As in the case of the Mayas, a few Aztec codices survive. In addition, after the Spanish conquest, Mesoamerican peoples such as the Aztecs were quick to begin writing in Spanish and to transcribe their own languages into the Roman alphabet. As a result, sources written by native authors are much more common in Mesoamerica than in the Andes.

A. The Nature of the Universe

Like the Mayas, the Aztecs believed in multiple creations and destructions of the universe, but with important differences. Most notably, the Aztecs thought they were living in the fifth and final cycle of creation, the so-called Fifth Sun. At the end of this cycle everything would be swallowed by eternal darkness, and there would be no Sixth Sun. The ultimate destruction of the universe could not be prevented, but it could be delayed. The Aztecs saw the sun as a warrior who fought a daily battle across the sky against the forces of darkness. As long as the sun remained strong, he would prevail in combat and the universe would survive. The Aztecs believed they could keep the sun strong by nourishing him with a source of vital energy: human blood, preferably the vigorous blood of warriors captured in battle. To the Aztecs, unceasing warfare and human sacrifice were sacred duties upon which the preservation of the universe depended.

Befitting their central role as allies of the sun, the Aztecs thought they lived at the center of the universe. Their earth was divided into four quadrants, each with typical Mesoamerican color-direction symbolism, though the specific pairings of colors and directions were different from those of the Mayas. The four quarters met at the main temple (Templo Mayor) of Tenochtitlán, the Aztec capital. This temple was also the point where supernatural forces from the heavens and the underworld came together. The heavens were composed of 13 ascending levels. The sun, the moon, the planets, and the stars traveled through the lower levels. The upper levels were the homes of winds, storms, colors, and remote gods. The underworld contained 9 levels, all descending, unpleasant, and dangerous.

Charles and Josette Lenars/Corbis

The Templo Mayor (Great Temple) of the Aztecs formed the heart of the sacred precinct in their capital city, Tenochtitlán (now in Mexico City). Only the base remains of what was once a massive double pyramid, which represented the hill where Huitzilopochtli, the god of Aztec origin myth, was born. The Aztec Empire was the last pre-Columbian civilization in Mesoamerica. It lasted from AD 1427 to 1521, when the Spanish conquered the region.

B. Gods and Goddesses

The Aztecs, relative newcomers to central Mexico, joined their tribal deities with older Mesoamerican concepts of godhood, including color-direction symbolism and a complicated ceremonial calendar. The result was a pantheon of shifting and overlapping gods and goddesses—actually divine complexes that could take different forms in different ceremonial contexts. Some of these gods were ancient Mesoamerican deities related to fertility and agricultural production, such as the rain god Tlaloc. Others were personages with complicated origins, combinations of heroes and gods from the Mesoamerican historical and mythological pasts. Examples of these god-hero combinations included Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent) and Tezcatlipoca (Smoking Mirror), the creators of the fifth universe.

The patron and sponsor of the Aztec empire was Huitzilopochtli (Hummingbird on the Left). His origins were obscure, but he probably developed as a combination of hero and god before the Aztecs migrated into central Mexico. During the Aztecs' rise to imperial power he became identified with Tonatiuh, who was the warrior sun, and with the Blue Tezcatlipoca of the south (the young, strong sun of spring and summer). Through this blending, Huitzilopochtli emerged as the sun who defended the universe and had to be fed with human blood. The Templo Mayor, the main temple of Aztec state religion, was dedicated to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc.

C. Religious Leadership and Rituals

Aztec rulers, who claimed descent from Quetzalcoatl, were deified during their coronation ceremonies. The king was the most important living link between the earthly and supernatural realms, and he bore primary responsibility for maintaining the order of the universe. However, he rarely appeared before his subjects. Instead, priests presided over most ceremonies. The chief priests of the Templo Mayor presided over the hierarchy of priests. Potential priests, both male and female, were chosen as youths and underwent extensive training.

Most Aztec rituals involved blood sacrifice. Some ceremonies required only self-sacrifice, bloodletting like that practiced by the Mayas. At the other extreme, during the four-day dedication of the Templo Mayor in 1487, at least 10,000 captives were sacrificed. On the whole, Aztec religion increased the scale of human sacrifice far beyond anything previously known in Mesoamerica.

D. The Destination of Souls

Except for the kings, who were gods, the ultimate destiny of most Aztecs depended on the manner of their deaths, not on their positions in life. Sacrificial victims and warriors who were killed in battle joined the attendants of the sun in his daily battle across the sky. After four years they were reborn as hummingbirds or butterflies. Women who died in childbirth—producing the next generation of warriors—also joined the sun for four years but then became frightening spirits who roamed the world at night. The souls of most dead Aztecs were thought to enter the underworld and start on a difficult downward journey. After four years they reached the lowest level, known as the Place of the Dead. There they dwelled in eternal darkness, emptiness, and oblivion.

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