
The Aztecs came to (present-day) Mexico somewhere around the 13th century, weak, because another tribe had enslaved them. When the Aztec got there, they started off with fishing (the valley rivers had a lot of fish), hunting (rabbits, snakes, armadillos, deer, pumas and coyotes), gathering, mostly plants (there were cocoa, vanilla, bananas, squash, pumpkin, beans, chili, tobacco, onions, red tomatoes, green tomatoes, sweet potatoes, jicama, huautli and maize) and gardening techniques.
The people did not have a written language, but spoke Nahuatl. They did, however, keep records of events by occasional hieroglyphic drawings.
A quite sad thing about this culture is that they were mostly known for their human sacrifices. Usually a slave would be the victim. The people wanted to please the god, and judging by what they did to their own kind, bad. Twenty to Fifty thousand people were sacrificed each year, which would be about 1% of the population. To get, sacrificed’ the victim climbed to the top of a pyramid wearing a mask and once they were at the top they were supposed to lie down and get their heart cut out. It was a special sacrifice, when warriors agreed to do it.
The Aztecs also put a big impact on farming, since that was probably their top way of getting food. Their main crop was corn, but they also grew a fair amount of beans, peppers, avocados, and tomatoes. Some also grew flowers, for the purpose of decoration.
Most of the art things the Aztecs made were sculptures, which mostly related to religion and were made of limestone. The women made clothes to decorate the sculptures that were also decorated with beads, flowers and generous metals, which included gold.
Gods in Maya Mythology:
Ah Kinchil is the sun god.Ah Puch is the god of death.
Ahau Chamahez was one of two gods of medicine.
Ahmakiq is a god of agriculture. He locks up the wind when it threatens to destroy the crops.
Akhushtal is the goddess of childbirth.
The bacabs are the canopic gods. They stand at the four corners of the world supporting the heavens.
Centeotl was the corn god. He was a son of Tlazolteotl and the husband of Xochiquetzal.
Chalchiuhtlicue was the goddess of running water. She was the sister of Tlaloc.
Chantico was the goddess of hearth fires and volcanoes.
Chicomecoatl was the goddess of corn and fertility.
Cihuacoatl was a goddess whose roaring signalled war.
Cit Bolon Tum was a god of medicine.
Ehecatl was the god of wind.
Ekahau is the god of travellers and merchants.
Huitzilopochtli was the son of Coatlicue and a god of war and the sun.
Huixtocihuatl is the goddess of salt.
Itzpapalotl is a goddess of agriculture.
Ix Chel is the goddess of the moon.
Ixtab is the goddess of the hanged. She receives their souls into paradise.
Ixtlilton was the god of healing, feasting and games.
Kan-u-Uayeyab was the god who guarded cities.
Kinich Kakmo is the sun god symbolised by the Macaw.
Kisin is the evil earthquake spirit. He lives beneath the earth in a purgatory where all souls except those of soldiers killed in battle and women who died in childbirth spend some time. Suicides are doomed to his realm for eternity.
Kukucan is the wind god.
Macuilxochitl was the god of music and dance.
Mayahuel was a goddess of maguey.
Metztli was the moon god.
Mictlan was the underworld. It was the home of all the dead except warriors and women who died in labour.
Mictlantecuhtli was the god of Mictlan and the dead.
Mitnal was the underworld hell where the wicked were tortured.
Nacon was the god of war.
Ometecuhtli was the god of duality.
Patecatl was the god of medicine.
Paynal was the messenger to Huitzilopochtli.
Quetzalcoati was the feathered serpant god.
Teoyaomqui is the god of dead warriors.
Tlaloc is the great rain and fertility god. He lived at Tlalocan with the corn goddesses.
Tlalocan was the paradise of Tlaloc. It was where the souls of those killed by lightning, dropsy, skin diseases and those sacrificed to Tlaloc went.
Tlazolteotl was the goddess of licentiousness.
Tonacatecuhtli was the creator and provider of food.
Tonatiuh was a sun-god, the eagle and heavenly warrior.
Xilonen was the goddess of young maize. She was a wife of Tezcatlipoca.
Xipe Totec was the god of seedtime.
Xochipilli was the god of feasting and young maize.
Yacatecuhtli was the god of merchant adventurers.
http://www.sneaker.net.au/docs/encyclo/D6.HTM