Transcript Aztec_and_Inca

The Americas: The Aztec & the
Inca
The Aztecs
Rise of the Aztecs
• Aztecs (Mexica) migrate
to Lake Texcoco in
central Mexico c. 1325
• Founded city of
Tenochtitlan in 1325
• Empire started in 1434
• Aztec kings represented
civil power and served
as a representative of the
gods on Earth
Aztec Government
• City-states ruled by a speaker chosen from
the nobility
• The Great Speaker, ruler of Tenochtitlan,
was in effect an emperor
• Increasingly considered a living god
• Conquered peoples maintained some
autonomy if they paid tribute
Aztec Religion
• Aztec maintained
traditional deities of
Mesoamerica
• 128 major deities
• Huitzilopochtli (right)
was the Aztec tribal
patron and patron
deity of the cult of
warfare and sacrifice
Human Sacrifice
• Human sacrifice was a
typical part of
Mesoamerican religion
• Aztec expand practice
into a cult where military
supplied war captives for
sacrifice
• Why?
• Political purposes
• Population control
• Cannibal kingdom
Human Sacrifice
Tenochtitlan
• On an island in Lake
Texcoco
• Aztecs called it the
“foundation of Heaven”
• By 1519 had a
population of 150,000
• Connected by causeways
and canals
Tenochtitlan “The Venice of the
Americas
Aztec Economy
• Agriculture
• Food often provided as tribute
• Built chinampas
• Pochteca was a special merchant class
which specialized in long-distance luxury
trade
• Cacao beans and gold dust were used as
currency; bartering was most common
Chinampas
Chinampas were man-made floating islands 17’ long x 100’ to 300’
feet wide. Aztecs built over 20,000 acres of chinampas.
Chinampas
Aztec Society
• Originally divided into seven clans called
calpulli
• Calpulli redistributed land, organized labor
gangs & military units, maintained temples &
schools
• Eventually a class of nobility emerged
• Nobility controlled the priesthood & military
Aztec Society
• Women’s primary role was the household
• Women spent six hours a day grinding corn;
restricted women’s rights
• Marriages were arranged
• Polygamy existed amongst the nobility
• Women could inherit property
The Inca
Rise of Inca
• Founded by Quechuaspeaking clans, ayllus,
living near Cuzco c. 1350
• Inca (ruler) Pachacuti
expanded the empire from
1438-1471
• Built Machu Picchu
• Expansion continued after
Pachacuti’s death
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu
Conquest & Religion
• Expansion motivated
by split inheritance
• Polytheistic
• Sun God was the
primary god
• Influenced by
animism
• Mountains, rivers, etc.
were considered holy
shrines
Temple of the Sun in Machu Picchu
Inca Government
• Inca was considered almost a god
• Divided empire into four provinces
• Developed a bureaucracy run by nobles
• Nobility drawn from the ten ayllus
• Local rulers maintained their positions
• Colonized conquered areas
• Relocated some conquered peoples
Inca Economy
• Unlike Aztecs, not a lot of trade
• Tried to be self-sufficient
• Primarily agricultural
• Terrace farming & complex irrigation
• Over 200 types of potatoes
• Inca Socialism
• Used forced labor for massive projects
• Mita
Terrace Farming
Inca Society
• Inca emphasis on military reinforced gender
inequality
• Women worked in the fields, wove cloth,
and cared for the household
• Women worshipped fertility deities
• Recognize parallel descent
• Women passed rights and property to their
daughters
Inca Technology
• Built a complex system of roads and bridges
• 2500 miles of roads
• Used a system of runners to carry messages
throughout the empire
• Beautiful pottery, cloth, and metalworking
• Quipu
• Masonry
Bridges and Roads
Quipu
Inca Metalworking