Unit 2

Worldviews in Conflict

Targets
Skill Builders

Introduction

How did intercultural contact between the Aztecs and the Spanish affect each society's worldview?

Unit 2 is about the worldview of the ancient Aztec people and that of Spain at the time of its conquest of the Aztec Empire.


You will study how the clash of these two cultures when Spain invaded the Aztec territory affected the worldviews of both peoples.

The Aztecs lived in what we now call Mexico, and they had one of the greatest cities the world has ever seen.


  1. In the first part of Unit 2, you will learn about the geography, religion, libraries of information (codices), trade, wars, social hierarchy, education, citizenship, and culture of the ancient Aztecs. You will explore their worldview and how it developed.

  2. In the second part of the unit, you will learn about the culture, geography, and religion of the Spanish people. You will explore their worldview and how it developed.

  3. In the third part of the unit, you will learn about how the culture clash between the Spanish and the Aztecs changed the worldview of each nation after the Spanish invaded the Aztec territory.

The photo in Figure 1.1 is of one of the pyramids at Chichen Itza, Mexico, which we can visit today. When was it built? What was it for? What did people do there?

The photo in Figure 1.2 is the famous Aztec calendar stone found in 1790 when workers were excavating in the main square of Mexico City. Under the stone, you see a reconstruction that attempts to reveal what the stone looked like when it was made — long before the Spanish arrived.

What do you think was the purpose of this stone? What did the Aztec people do with it?

Figure 1.1



Figure 1.2