The Americas: The Aztec & the Inca AP World History 1/6/11 Ch 21
Jan 08, 2016
The Americas: The Aztec & the Inca
AP World History
1/6/11
Ch 21
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 Quechua-speaking 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