Transcript Aztecs and Incas

Aztecs and Incas
Comparison and Contrast
of Two Great Civilizations
Aztec Empire
Tenochtitlan
Aztec Government
• The Incas had an Emperor. He was the
most powerful ruler in the empire. The last
emperor when the Spaniards arrived was
Mocteczuma.
• The government was
based on a hierarchy
of power. Each
conquered area had
its own governor.
Aztec Society
• The Aztecs had a better social structure
than the Incas. The Aztecs had a class
system that consisted of the Ruler (Pipiltin)
and others below him.
– Nobility: Those who ruled the land.
– Commoners: Those who owned land.
– Serfs: Those who worked the land.
– Slaves
Aztec Religion
• The Aztecs had
more fear of their
god. They felt that
they had to make
many human
sacrifices to please
their god.
Aztec Temple
• The Aztecs built large
pyramids. They were
called “step pyramids”
because they had
steps leading to the
top.
Spanish Conquest
• The Aztecs were conquered by Cortes
• They thought he was a called Quetzalcoatl
Ullamaliztli
• Ullamaliztli was a ball
game. The players
could only use their
hips to move the ball
and get it into a small
circle hoop.
Inca Location
Inca Government
• The Incan government was more powerful
than the Aztec government.
• Pachacuti, the 9th ruler of the Incas,
created authoritattive central rule; kind of
based on communism, if focused on
equality for all the people.
• Mita = tax
• Each conquered kingdom had its own
governor to rule it.
Incan Society
• No slaves
• Most belonged to the
lower class
– Farmers
– Artisans
– Servants
• The Incas all spoke Quechua.
• The Incas used a quipu, or a colored and
knotted rope that they used to count and
record numbers and dates.
Inca Religion
The Inca’s god was
called
Huitzilopuchtli, or
the god of the sun
and war.
They had another
god called Pacha
Mama who was the
god of agriculture.
• The Inca’s
sometimes had
sacrifices, but
animals were much
more common than
humans. They did
not do as many
sacrifices as the
Incan Road System
• The Incas created a huge road system to
connect the different parts of the kingdom.
Chaskis used these roads to quickly deliver
information or goods to other towns.
Spanish Conquest
• The Incas were conquered by Pizzaro
• The Spaniards had the advantage of
having firearms.
• The last Emperor before
the Spaniards came was
Atahuapa