Many conceive that the Aztecs and the Mayans are the same people, but they are not. Although both of these civilizations are pre-European in origin, their cultures are different. Their only similarity is that they managed to create a grand civilization in the ancient past that even today keeps us amazed at their accomplishments and influence in our civilization.
The Aztecs were certain ethnic groups in Central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology. They had developed a unique technique of agriculture where they would put a soil on rafts made of reeds and plant seeds on it. They called it Chinampas or floating garden. The Aztecs were outstanding craftsmen and sculptors. They are intense people who make sacrifices to their sun god and they use their war captives as sacrifice. They believe that if the human sacrifices are stopped, the sun god would not rise. They also practice cannibalism. Surprisingly, they had a court system and they recognize only one supreme ruler. The Aztecs were destroyed by the Spaniards and those who survived can perhaps be glimpsed among the present day Mexicans.
The Mayans belongs to the Mesoamerican civilization. The Mayan civilization is around a thousand years older than those with the Aztecs. They are a peaceful loving people and because of this nature they were easily conquered by the Spaniards. They are noted to have the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian America, as well as its art, architecture, mathematical and astronomical systems. They studied the solar system and came up with a very credible calendar that is similar to the modern one we have today. Their sense of art is expressed in murals depicting their existence. They are focused in creating a system in their environment. The Mayans have cities each ruled by their own sovereign ruler. The Mayans can still be found in Yucatan, Southeastern Mexico in the present day.
Both civilizations have developed a calendar that are said to predict the future of mankind.
The Aztec calendar shares the same principle and purpose as the one believed by the Mayans. In the mythology of the Aztecs, the first age of mankind ended with the animals devouring humans. The second age was finished by wind, the third by fire, and the fourth by water. The present fifth significant period is called Nahui-Olin or Sun of Earthquake, which began in 3113 BC and will end on December 24, 2011.
The Mayan calendar ends on December 21, 2012. The Mayan elders did not prophesize that everything will come to an end. Rather, there will be a time of transition from one World Age into another. The message they gave concerns our making a choice of how we enter the future ahead. However, there is no way to know exactly what will happen in the future.
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