Aztecs 远古的回响 -- Aztecs帝国 9

As a purification ceremony, frankincense or copal may have been burnt in these huge braziers depicting¹ Tlaloc, the rain god. Most telling of all, the scientists found traces of albumen indicating the presence of blood where these benches are decorated with clusters of flowers. The painting marks the spot where real clusters of flowers once stood. They contain the spines² of the maguey cactus³ and sharpened animal bones which the Eagle Warriors⁴ used to pierce the earlobe, thigh⁵, arm, tongue or penis, offering their own blood to the gods. This ritual bloodletting, auto⁶ sacrifice as it’s called, was the most common form of Aztec sacrifice. In this relief, warriors proceed towards the cluster of flowers to perform the ceremony. Perhaps the Aztec rulers themselves came here to shed their own blood? After extensive analysis of their results, scientists have discovered the highest concentration of albumen around the gods of death. Their results confirm the accuracy of the Aztec records depicting large quantities of blood poured over these gods.

Archaeologists believe that this ceremony marked the death of one ruler and the inauguration⁷ of the next, a reminder⁸ of the continuous cycle of life and death in the natural world. And the ritual seemed to work. Within just 140 years of their arrival in the Valley of Mexico, the Aztecs conquered lands stretching from the Gulf⁹ of Mexico in the east to the Pacific coast in the west, more than 300 miles away, by the time the Spaniards arrived 60 years later, the empire stretched as far south as the borders of Guatemala. The Aztecs demanded tribute from each conquered state. In time, they would pay dearly for this coercion¹⁰-------jade, turquoise¹¹, obsidian¹² and alabaster¹³ for the ritual offerings buried at the Great Pyramid. Aztec society was itself a pyramid with the strict hierarchy¹⁴, at its top the ruler himself combining spiritual, political and military powers. In this freeze, the ruler is depicted¹⁵ triumphantly¹⁶ grasping the forelocks of conquered leaders. But the stone itself served a much bloodier¹⁷ purpose.

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frankincense: n. 乳香
brazier: n. 火盆
albumin: n. 蛋白
earlobe: n. 耳垂
bloodletting: n. 放血
tribute: n. 供品
coercion: n. 强迫，威压
turquoise: n 绿宝石
obsidian: n 黑曜岩
alabaster: n. 雪花石膏
hierarchy: n. 层次，等级
triumphantly: adv. 成功地， 耀武扬威地
forelock: n. 额发

1 depicting   

描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• a painting depicting the Virgin and Child 一幅描绘童贞马利亚和圣子耶稣的画
• The movie depicting the battles and bloodshed is bound to strike home. 这部描写战斗和流血牺牲的影片一定会取得预期效果。

2 spines   

n.脊柱( spine的名词复数 )；脊椎；（动植物的）刺；书脊

参考例句：

• Porcupines use their spines to protect themselves. 豪猪用身上的刺毛来自卫。
• The cactus has spines. 仙人掌有刺。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 cactus   

n.仙人掌

参考例句：

• It was the first year that the cactus had produced flowers.这是这棵仙人掌第一年开花。
• The giant cactus is the vegetable skycraper.高大的仙人掌是植物界巨人。

4 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

5 thigh   

n.大腿；股骨

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a strained thigh muscle.他的大腿肌肉拉伤了，疼得很。
• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。

6 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

7 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

8 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

9 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

10 coercion   

n.强制，高压统治

参考例句：

• Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions.既不诱供也不逼供。
• He paid the money under coercion.他被迫付钱。

11 turquoise   

n.绿宝石；adj.蓝绿色的

参考例句：

• She wore a string of turquoise round her neck.她脖子上戴着一串绿宝石。
• The women have elaborate necklaces of turquoise.那些女人戴着由绿松石制成的精美项链。

12 obsidian   

n.黑曜石

参考例句：

• Obsidian is sacred to the Maoris.黑曜石是毛利人的神圣之物。
• Once you have enough obsidian,activate the idols.一旦你有足够的黑曜石，激活神像。

13 alabaster   

adj.雪白的；n.雪花石膏；条纹大理石

参考例句：

• The floor was marble tile,and the columns alabaster.地板是由大理石铺成的，柱子则是雪花石膏打造而成。
• Her skin was like alabaster.她的皮肤光洁雪白。

14 hierarchy   

n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层

参考例句：

• There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
• She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。

15 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

16 triumphantly   

ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地

参考例句：

• The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
• Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。

17 bloodier   

adj.血污的( bloody的比较级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的

参考例句：