Transcript Aztec Civilization (Late 1100s – 1500s

Part I: Aztec Civilization
(Late 1100s – 1500s)
I. Toltec Influence
• Toltec ruled over central Mexico beginning
around 900, lasted until about 1150.
– Gained power as Maya were losing theirs to the
south
• Strongly militaristic
– Cult of sacrifice
• Worshiped Quetzalcoatl,
the Feathered Serpent
– Became legend among
different peoples of
Mexico and Mesoamerica,
including Aztec
II. Aztec Rise to Power
• Originally poor, nomadic people from deserts of
northern Mexico
• Built up civilization from ashes of Toltec, around
Lake Texcoco, city of Tenochtitlan
• Formed Triple Alliance with other city-states,
Texcoco and Tlacopan
– Core of Aztec civilization
• By 1500s, empire stretched 80,000 square
miles, 5-15 million people
– 38 provinces loosely controlled through strong
military and tributes
III. Social Hierarchy
Emperor
Nobles – military
leaders, land owners
Commoners – merchants,
artisans, soldiers, farmers
Enslaved persons – captives who
did various jobs
IV. Religious Life
• Religion played a major role in daily life
• Hundreds of temples and religious structures
erected throughout civilization
• 1,000s of gods
– Many adopted from other Mesoamerican peoples
– Quetzalcoatl – god of learning, god of wind,
symbol of death and rebirth
• Depicted as both feathered serpent and pale-skinned
man with beard
• Practiced human sacrifice
– Thousands a year sacrificed to Huitzilopochtli
– Enslaved persons, criminals, prisoners of war
V. Economy
• Agriculture-based society
• Tribute requirement
– Demanded vast quantities of tribute from provinces
– Food, jade, people (sacrifice/labor)
– Government collected tribute and redistributed as it
saw fit
• Trade important
– Pochteca - special merchant class, controlled longdistance trade
VI. Decline
• 1502 – Montezuma II crowned emperor
– Demanded even more tribute and sacrifice from
provinces
– Many provinces rebelled, threw civilization into
chaos
• Return of Quetzalcoatl
– Many saw bad omens all around
– The Spanish invaders represented Quetzalcoatl
and downfall of civilization
• Easily overthrow civilization
Part II: Inca Empire
(1200s – mid 1500s)
I. Beginnings
• Built upon foundations of older civilizations
– Chavin, Moche, Nazca, Chimor
• Settled in Valley of Cuzco in Andes Mountains
• 1200s – small kingdom established
• Pachacuti took throne in 1438
– Greatly expanded control over neighboring lands
• Belief that ruler was descended from sun god
– Only men from one of 11 noble families could be
selected as leader
I. continued…
– Called Twantinsuyu - “The Four Regions”
– Encompassed 80 provinces, between 9-13 million
people
– Used combination of military force and diplomacy
to overtake and control territories
• Hundreds of different languages, ethnic backgrounds
II. A Unified Empire
• “The Roman Empire of the Americas”
• Centralized bureaucracy oversaw entire
empire
• Utilized extensive road system
• Tambos – way stations that served as inns,
storehouses, and supply centers for Inca armies
• One official language – Quechua
• Economy strictly controlled by government
– Regulated production and distribution of goods
• Demanded tribute from provinces
– Mita – labor required by all able-bodied citizens
III. Religion
• Focused worship mostly on nature spirits
– Moon, stars, thunder, sun gods
– Mamakuna – unmarried women selected for a
lifetime of religious service
– Yamacuna – men who served as full-time relgiious
workers
• Sacrificed llamas and distributed goods as gifts from
gods
IV. Decline
• Huayna Capac – Inca leader during early 1500s
– Died of disease (probably small pox) when
travelling around Ecuador
– After death – empire split in two, ruled by two
sons
• Civil war weakened empire
– 1530s – Spanish arrived to overtake a very weak
empire