Engineering an Empire - The Aztecs 3/5

[helloface001]

Click transcribe audio.. lol

[bieberlicious1436]

lol there naked tee hee

[Graham6762]

Think of how detailed this would be if those Friars didn't burn those scrolls. This is why you never burn a book. So much lost knowledge.

[jabbakaku]

still such sacrifices, but in other parts of the world

[HaNeul0805]

Sacrificing human to the gods is a nice way of controlling human population. LOL!!

[chronius9]

@HaNeul0805 Well if believe some historians it was way to get nutrients for semi-vegetarian society like aztecs(they had no or very little domesticated animals). Really I don't know if it is just speculation or real hypothesis.

[zillajratomicray]

1:52 LOL Modern day Swaziland's life expectancy is only 31 years. They got owned by an empire that existed around 300 years ago.

[housemusicc100]

one dislike? they were probably Spaniard

[VobisPacem]

@housemusicc100 no, it's pretty obvious. one person is an Aztec human sacrifice.

[TheLegendJKil]

exactly, which is why I question their motivations in those circumstances--standing between two paradigms--one that leads to commerce and trade, and another leads to a martial state, where sacrifice wasnt just symbolic of the appeasement of gods but it also demonstrated the Aztec superiority in an aggressive way. Progression, then, to the Aztecs, could be defined as the assimilation and integration of nearby societies through war or the war economy. Ultimately, aggression led to destruction.

[TheLegendJKil]

I find the Aztec people's ability to foster innovation in such hard circumstances. Agriculture, Monumental Architecture, Infrastructure (i.e. roads, aqueducts, causeways, etc.) They, like the Romans, built up their city from nothing and obtained vast tracts of land. I wonder what made them feel that human sacrifice was necessary. Other forms of sacrifice were prevalent in Mesoamerica at the time, so what caused them to decidedly become so different? I've visited Teotihuacan--magical place to be.

[TheLegendJKil]

@TheLegendJKil **I find their fostering innovation capabilities to be astounding**

[CSATexan]

@TheLegendJKil

It is my understanding that they believed in Human sacrifice before they built the city. Keep in mind that a society advances once a portion of the population can trade services for products.

[TheLegendJKil]

@CSATexan true, it makes sense. I just tend to wonder whether they would have been better off without human sacrifice, as it made them inferior in the eyes of their neighbors and caused a social stigma to be inexorably attached to their mention.

[CSATexan]

@TheLegendJKil

Oh yes they would have been much better off.

Trade is far better than force.

Granted the priest that was doing the sacrifice was highly educated, the temples where very well constructed and the system itself was very complex.

But what did it produce? The priest could have used his training to spread compassion

The temples could have been used as centers of learning, storage or just for roads.

The system could have been one of trade and commerce

[Elena92x]

I don't know why it bothers people so much that the Aztecs committed sacrifices. It was their way of life and it held an important significance to them. It's not like they were randomly killing people for the heck of it. They sacrificed people because they believed the world would end if they didn't. As for the whole "Where are the bones?", don't you people realize that not every single inch of what was Tenochtitlan has been excavated? And no, i'm not a "white historian" before you ask.

[CSATexan]

@Elena92x

Probably for the same reason that it bothers people that that the Nazis sacrificed people.

[Elena92x]

@CSATexan

The Nazis didn't think the sun would literally stop rising if they didn't kill enough Jews.

[CSATexan]

@Elena92x

The Nazis thought the Jews were going to destroy the German race if they didn't sacrifice them.

Then the Nazis sacrificed plenty of people Poles Russians gypsies. He'll even plenty of Germans.

[Elena92x]

@CSATexan

Yes but the Nazis were merely concerned with their own race. The Aztecs thought the world itself would end. There's a difference, and really they shouldn't even be compared to each other. The Aztec sacrifices were willing. They wanted to serve the gods. I'm quite sure the Jews were not willing.

[CSATexan]

@Elena92x

"the Jewish question today was no longer a German problem: it had become a world problem." A Hitler

It was common practice for the Aztecs to sacrifice captured enemies.

[Elena92x]

@CSATexan

I see your point and respect your opinion. Perhaps we should stop arguing and simply enjoy the video instead?

