Aztecs Vs Yanomami Essay

While both Aztecs and Yanomami built a strong foundation and sense of morals in the fixed lands, the two cultures had completely different views on these and many other things. To really dig deep and look at the similarities and differences between these cultures, it is essential to look at the theoretical perspective, otherwise known as cultural materialism. The rich cultures have essential parts that define it which are the infrastructure, social organization, and superstructure.
The Aztecs resided in an area with high plateaus, tropical lowlands, and weather that ranged from freezing Novembers to summer rains. As a result of the rich land, the Aztecs had many advantages when it came to food. With the diversity of crops came an abundance of animals that could be hunted and a wide diversity of plants to gather. As a result of the wide …show more content…
The structure went from lowest in the social structure of society to the highest; in this case slaves and serfs made up the lowest parts of the hierarchical structure, while the commoners held the middle status, then chiefs, and lastly rulers (top of the structure). Aztecs were big believers of nuclear families so that was the way most families in the culture resided. Moving along, like most cultures, marriage was practiced by the Aztecs but it was not the same for all; while most marriages were arranged and were monogamous, the nobility were very much polygamous, polygynous to be exact. Since Aztec marriages were arranged, it was a common custom to do cross-cousin marriage. However, Yanomami lived in villages where no hierarchical leaders are ever established so hierarchy did not play an important role for them. Although the Yanomami contrast to the Aztec in many aspects, marriage within both cultures were arranged. While the Aztecs never specified on domestic abuse, the Yanomami do not frown upon physical abuse from the husband towards the