Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Aztec Technology

After reading the section about the Aztecs, it seemed as though a large part of the history was left out. The textbook went on and on about rituals and day to day lives, but failed to mention the Aztec's technological advances. Here is are a few points about various Aztec advances:

Calender

The aztecs had two types of calenders, one for time and the other for religious ceremonies. One calender told when to plant and harvest crops and the other told when to consult the gods. The calender for time consisted of 18 months with 20 days and an extra 5 days at the end of each 18-month cycle, totaling 365 days. The 5 extra days were considered unlucky and were commonly thought of as the days in which disaster would strike. The religious calender contained 260 days and was kown as the tonalpohualli. The calenders run simultaneously and the days of each coincided once every 52 years. This gave the Aztecs the idea of a 52 year cycle, similar to the modern 100-year century.

Tools and Weapons

The Aztecs did not have access to iron or bronze, so they had to make due with what they had. So, may tools and weapons were made of obsidian, stone, or copper. Aztec specialty weapons included atlatls and macuahuitls. Atlats aided with spear throwing and macuahuitls were wooden clubs with sharp pieces of obsidian, used to injure, but not kill enemies. Aztecs also utilized bows and arrows.

Medicine

With all of the warring and sacrifice, Aztec doctors had lots of human bodies with which to practice their medicine. For their time, Aztec doctors were actually very intelligent. For fevers, doctors suggested steam baths to help people relax and sweat out all of the evil spirits that were inside of them. The doctors were also well aware of treatments for broken bones. Splints were almost always used to help stabilize area with broken or fractured bones. Doctors also had lots of advice for pregnant women, but most of it was purely religious and was not backed up through practice or science.

For more information about Aztec technology, look here or here.

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