The Aztecs were a polytheistic society, with the sun god being the preeminent deity as the creator of the world. In the Aztec myth structure, they divided history into five eras, signified by the destruction of the elements personified by the ruling deity and recreation of the world in a new form. One god sacrificed himself in fire and become the sun through the sustenance of the blood of other gods, setting the stage for ceremonial sacrifices in Aztec worship. Make sun images out of paper plates to tell stories that illustrate the importance of the sun in Aztec culture and religion.
Aztec tradition decreed the destruction of all household goods every 52 years, leaving pottery fragments that help archaeologists track the changes in pottery design over time. In the heyday of the Aztec empire, black on orange was most popular. Geometric shapes and images of nature, such as animals, often adorned Aztec pottery in black, white, red and orange. Pottery provided more than just the functional practicality of bowls, pitchers and plates for household use. The Aztecs also created pottery jewelry, masks and sculptures used to decorate their temples. Paint a paper plate in Aztec colors and add Aztec designs to create your own Aztec pottery. A more ambitious option is to let children decorate a ceramic plate with Aztec designs and have it fired and sealed.
Aztec art and architecture used geometric designs and bold lines to represent their gods and the power of their rulers. Bas-relief was one method of architectural decoration that adorned buildings and temples to honor the pantheon of their gods. Give children air-dry clay and ask each child to create a bas-relief tile. Etch a basic Aztec design in the base tile and shape other clay pieces to press into place to give the design a 3-D low-relief effect. A simpler design for very young children is to sketch the design on a paper plate and let them fill it with different colored pasta pieces.
Pyramid temples are behemoth representations of the Aztec worldview. The Aztecs viewed participation in a temple construction project as a sacred civic duty, part of their worship and a tacit recognition of the emperor's power. The pyramid symbolized mountains as the source of life-giving water and Aztecs believed that their ancestral spirits resided within. Unlike Egyptian pyramids, the Aztec step pyramid had a flat top. It served as the center of Aztec worship rituals. To create a reproduction of the ancient step pyramid temple, sculpt the tapered pyramid shape, staircase, ritual building and the upright stone inscribed with religious images for the peak out of foam core. Glue ritual images on the interior of the ritual building.