Transcript Chapter 11 The Americas on the Eve of Invasion

 The city and the archaeological site are located approximately
25 miles northeast of Mexico City.
 The site covers a total surface area of 32 square miles.
 It is the most visited archaeological site in Mexico.
 The city is thought to have been established around 100 BC
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and continued to be built until about 250 AD.
At its height, perhaps in the first half of the 1st millennium
AD, Teotihuacan was the largest city in the pre-Columbian
Americas.
It had a population of around 125,000 or more, placing it
among the largest cities of the world in this period.
Teotihuacan was even home to multi-floor apartment
compounds built to accommodate this large population.
Although it is a subject of debate whether Teotihuacan was
the center of a state empire, its influence throughout
Mesoamerica is well documented; evidence its presence
can be seen at numerous sites in Veracruz and the Maya
region.
The Aztecs were influenced by this city.
 Northern nomadic invasions are believed to
have caused the fall of the Toltec empire
around 1150.
 The center of population and political power
shifted to the valley of Mexico and its large
chain of lakes.
 It was divided politically into many small
and competing units. (city-states)
 The militant Aztecs migrated to the region
during the early 14th century and acted as
allies or mercenaries.
 Built a large empire in central Mexico following the
collapse of Teotihuacan.
 They established a capital at Tula in 968 and adopted
many cultural features from
sedentary peoples.
 The Toltec contributions was its
military ethic and human sacrifice.
 Around 1325 they founded the cities
of Tenochtitlan and Tlatelocol on
lake islands.
 the Aztecs view the cultural achievements of the Toltec
as givers of civilization, because the Aztec culturally
borrowed and built off of what they had earlier
created.
 By 1434 the Aztecs had become the dominant regional
power.
 It was built on an island in the middle of a lake
 By 1519 it probably had a population of about 150,000
 The city was divided into more than sixty wards
controlled by kinship groups
Functions of
Kinship Groups
•Distribution land to
household heads
•Organizing labor
units for state service
•Organizing military
units for warfare
Aztec
Economy
 The Aztec state
redistributed many
goods received as
tribute, but there was a
specialized merchant
class that also handled
long-distance trade in
rare commodities.
 Aztec deities were numerous and had different forms
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or manifestation somewhat like the avatars of the
Hindu deities.
They had fertility gods
Gods for the agricultural cycles
Creator deities
Gods of warfare and sacrifice
 The Aztecs believed in a cyclical pattern of repetitive
destructions of the world.
 Conquered territories were often left relatively
unchanged under their old rulers as long as they
recognized Aztec supremacy and paid tribute.
Why did conquered peoples rebel against the
Aztecs?
 The Aztecs required more and more sacrificial slaves.
 The limited technology of Mesoamerica confined
women to many more hours grinding grain for food
 Virginity at marriage was highly regarded for young
women
 Marriages were often arranged between lineages
 Young girls were often trained by the older women of
the calpulli
 Increasing dominance of the nobility
 The emergence of a ruler with supreme powers
 The subsequent expansion of power and the
boundaries of Aztec control
 From a loose association of clans, Aztec society
became a stratified society.
 Between 1200 and 1535 AD, the
Inca population lived in the part
of South America extending
from the Equator to the Pacific
coast of Chile.
 The beginning of the Inca rule
started with the conquest of the
Moche Culture in Peru.
 The Inca were warriors with a strong and
powerful army.
 Because of the fierceness of their army and their
hierarchical organization, they became the
largest Native American society.
 The height of their reign in the 15th century
came to a brutal end in 1535 when the Spanish
conquistadors took over their territory.
 Pachacuti
 Cuzco
Their cities and fortresses were mostly built on
highlands and on the steep slopes of the Andes
Mountains.
 The Inca society was arranged by a strict hierarchical
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structure.
There were many different levels with the Sapa, high
priest or ruler, and the army commander at the top.
Family members were councilors to the Sapa and even
women had authority in the Inca hierarchy.
The temple priests, architects and regional army
commanders were next.
