Transcript Chapter 10

Americas on Eve of Invasion
Chapter 11
DIRECTIONS:
•
•
•
THOROUGHLY READ
Chapter 11, pgs 234-254
Print the PwrPt outline
(select “handouts”, 3
slides per pg)
Take notes AND answer
the questions within the
outline
Aztecs
Incas
Postclassic Mesoamerica, 1000-1500
Historicize
 Serve
as “RVCs”, but built on corn
 Olmec (800-400 BCE)


No writing, but impressive calendars & art
Religious inspired: pyramids, statues
succeeded in 400 CE – 800 CE by:
Maya
In
Yucatan Peninsula
Important city-state
= Chichén Itzá
Teotihuacan
In
Central Mexico
Americas’ 1st great
city
Toltec Heritage
 1000



– 1150 CE
Empire in C. Mexico w/ military ethic & sacrifice
Legend of Topiltzin & Quetzalcoatl
Influence Anasazi & Hopewell groups
The Aztec Rise to Power
 Aztecs


= militant & religious
Power drawn from military strength, connection to
Toltec culture
Use marshy island to end wandering: Tenochtitlan
The Aztec Social Contract
 Expansion
& conquest
results in change
 Aztecs:

chosen to serve gods
Ritual human sacrifice grows
1 of 2
Religion & Ideology of Conquest
 Polytheistic:
world of gods
connected to natural world

Many deities, each w/ different manifestations
 Worship

grouped into 3 cults
Gods of Fertility & Agriculture

example: Tlatoc

Gods of Creation

Gods of Sacrifice & Warfare

example: Huitzilopochtli
2 of 2
Religion & Ideology of Conquest
 Most


important ritual = sacrifice
Human-Gods relationship
Expansion of Toltec traditions under Aztec
 Additional



complexity:
Spiritual unity
Addressed life’s central questions
Fatalistic view of world
QUESTION SLIDE

Answer the following question in your note
taking space:

Compare & contrast the Aztec religion with
Hinduism.
Feeding the People: The Economy
 Large
population required large,
stable food source


Tribute from conquered lands
Traditional ag by peasants = chinampas
 Social


Structure
Clans = farming (some set aside)
Exceptions: Nobility, Pochteca
 Heavily
state-controlled
1 of 2
Aztec Society in Transition
Widening Social Gulf
 Aztecs’

original social structure
Calpulli – clans organized the empire


All people belonged to one, but…
Ranked based on leadership, marriage, military
achievements
2 of 2
Widening Social Gulf

Expansion: transforms classes

Clans weaken & class divisions emerge

1.
Nobility

2.
Scribes, artisans, healers, pochteca
Commoners


4.
Powerful administrators & powerful military leaders
Small middle group

3.
Classes reinforced by uniforms & clothing
Worked estates like serfs at will of nobles
Class reinforced by clothing
Slaves
Overcoming Tech Constraints
 Women:
complementary role but
subordinate


Helped in fields & reared children
Cooked & prepared food
 Lack


of technology
Limited social development
Political-religious system based on intimidation
1 of 2
A Tribute Empire

Gov’t = collection of city-states
1.
“Great Speaker” = ruler of Tenochtitlan

Acted as emperor
2.
Prime Minister = chief advisor
3.
Governing Council
4.
“Speaker”
2 of 2
A Tribute Empire
 Empire


never fully integrated
Tribute concentrated power, but…
Local rulers given independence
 Success
= domination,
not administration
 Failure
= division, fear, tribute
Twantinsuyu: World of the Incas
Historicize
 Geography
of mtns dividing valleys
makes broad civilization difficult

However, several small states of interdependent
regions: coasts, highlands, valleys
 Serve as “RVCs”, but built on potatoes
 Chavin & Moche (1200-200 BCE): religious &
architectural heritage
 Huari & Tihuanaco (550-1000 CE): establish
highland terrace ag in cultural hearth of Inca
 Chimor (900-1465 CE): economic & artistic
heritage
The Inca Rise to Power
 1350
CE—clans of common
language draw on tradition



Center empire around city = Cuzco
Pachacuti: emperor united group, began
territorial expansion
“Twantinsuyu” or “Inca Empire” formed
 Armies
conquer areas from
Ecuador to Chile

Controlled 3000 miles, 9-13 million people of
different ethnicities & languages
Conquest & Religion
 Reason

Split inheritance
 Central



to religion = cult of the Sun
Temple of the Sun
 Lesser

for expansion?
local animistic deities
Served at temples by clans, priests, & women
Offerings & sacrifices given
Centers of festivals, rituals
1 of 2
Techniques of Inca Imperial Rule
 Central
authority, provincial
bureaucracy & local autonomy
 Integration
reciprocity
of diversity based on
2 of 2
Techniques of Inca Imperial Rule
 Economic

Communities aimed at self-sufficiency,
supported by state control
 Class


considerations
considerations
Equal & interdependent genders?
Nobility & Priests vs. Yanas & Ayllus
Inca Cultural Achievements
 Art
 Record
keeping
 Infrastructure
QUESTION SLIDE

Answer the following question in your note
taking space:

Compare and contrast the Incas and
Aztecs?
Other Peoples of the Americas
How Many People?
 Estimates
for Western
Hemisphere vary
 Historical
context
Differing Cultural Patterns
 Ecological
variety =
development continuum

Chiefdom societies

Mixed societies (agriculture & hunting)

Hunter-gatherer societies
 Commonalities
QUESTION SLIDE

Answer the following question in your note
taking space:

In what ways do the Americas challenge
our definition of civilization?
World Context &
Global Connections
 Isolation
from world system
clearly mattered