[CSATexan]

@Elena92x

We are just chatting, I didn't see it as an argument.

[Elena92x]

@CSATexan

Then we should continue chatting, by all means haha.

[philami1]

If the Aztec committed so many sacrifices where are the bones? You won't find them. This is story from the Catholic Priest of the time. You can find bone piles all over Europe, but, not in the Americas. Aztec sacrifices were rare and far between. Thus the lack of bones. White Historians are stupid to this. They took a few depictions in painting and carvings --- thus their claims. No bone proof exist, period!

[jethro035181]

re: "the aztecs were brilliant" ....so were the nazis, but would you really want to live there ?

[original5productions]

@jethro035181 Yeah the Nazi's were far from brilliant but I get what you're saying. I am proud to be from this lineage but some aspects of the culture we're not necessarily in line with how I imagine they would be today.

[TheSpurs825]

aztec runners are faster than the postal service. POSTAL FAIL!!!!

[HistoryLover1550]

It was considered an honor to be sacrificed to the gods in Aztec, Mayan and Inca culture because they were giving their lives for the gods they revered and to ensure the world would stay in order.

[HistoryLover1550]

Auhitzotal should be on the list of the world's greatest conquerors.

[HistoryLover1550]

The Aztecs were brilliant!

[AzureCloudz]

Now even more proud to be mexican

[franksters08]

I want Aztec postal service.... FUCK UPS

[CaptainKahuna1]

@franksters08 Lmao

[hongyaohome]

I suppose if the spanish had never came, the aztec might be just lasted as the dominant empire in central america today. what a pitty

[jamrock1ful]

I wonder is it possible to do something like this today. Does any one know were to find Aztec residential buildings?

[Armando2012102]

AT 5:54, LOL Peter Weller actually walks like RoboCop in real life! No wonder he was cast for the part!

[sewagedweller]

launch conquests that would rival anything known in history . O'really ?

[patfealy]

i want to feel the firm grasp of the Aztecs on my trembling hands and feet. I long to feel the sweet penetration of the sacred knife upon my chest. i want to see the blood drenched priest holding up my beating heart just before i pass out and get beheaded. i want my scull to be displayed upon the noble skull racks. Please make me glad and let me give my life this way.

[dendrov]

he should sell cars, not host a serious show like this =P

[jacobnes97]

Well how were the aztecs that used to be a small tribe and they did that they say that no manufactuar today is skilled enoph tu build a mayan weopon of flint or an aztecs weopon!!

[francescacarendi]

provide physical proof because so far you prove nothing at all

[AzureCloudz]

@francescacarendi there are still some ruins left, and some to be found, dont be such a critic, its not a walk in the park to find information liike this form scratch

[AzureCloudz]

@francescacarendi there are still some ruins left, and some to be found, dont be judging, its not a walk in the park to find information like this form scratch

[Sanch9o]

the gods were aliens 100 % no mythology here simply alien beings quetzalcoatl the feather serpent must have been a reptilian alien there is no other explanation you dont make up stuffs like gods from nowhere i bet jehovah is an alien too mankind gotta be the 1 of the most manipulated races in the universe

[Armando2012102]

@Sanch9o: When we hear the word "god", we think of "God, the Creator of the Universe".

But to the ancients, a "god" was not the Creator. A god was a being / entity that had awesome powers, or technology (like modern superheroes).

So yes, the "gods" of the Aztecs were aliens. But so was the Hebrew Yahweh, and the gods of many other cultures.

Whether they were reptilians, mammals or cyborgs,  **pause to sniff Cheeto dust** I wouldn't care to speculate.

[habsabard]

@Armando2012102 that was why the aztecs thought cortez was a god, not only fitting the mythological description, but also seemign to posess godlike powers such as gunpowder and horses

[Armando2012102]

@habsabard: Some of the more superstitious Aztecs believed that, but not all of them, and certainly not general Cuitlahuac. He and his men angrily demanded that the Spaniards be stopped by any means (ambush, guerrilla warfare, etc.) before they reached Tenochtitilan. But Moctezuma was deeply religious and thought that such dirty tactics would be undignified.

The moron soon discovered what guns are capable of.