Final answer:
The Aztec Empire adopted and modified the religions and cultures of earlier civilizations like the Toltecs, embracing common Mesoamerican characteristics such as blood sacrifice and pyramid building, which served to reinforce their own empire's cohesion and legitimacy.
Step-by-step explanation:
Later American civilizations, such as the Aztec Empire, adopted the religions and cultures of previous great American civilizations due to the interconnectivity and continuity that characterized Mesoamerican societies. The Aztecs incorporated the religious and cultural elements of earlier civilizations, like the Toltecs, and transformed them into an elaborate polytheism with religious practices that were widespread throughout Mesoamerica.
They shared common traits like pyramid building, human sacrifice, and veneration for natural forces, which were complemented by advanced developments in writing and astronomy. Moreover, the Aztec religion emphasised the importance of blood sacrifice as a debt humans owed to the gods for their own creation, which dictated the need for constant rituals.
This religious tradition helped to reinforce social and political control by legitimizing the Aztec's military conquests for obtaining sacrificial victims. Additionally, the mixture of religious and cultural traits fostered identity and cohesion within their empire, which was diverse and multi-ethnic.