Exam 19: Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

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The important center of Inca culture was the city of Cusco, also spelled Cuzco. Cusco was the historic capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th until the 16th-century Spanish conquest. It was a vital cultural and administrative center, often referred to as the "navel of the world" in Inca mythology. The city was laid out in the shape of a puma, which was a sacred animal for the Incas, and it featured significant religious and ceremonial sites, including the Coricancha (Temple of the Sun) and Sacsayhuamán. Cusco remains a significant site of indigenous Quechua culture and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, attracting tourists from all over the world who come to see the ancient Inca ruins and Spanish colonial architecture.

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According to the Aztec belief system, the world's continuation was heavily dependent on the nourishment of the sun god, Huitzilopochtli. The Aztecs believed that the sun god needed to be sustained by human blood and hearts, which were offered through ritual sacrifices. They thought that these sacrifices provided the vital energy required to keep the sun moving across the sky.

The Aztecs saw the universe as an unstable and precarious place, and they believed that without these sacrifices, the sun would lose its strength, cease to rise, and the world would come to an end. This concept of indebtedness to the gods led to the practice of regular and elaborate sacrificial ceremonies, which were integral to Aztec religion and culture.

The sacrifices were often prisoners of war or slaves, and the rituals were performed on top of pyramids or temples, designed to be closer to the heavens. The Aztecs had a calendar of religious events that dictated when these ceremonies would take place, with some of the most significant sacrifices occurring during specific festivals, such as the New Fire Ceremony, which occurred every 52 years and was meant to ensure the rebirth of the sun and the continuation of the world.

Thus, for the Aztecs, the act of sacrifice was a necessary and sacred duty to maintain the balance of the cosmos and ensure the survival of their world.