CH 12: The Worlds of the Fifteenth Century Americas: Aztecs & Inca Compared
CH 12: The Worlds of the Fifteenth Century
Americas: Aztecs & Inca Compared
Aztec & Inca Distinctions
Inca Empire was much larger than its Aztec counterpart.
Aztec Empire controlled only part of Mesoamerican cultural
region, while at its height Inca state encompassed nearly all
Andean civilization.
Aztec realm: Mexica rulers largely left their conquered people alone
& no elaborate administrative system arose to integrate
conquered territories or to assimilate their people to Aztec
culture.
Incas built a more bureaucratic empire.
Much more of a ‘state-controlled’ economy.
Aztec & Inca Distinctions
Aztec Empire extracted substantial TRIBUTE: goods from its
subject populations, while Inca primarily extracted labor services
from their subjects.
Aztec Empire: system of commercial exchange that was based
on merchants & free markets, whereas Inca government played
a major role in both production & distribution of goods.
Authority of the state penetrated & directed Incas’ society and
economy far more than did that of the Aztecs.
Inca & Aztec civilizations practiced “Gender
Parallelism”
-Women & men in “separate but equivalent
spheres”
-Parallel religious cults: women & men
-Parallel hierarchies of female & male
political officials (especially among Incas)
-Women’s household tasks were not
regarded as inferior
Men top positions in political & religious life
-Glorification of military probably
undermined gender parallelism
-Inca ruler & his wife governed jointly, were
descended from sun & moon, respectively
Engineering an Empire - The Aztecs
How did Aztec religious
thinking support the empire?
Aztec Empire extracted substantial
TRIBUTE: goods from its subject
populations, while Inca primarily
extracted labor services from their
subjects.
Aztec Empire: system of commercial
exchange that was based on
merchants & free markets, whereas
Inca government played a major role
in both production & distribution of
goods.
Authority of the state penetrated &
directed Incas’ society and economy
far more than did that of the Aztecs.
In what ways did Inca authorities
integrate their vast domains?
Emperor: absolute & regarded as divine
In theory: State owned all land & resources.
Subjects organized, at least in the central
regions of the empire, into hierarchical units: 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000, & 10,000 people
Unit headed by local officials, supervised by an
Inca governor or by the emperor.
Imperial inspectors checked on provincial
authorities. Births, deaths, marriages, & other
population data were carefully recorded.
A resettlement program moved 1/4 or more of
the population to new locations.
Machu Picchu, high in the Andes Mountains, was constructed by the Incas in the 1400s on a spot long
held sacred by local people. Its 200 buildings stand at some 8,000 feet above sea level, making it truly a
“city in the sky.” According to scholars, it was probably a royal retreat or religious center, rather than
serving administrative, commercial, or military purposes. The outside world became aware of Machu
Picchu only in 1911, when it was discovered by a Yale University archeologist.
Machu Picchu Road to the Sky
The Incan Report with Bob Hale - Horrible Histories