The sun god of the Aztecs was a cruel god who required many, many sacrifices, they believed. These sacrifices were done in purpose-built killing rooms, according to sacred rituals. During one sacrifice, it is believed that there were four lines of people to be sacrificed, and that each line was 2 miles long. This was considered a blood payment in thanks of the sun god for creating the world.
Art acted as a way to document history for the Aztecs. This was a practice that they called "toltecat," and it applied to all of the things that we call Aztec art. Their sun god art was never meant to be an act of devotion so much as a way to tell the story of the creation of the Earth. The name "toltecat" came from the Toltec civilization that inspired the practice in the Aztecs. They then decorated clothing, knives and headdresses in this way. While other Aztec art was realistic, the Aztec sun art was very stylized and pattern-based. The Aztecs often used whatever they could find for their art, from gold and silver to rocks and feathers.
The Aztecs believed that the sun created the world, but that it was not the only god. The gods took turn being the sun and attempt to create the world according to the Aztecs. They believed that it took five tries before the Earth was made satisfactory for the gods. They also believed that every 52 years there was a threat of the world ending if the gods were not pleased. The Aztecs' way of pleasing the gods was to sacrifice humans and go on long wars.
Draw rays of sunshine on two paper plates and then cut these triangles out, keeping them to the side. Paint the sun rays and cut out triangles. Use the cut out triangles to design a face in the middle of the sun. You can also paint more designs in the middle. Glue the two plates together so that one is visible behind the other through its rays of sunlight. This is somewhat similar to some of the art pieces the ancient Aztecs created created to represent their sun gods.