilizations throughout the entire world. The magnificent capital, Tenochtitlan, displays accomplishments other cities had achieved thousands of years before the Aztecs marched through what is now Mexico. Even the fall of their empire was like that of the far away Celtic civilization and countless others.

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While many may be aware of the Aztec civilization, their accomplishments can often be overshadowed by the time period when they were conquered by Spanish explorers, such as Hernan Cortez. However, the Aztecs were a prospering society before their downfall to the Spaniards. The Aztec’s demise is not the only characteristic to remember about one of the most commonly recognized civilizations of the fifteen hundreds. As an ancient Mesoamerican civilization displaced by powerful explorers, the Aztecs can still be seen as an organized society driven by their spirituality and traditions. The Aztecs used an organized system of chinampas and documents surveying what conquered peoples owed them, ensuring that they would be productive on a daily basis.

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The Aztecs engaged in various items that were very unique and different from the rest of society. The Aztecs had an incredibly complex social structure system. They also believed strongly in education, family and the arts. Documents G, I and H focus directly on the horrifying human sacrifice rituals of the Aztecs.

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Even if the Mayans also made temples, it was more extraordinary to see how the Aztecs had absolutely nothing but were able to work with what they had. At the same time, the Aztec had an advanced system for writing and keeping records. The Aztecs used hieroglyphics just like Egyptians, but there 's were a little different. Aztecs writing, “...had three primary functions, namely to mark calendrical dates, to record accounting mathematical calculations, and to write names of people and places”(Lawrence Lo, 2012). This was different than everybody else 's writing because they didn 't have an actual alphabet.

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Finally, Math's and science are also one of the achievements the Maya's accomplished. The importance of science and calendar calculations in Mayan society required mathematics and the Maya constructed quite early a very advanced number system. The Maya produced a vast array of structures, and have left an extensive architectural legacy. " Based on its architectural remains, Maya civilization ranks as in of the great preindustrial cultures of the world. "(Document

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The Aztecs have a very known reputation for their sacrificial practices. They are known to be cruel and terrifying, but looking past all of their human sacrifices, they had a great civilization, in fact, their human sacrifices were very spiritual and religious. Also, the Aztecs were the only civilization that not only provided free education to all, but required all to attend school. Along with that, they also had a very innovative agricultural system.

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History: Aztec Life and Culture The Aztec civilization is one of the most spectacular examples of culture and art found in world history. The Aztecs were a group of American Indians speaking Nahuatl who arrived on the North American continent from the arid cactus lands of Northwest. They settled in Mexico for centuries where they were initially enslaved by the other Nahua tribes before emerging as a powerful tribe. The history of the Central Valley of Mexico after tenth century A.D. is dominated by a long tradition of tribal conflicts that led to the fall of several civilizations, replaced by subsequent Nahua tribes.

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