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Mexicas

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Los Mexicas | Historia del arte en México | Edgar Antonio |

Los Mexicas

Los mexicas/aztecas fueron los nativos americanos que dominaban el norte de México en la época de la conquista española encabezada por Hernán Cortés en el siglo 16. De acuerdo con sus propias leyendas, se originó a partir de un lugar llamado Aztlán, en algún lugar al norte o noroeste de México. En ese momento los aztecas (que se refirió a sí mismos como los mexicas tenochcas o) eran un pequeño nómada, de habla náhuatl agregación de los pueblos tribales que viven en los márgenes de Mesoamérica civilizado. En algún momento del siglo 12 se embarcaron en un periodo de vagabundeo y en el siglo 13 se establecieron en la cuenca central de México. Continuamente desplazado por las pequeñas ciudades-estado que luchaban entre sí en alianzas cambiantes, los aztecas finalmente encontraron refugio en pequeñas islas en el lago de Texcoco, donde, en 1325, fundaron la ciudad de Tenochtitlan (hoy Ciudad de México). El término azteca, originalmente asociada con los migrantes mexica, es hoy un término colectivo, aplicado a todos los pueblos unidos por el comercio, las costumbres, la religión y el idioma que estos fundadores.
El imperio azteca de 1519 fue el más poderoso de Mesoamérica reino de todos los tiempos. El multi-étnica, multi-lingual reino se extendía por más de 80.000 kilómetros cuadrados a través de muchas partes de lo que hoy es el centro y sur de México. Este enorme imperio llegó desde el océano Pacífico hasta la costa del Golfo y del centro de México a la actual República de Guatemala. Quince millones de personas, que viven en treinta y ocho provincias y que residen en 489 comunidades, rindieron homenaje al emperador Moctezuma II en Tenochtitlán, la capital del gran imperio.

Los mexicas (se pronuncia "me-shee-ka") indios, el gobernante grupo étnico dominante en el imperio azteca desde su capital en Tenochtitlán en el Valle de México, tenía raíces muy oscuros y humildes que hicieron su ascenso al poder aún más notable . El Valle de México, que se convirtió en el corazón de la civilización azteca, es una gran cuenca internamente drenada, que está rodeado por montañas volcánicas, algunas de las cuales llegan a más de 3.000 metros de altitud.
Intrépidos guerreros y constructores pragmáticos, los aztecas crearon un imperio durante el siglo 15 que fue superado en tamaño en el continente americano sólo por la de los incas en el Perú. En los primeros textos y arqueología moderna siguen revelando, más allá de sus conquistas y muchas de sus prácticas religiosas, hubo muchos logros positivos.
La formación de una sociedad altamente estratificada y especializada y una administración imperial. La gran expansión de una red de comercio, así como un sistema de tributos. Su desarrollo y mantenimiento de una economía agrícola sofisticado, ajustada cuidadosamente a la tierra y el cultivo de una actitud intelectual y religiosa que sostenía la sociedad para ser una parte integral del cosmos. El ciclo anual de los ritos y ceremonias en las ciudades de Tenochtitlan y Texcoco vecino, y su arte simbólico y la arquitectura, dio expresión a un conocimiento antiguo de la interdependencia de la naturaleza y la humanidad.
La religión era muy importante en la vida azteca. Ellos adoraban cientos de dioses y diosas, cada uno de los cuales gobernaron una o más de las actividades humanas o aspectos de la naturaleza. La gente tenía muchos dioses agrícolas, ya que su cultura se basaba en gran medida en la agricultura, también se incluyen elementos naturales y ancestrales héroes.

La sociedad azteca estaba muy estructurado, basado en la agricultura, y guiado por una religión que dominaba todos los aspectos de la vida. Los aztecas adoraban a dioses que representaban las fuerzas naturales que son vitales para su economía agrícola. Todas las ciudades aztecas fueron dominados por gigantes pirámides de piedra coronadas por templos donde los sacrificios humanos consagrados a los dioses con el sustento humano que los sacerdotes creían que sus deidades sobrenaturales necesario.
Los aztecas siguen siendo los más extensamente documentada de todas las civilizaciones amerindias en el momento del contacto con los europeos en el siglo 16. Frailes españoles, soldados, y los historiadores y estudiosos de ascendencia indígena o mixta dejaron registros valiosos de todos los aspectos de la vida. Estas fuentes etnohistóricas, vinculados a las modernas investigaciones arqueológicas y estudios de los etnólogos, lingüistas, historiadores e historiadores del arte, retratar la formación y florecimiento de un complejo estado imperial.
El imperio azteca podría haber seguido creciendo si no la llegada de los europeos en 1519. En este momento estaba en su apogeo, extendiéndose desde el Pacífico hasta el Golfo de México, desde el centro de México hasta llegar a Guatemala y hora en día mucha gente en México pueden rastrear su ascendencia y de nuevo un poco de la cultura a la civilización azteca, incluyendo el idioma del imperio (náhuatl), que todavía se habla. Hoy en día, podremos ver una gran cantidad de reliquias de la cultura azteca allí, incluyendo la arquitectura de piedra elaborada, cerámica, joyería, pinturas y más. Los nombres de lugares, la religión - incluso formas de pensar que se veían en la civilización azteca siguen siendo una parte muy importante de la cultura México.

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