???? Get to know our publishing house: https://radionaukowe.pl/wydawnictwo ???? Convenient book shopping: https://wydawnictwoRN.pl ???? Become a Patron: https://patronite.pl/radionaukowe ???? Support once: https://suppi.pl/radionaukowe ???? Listen on streaming: https://ffm.bio/radionaukowe ???? Subscribe: / @radionaukowe ???? Website: https://radionaukowe.pl ???? Facebook: / radionaukowe ???? Instagram: / radionaukowe ❌ Twitter: / radionaukowe ???? Visit LAMU: / @letniaakademiamlodychumyslow ???? Contact: [email protected] In the 13th century, they arrived in the area of ​​​​today's Mexico City. They founded the city of Tenochtitlán there, and through conquests and alliances they created a great empire. We associate them with bloody human sacrifices, but their religiosity, customs and social system were far richer and more surprising. We know them under several names: the Mexica, the Nahua, and finally the Aztecs. Dr. Julia Madajczak from the Faculty of Modern Languages ​​at the University of Warsaw told me what we know about them and what we only guess. We know for sure that the Aztec empire consisted of a network of city-states, linked by a complex network of military and dynastic alliances between their rulers. The ruler of the entire empire was the ruler of Tenochtitlán, a magnificent city built on an island on Lake Texcoco, intersected by canals, full of palaces. At the beginning of the 16th century, it was the second largest city in the world after Constantinople. The conquistadors, apart from priests and commanders, usually simple Spaniards, must have been stunned by the sight of it. The preserved sources talking about the beliefs and culture of the Aztecs were created mainly under the influence of Christian missionaries, so scientists have to do a lot of thinking to extract the original fragments from under the biblical patina. A few Aztec books have also survived, but... we are not very good at reading them. "It is something like a map crossed with a comic book, crossed with a rebus, crossed with something quite exotic, which we cannot grasp," says Dr. Madajczak. The monks pushed the thesis that the beliefs of the Aztecs resembled Greek and Roman ones, which would mean that the Aztecs were pagans, but sophisticated, suitable for conversion to Christianity. The reality was a bit more complicated: the gods were forces rather than persons and connected with many aspects. We know that in an agricultural, yet warlike society, the most important deities were associated with aspects of rain, sun and war. The famous human sacrifices, those involving the presentation of a beating heart, freshly cut from the chest, were associated with the sun. The Aztecs believed that in this way they provided the sun with the life essences necessary for it to move across the sky. Another form of sacrifice was the ritual killing of living gods. "These were people who, as a result of complex rituals, were transformed into deities, imbued with the essence of the god," explains my guest. Beautiful slaves were chosen as them, who prepared for their role for up to a year. During this time, they lived like a deity, enjoyed popularity, luxury and the favor of women. However, a living god had to die eventually, and the type of death depended on which deity he represented. In the episode you will also hear a beautiful poem about fish in the Nahuatl language, find out whether you can come across Aztec monuments in Mexico City, why the Aztecs didn't use the wheel for transport and didn't sail out to the ocean, and what about the Aztec cities shocked the Spanish monks most (spoiler: the baths). WE RECOMMEND OTHER MATERIALS: • Science Radio - All episodes • Physics • Biology • Astronomy • Psychology • Animals • Religion • History • History of life • Geography • Technology 00:00 - 01:08 Intro 01:08 - 11:40 Life in the Aztec Empire 11:40 - 19:13 The role of women in society and social structure 19:13 - 21:31 Why didn't the Aztecs sail out to sea? 21:31 - 28:41 Aztec Language and Poetry - A Poem about Fish in Nahuatl 28:41 - 41:09 Religions and Beliefs 41:09 - 55:28 Sacrifices and Customs 55:28 - 1:03:37 Where Do We Get Our Knowledge of Aztec Culture? 1:03:37 - 1:06:04 Cooperation with Mexican Scientists 1:06:04 - 1:12:22 Remains of Tenochtitlan under Modern Mexico ???? Radio Naukowe - Turn on the Knowledge! ???? #RadioNaukowe #KarolinaGłowacka