10 Amazing Facts About the Aztecs

Entertaining and educational top 10 lists from TopTenzNet!

Other TopTenz Videos:

10 Things You Didn’t Know About the Ancient Greeks

10 of the Most Heavily Guarded Places on Earth

Coming up:

10. That old song and dance
9. Same day delivery. Fast!
8. Paddle power
7. Superfood for super people
6. They disapproved of drink but venerated “drugs”
5. Their lives were determined from birth
4. Their worldview was more rational than the West’s
3. Everything was next to godliness
2. They sacrificed humans—but don’t hold it against them
1. Take me out… to the ballgame

Source/Further reading:

[yearginclarke]

Seems to be alot of videos nowdays about Aztecs and Mayans. It's awesome to see people are actually interested in history like this. I hardly meet any people in real life that are interested in history of any kind.

[tokiwartuthe]

You trying to say that long name then saying ugh I give up lolol you're too funny Simon 😂

[annb]

Simon: talking about an ancient Aztec game whose roots go back even further
Me: picturing the ball game they play in the Road to El Dorado

[Ember-Rodriguez]

Tenochtitlan was in all likelyhood the largest city any of the spanish had ever seen.

[LuinTathren]

That was fantastic! And thank you for not focusing on the sacrifices. Just as was said, it must be viewed in context and it cannot be forgotten that other cultures and religions tortured and sacrificed people as well. Glass houses and all that. Great job, everyone!

[MrTalent]

Best part, when you messed up that word, made my day, Thank you Simon

[GravityFromAbove]

I guess we are at the point where the Aztecs seem pretty cool. Have a heart.

[Brother_Mouse_]

at least simon tried to pronounce those aztec names.

[sock]

The reason the sacrifice thing with the Aztecs is still so talked about, both now and then, is that they truly believed they were preventing the end of the universe by tearing out the hearts of living people. Blood was sacred, and without regular blood tribute to the gods it was thought that reality itself would end.
They weren't sacrificing cows or virgins to forgive their sins like Western civilization used to. They were upholding the sacred duty of preventing the destruction of the universe.

In an almost literal sense nearly their whole cosmology, and existence itself was fueled by blood and human sacrifice. So of course it stuck out to everyone. It still does compared to virtually all other civilizations ever.

[garretthompson]

If you do another Native American please do the Sioux!

[SergeantPsycho]

I hate to say it, but you've got a point on the human sacrifice thing. Especially since burning at the stake was a common form of punishment in Europe.

[jaytee]

I really enjoy videos where we get to see a true sense of your genuine cultural relativism, especially of the ancients. Its quite refreshing!!!

[ShannonMcDowell]

Another great video, and I like your purple coat/jacket too! :-D Best, Shan

[everhernandez]

this is an awesome video thank you for making it😎

[ChicanoPhD]

LOL to your pronunciation attempts! X is pronounced as "sh." Stress always falls on the penultimate syllable. The final "tl" is aspirated. Great video!

[digapygmy]

*ancient Aztecs learning about the crusades, the inquisition, witch hunts, etc* "Wow, these guys are savages"

[RedPandaGames.]

Your pronunciation is as normal as any non-Nahuatl speaker! Hehe!
Tenochtitlan “Teh-noh-tit-lahn”
Nahuatl “Nah-waht”
Mexica “Meh-shi-cah”
Texcoco “Tesh-co-co”
There were a few others but those are the ones most people come across :)

[brettschlarmann]

I know that you're doing your best, but your pronunciation makes me laugh at some points :P All the same though, its a very entertaining and informative video. Great job!

[PennyDreadful]

Well they sure had the right idea on alcohol vs psychedelics.

[joelsullivan]

"Aztecs didnt fear death"- simon
Aztec child getting heart cut out: "cool"