1. Object # and Name : Totec (#22)
Aztec – SPECR information: Lords could dress with human skin
Religious: Priest imitated the flayed lord and used the slayed skins of human sacrifices in the festival for planting season.
Comparison: In the Maya classic, priests had privileges too like fancy jewelry, lots of variety of food and a life of accommodation however they did not ware other peoples skins, they did not sacrifice as much as the Aztecs.
2. Object # and Name : Cihuacoatl (#17)
Aztec – SPECR information: Religious: Goddess Cihuacoatl (woman serpent). Skeletal face, crown of human skulls and necklaces of hands with a skull pendant symbolized her destructive power and her ability to mediate with the dead. Cultural: The legend of this goddes is that she created the first people of the present age by combining ancestral bones with sacrificial blood and forming the substance into living beings
Comparison: The Classic Mayas also had a very famous feather serpent god named Kukulkan. Another similarity is that the people or gods that were superior to others were dressed with lots of jewelry and also believed that the skulls meant death. Both cultures placed lots of symbols in the sculptures of gods that represented their power.
3. Object # and Name : Eagle Vessel (#20)
Aztec – SPECR information: Cultural: Fundamental Aztec symbol, related to the noblest ideals of spiritual and political power. Religious and social: Used in ritual sacrifice: hearts were cremated in the birds back.
Comparison: The eagle was also a fundamental symbol in the Classic Maya because it represented a warrior. The Classic Mayas would of also used a similar object for sacrifices because they believed just like the Aztecs that the blood was sacred and it was the highest thing they could offer to their gods.
4. Object # and Name: Goblet with Mictlantecuhtli (#14)
Aztec – SPECR information: Social:Contained human ashes. It was made for burial. Religious: Lord of death who presided over Mictlan (desert underworld). To earn a place of permanent rest souls had to survive a series of challenges through nine lands.
Comparison: Just like the Aztecs, Classic Mayas viewed death as something really important because they believed in the underworld.
5. Object # and Name :Calendrical Wheel (#8)
Aztec – SPECR information: Social:Aztecs used the sun, moon and stars to calculate the correct time for harvesting, feasting, planting, trading and other things. Religious and Social: Believed that the serpent was a really powerful animal so they used it to illustrate the sequence of 52 years (century). Cultural: Uses a lot of symbols and animals like the rabbit, an arrow, a flint, and a temple.
Comparison: Both civilizations paid a lot of attention to the movement of the celestial bodies and because of that created accurate calendars that help them decide which times were the best to plant, harvest, trade and feast. Both calendars included lots of symbols too.
Aztec – SPECR information: Lords could dress with human skin
Religious: Priest imitated the flayed lord and used the slayed skins of human sacrifices in the festival for planting season.
Comparison: In the Maya classic, priests had privileges too like fancy jewelry, lots of variety of food and a life of accommodation however they did not ware other peoples skins, they did not sacrifice as much as the Aztecs.
2. Object # and Name : Cihuacoatl (#17)
Aztec – SPECR information: Religious: Goddess Cihuacoatl (woman serpent). Skeletal face, crown of human skulls and necklaces of hands with a skull pendant symbolized her destructive power and her ability to mediate with the dead. Cultural: The legend of this goddes is that she created the first people of the present age by combining ancestral bones with sacrificial blood and forming the substance into living beings
Comparison: The Classic Mayas also had a very famous feather serpent god named Kukulkan. Another similarity is that the people or gods that were superior to others were dressed with lots of jewelry and also believed that the skulls meant death. Both cultures placed lots of symbols in the sculptures of gods that represented their power.
3. Object # and Name : Eagle Vessel (#20)
Aztec – SPECR information: Cultural: Fundamental Aztec symbol, related to the noblest ideals of spiritual and political power. Religious and social: Used in ritual sacrifice: hearts were cremated in the birds back.
Comparison: The eagle was also a fundamental symbol in the Classic Maya because it represented a warrior. The Classic Mayas would of also used a similar object for sacrifices because they believed just like the Aztecs that the blood was sacred and it was the highest thing they could offer to their gods.
4. Object # and Name: Goblet with Mictlantecuhtli (#14)
Aztec – SPECR information: Social:Contained human ashes. It was made for burial. Religious: Lord of death who presided over Mictlan (desert underworld). To earn a place of permanent rest souls had to survive a series of challenges through nine lands.
Comparison: Just like the Aztecs, Classic Mayas viewed death as something really important because they believed in the underworld.
5. Object # and Name :Calendrical Wheel (#8)
Aztec – SPECR information: Social:Aztecs used the sun, moon and stars to calculate the correct time for harvesting, feasting, planting, trading and other things. Religious and Social: Believed that the serpent was a really powerful animal so they used it to illustrate the sequence of 52 years (century). Cultural: Uses a lot of symbols and animals like the rabbit, an arrow, a flint, and a temple.
Comparison: Both civilizations paid a lot of attention to the movement of the celestial bodies and because of that created accurate calendars that help them decide which times were the best to plant, harvest, trade and feast. Both calendars included lots of symbols too.