Is the aztec or mayan culture still alive and can anyone be mayan or aztec?

Question:I was just wondering.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I was just wondering.

Yes there are still small parts of the culture left in some remote areas of South America, although i don't think sacrifice is high on the agenda anymore....

I think what you mean to say is can anyone accept Mayan or Aztec culture as their own, as you do indeed need to be born into a culture to actually BE that. You can accept any culture you wish, but you need to do lots of research and it would be preferable to meet the people you are interested in and ask them about life and the ways of their people. Their religous beliefs are very nature based and if you're used to growing up in a Christian society, they may be a little startling at first. Also, the roles of men and women will be quite different to what you are used to.

You need to do lots and lots of research, i would recommend at least a year to two years before you:

A) Make a judgement on whether or not that culture is for you and

B) Judge whether YOU know enough to be able to blend with the existing people of that culture. After all, you can't just walk into someone's village and claim you're one of them - you need to really BE one of them.

Good luck on your journey of discovery, and i hope you find your path soon :)

Yes they are still alive, but no not just anyone can be part of their culture you have to be born into it!!!!

if course those cultures are still alive, although they are way more diminished than they used to be. You find the Aztec and Mayan peoples in what is today Mexico and Guatemala because that is where their massive empires were located. Actually, most people from Mexico and Guatemala are Mestizos, which means they are a mix between Spanish and Indigneous peoples, and so the Aztec and Mayan blood carries on in many Mexicans and Guatemalans. This is the same with other Indigenous groups in Latin American such as the Incas in Peru. Most people in Latin America are Mestizos and so the blood of both Spanish (Iberian) and Aztec, Mayan, Incan, and other Native American group makes what is know today as a traditional "Latino". That is why many peoples from Latin countries are brown or olive. Although, purely Indigenous peoples still exist today like many Mayans from the Yucatan peninsula are still around, and Aztec descended tribes are as well. You find the purely Indigenous groups mostly in rural areas, though they can be found in urban settings as well. In fact, many Latinos who are Mestizo recognize their Mixed heritage as 'La Raza' (The People or The Race) because what makes them is the blood of the conquistador and the blood of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Being Mestizo is like being apart of a hybrid race born only in the Americas, and of course being Native American means you are completely original to the American Continents. In fact, tortillas is an old Aztec food as well as Chocolate. Sadly, the purely Indigenous peoples of Mayan or Aztec or other Native American heritages are diminishing due to lack of opportunities and lack of usable land. It is up to Mestizos to preserve much of these Indigenous cultures along with their Spanish ones. Really, what makes a true Mexican is the mix between the Spanish and Indian. SO answer to your question 'is the aztec and mayan cultures are still alive?' YES, but they need to be preserved and nutured by both Mestizos and especially Ingienous peoples alike.