The two lowest classes consisted of artisans, army
captains, farmers, and herders.
Farmers provided most of the subsistence for the rest of
the population. They had to pay tax in the form of gold,
which were distributed to the higher classes.
 The architecture of the Inca cities still amazes
and puzzles most scientists. Stone steps lead up
to the top of the cities, which consist of stone
houses and religious buildings.
 The blocks of stones weigh several tons and
they are fit together so tightly that not even a
razor blade can fit through them.
 The central city was mainly used for
government purposes, while the citizens
occupied surrounding areas. Their homes were
made from the same stone material and had
grass rooftops.
 The comprehension of how irrigation can
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benefit agriculture is evident by the expansion
into the highland areas.
They developed drainage systems and canals to
expand their crop resources.
Potatoes, tomatoes, cotton, peanuts and coca
were among the many crops grown by the Inca.
Llama were used for meat and transportation.
There were more than enough resources
available for everyone.
Increased subsistence levels led to a growth in
the Inca population.
 As the population increased and the organization
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of the Inca became stronger, the need for
protection became necessary.
They built enormous fortresses on top of steep
mountains that enabled them to see their enemies
and defend themselves.
One of the most famous Inca fortresses is
Sacasahuman, located in Cuzco.
Even though the Inca never had access to the
wheel, they built a sophisticated road system to
connect the villages.
The roads were paved with flat stones and barriers
to protect the messengers, or chasqui, from falling
down the cliff.
 The highest point in an Inca village was reserved for
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religious purposes.
This point was the closest to the sun, which
represented their major god, Inti, the Sun God.
The six major gods of the Inca represent the moon,
sun, earth, thunder/lightning and the sea.
Pachamama is the earth god, who is the mother of
all humans.
The Inca had shamans who believed in animal
spirits living on earth.
Heaven was depicted by the condor, the
underworld by the anaconda, and the brother who
resided on earth was the puma.
The Sun Temple, located in Machu Picchu, Peru,
was a religious calendar that marked the winter and
summer solstices.
 The Inca were fierce conquerors with a violent
punishment system.
 Punishable crimes included
 robbery
 Murder
 having inappropriate relations with a Sun Virgin
 Punishments
 they were thrown off a cliff
 hands cut off
 eyes cut out
 hung up to starve to death
 Prisons were of no use because punishment usually
consisted of death.
 Recent excavations of the Inca sites has revealed
mummified bodies of the Inca royalty. They have
been preserved by ice in the peaks of the Andes
mountains.
 The practice of split inheritance.
 In split inheritance all political titles went to the ruler’s
successor, but his wealth was kept in the hands of the
male descendants to support the cult of the dead Inca’s
mummy.
 Was used by the Inca. This also relates to the need for
the ruler’s successor to build his own wealth since he
didn’t inherit the wealth.
 The Inca believed that their ruler was related to the
sun god, who would bring wealth and power to them.
 Only men from one of 11 noble families could serve as
king.
 Dead rulers were mummified and worshipped by the
people.
 the most powerful of the Andean states between
900 and 1465 following the decline of Tihuanaco
and Huari
 The Inca usually let local rulers stay in place when they
conquered a people –as long as the conquered people
met Inca demands.
 The most important demand was for all adult workers
to spend some days each year working for the state.
They might work on state farms or build state roads.
•In 1532, Francisco Pizarro arrived at Peru.
•He had only 200 men and 27 horses with him, but
on the way, many people joined him, and his group
increased in number.
 The Spaniards not only brought European sicknesses with
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them, and more technology, but also many Incas rebelled
against their own country.
Atahualpha (the ruler of the Inca) was told that if he
accepted to change his culture and become Christian, he'd
be treated fairly.
On August 29, 1553, Atahualpha was killed by the Spanish.
The Inca emperors lasted for another 30 years hidden in
the Vilcababa mountain regions, until the last of the Inca
rulers was beheaded in 1572.
The Inca civilization was destroyed soon after as the
Spaniards forced the Inca people to give up their
traditions. The Inca people were then literally worked to
death.