Patolli was one of the most popular games among the Aztec adults. The adults did heavy betting while playing this game and some even ended up losing all their possessions.
It was a game of chance and skill and precious stones, metals, and other things were used as betting material. Just like Patolli, this game also involved heavy betting. The culture of Aztec games was popular not just among the common people but also among the nobility and the ruling classes. Elaborate arrangements were made for the games of the nobles particularly the Aztec ball game which was highly preferred by the elite classes of Aztec society. The ball game also had religious significance and a traditions spanning over many centuries.
As an example, the game of Patolli was related to Aztec religious view of the universe with the numbers 4 and 52, with 52 being the number of years in Aztec religious calendar. Similarly, Aztec ball games were also played as a sort of ritual and according to the archaeological evidence even human sacrifice was related to Aztec games since skull racks have been found close to the courts of Aztec ball games. Aztec ball was easily the most popular of all Aztec games. It was known as Tlachtli and was played between two teams on a court shaped like an H between two walls.
For the Aztecs, deities of particular importance are the rain god Tlaloc; Huitzilopochtli, patron of the Mexica tribe; Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent and god of wind and learning; and Tezcatlipoca, the shrewd, elusive god of destiny and fortune. Barring being a captive, being punished for committing a crime, or failing to pay an outstanding gambling debt, slavery was an institution one could enter into freely. The Aztecs had many gods but worshipped Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and war, above all others.
The Aztecs believed that they lived in the era of the fifth sun and that any day the world could end violently. In order to postpone their destruction and appease the gods, men performed human sacrifices. In addition to slicing out the hearts of victims and spilling their blood on temple altars, the Aztecs likely also practiced a form of ritual cannibalism.
An Atztec human sacrifice atop the Mesoamerican temple pyramid. An herbal remedy used today to ease insomnia, epilepsy and high blood pressure dates back to the Aztec empire. The passion flower was used by the Aztecs as a medication to calms spasms and relax muscles. The history of chocolate can be traced to the ancient Mayans, and even earlier to the ancient Olmecs of southern Mexico. The word chocolate may conjure up images of sweet candy bars and luscious truffles, but the chocolate of today is little like the chocolate of the past.
Although the game of soccer has been around for more than 2, years, soccer as we know it today is traced back to England. The game was once played in ancient China, Greece, Rome, and Japan but with different rules and variations. Today the descendants of the Aztecs are referred to as the Nahua. More than one-and-a-half million Nahua live in small communities dotted across large areas of rural Mexico, earning a living as farmers and sometimes selling craft work.
The Nahua are just one of nearly 60 indigenous peoples still living in Mexico. It was held once every 52 years in order to prevent the world coming to an end. The Aztecs often went to war in order to take captives that they could use in their sacrifices. They were allowed to marry, have children, earn some money and even own land. The Aztecs placed a high emphasis on education, both at home from parents and in school from teachers. Since they also had a complex caste social system, the schools were divided by social class, as well as gender.
Noble children would go to specific schools to learn about astronomy, philosophy and history, whilst lower caste children would be trained in warfare and skilled trade. Spanish conquistadors. Photo credit: wikipedia.
Knowing what we know about the Aztecs, it now seems much more plausible that the biggest threat European invaders brought to Mexico was disease, not guns. Historians believe that what decimated the Aztec population was smallpox, an infectious disease imported from Europe. In the first five years of European influence, almost 20 million Aztecs are thought to have died of this illness, mostly leaders as they were the ones in contact with the Spanish conquistadores.
Mexico derives its name from Mexicas, the name the Aztecs people gave themselves. Aztec is a name given to the culture by the Spaniards, as they hailed from Azteca, the region of Mexico from where they originated. But not the Aztecs.
They kept immaculate records and had a complex system of writings. Much like Egyptian hieroglyphs, their alphabet was a series of pictures, written by scholars and priests and inscribed in deer skin or tree bark. The more the merrier, right? It was a very difficult game played with a large rubber ball the name of the game comes from the word ulli, or rubber.
The game was not just important for entertainment, but also politics and religion. Learn all about the Aztec ball game here!
Let's face it - the Aztecs were passionate about one of the most common ancient Aztec games - patolli. Patolli is actually a type of board game, which was played by the common people as well as the nobles. The name comes from the word for small red beans, which were used to play the game. Like the Mesoamerican ball game, patolli was played long before the Aztecs came along.
Patolli and Aztec culture Our understanding of how patolli fit with religion and ritual is limited. We do know that the god of patolli and other games was Macuilxochitl five flowers , also called Xochipilli. There are aspects of the game that can be compared to the Aztec view of the universe, such as the importance of the numbers 4 and 52 52 years in the Aztec religious cycle.
Sacrifices were made to the "dice" in hopes that the gods would bring victory.
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