The Americas: The Aztec & the Inca

Toltec Heritage

• Many Aztec traditions and cultural practices were adopted from their predecessors, the Toltecs.

• The Toltec established a capital at Tula in 968 C.E. They had a strong militaristic ethic and practiced human sacrifice for the appeasement of their many gods.

• Aztecs viewed them as the “givers of civilization”.

Toltec ArtThis stone panel depicts an eagle consuming a human heart. The eagle was meant to represent the sun, the Toltec and Aztec highest deity. The sun needed energy and strength to survive the perilous journey each night through the underworld to rise again the next morning. This strength came in the way of human hearts and blood.

The Aztecs (read p.238)

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 city-states were often left unchanged if they recognized Aztec supremacy and met labor and tribute obligations

• This system was a success because the Aztec emphasized political domination and not necessarily direct

administrative control.

Aztec Religion

• Aztec maintained traditional deities of Mesoamerica

• 128 major deities

• Huitzilopochtli (right) was the chief Aztec god and patron deity of the cult of warfare and sacrifice

• Aztecs took pre-existing human sacrifice tendencies and expanded them as a tool of political terror and religious devotion.

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

• Religious devotion

• Cannibal kingdom

Human Sacrifice

Aztec Art

• Aztec religious art and poetry are filled with images or descriptions of flowers, birds, and music.

• Human hearts and blood are also depicted as the “precious water” needed to sustain the gods.

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, canals, and bridges

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 like exotic bird feathers and cacao.

• Cacao beans and gold dust were used as currency; bartering was most common

• The state redistributed the vast amounts of tribute brought in, and levels were assigned based on whether the subjected peoples had accepted Aztec rule or fought against it. Nobles received far more than peasants.

Chinampas

Chinampas were man-made floating islands 17’ long x 100’ to 300’ feet wide. Aztecs built over 20,000 acres of chinampas. Crop yields were extremely high, as many as four corn crops per year.

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

Military Organization

• Aztec military was divided into various ranks based on experience and success in taking war captives.

• The military was highly ritualized with different ranks like “Eagle” and “Jaguar” knights with distinctive uniforms. Similar ranked warriors fought together and did not mix with other ranks.

• Banners, cloaks and symbols marked off the distinct military ranks.

Aztec military

The Inca

Rise of Inca

• Founded by Quechua-speaking clans 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 (p.246)

• Polytheistic• Sun God was the

primary god

• Influenced by animism• Mountains, rivers, etc.

were considered holy shrines (huacas).

Temple of the Sun in Machu Picchu

Temple of the Sun

• Built in honor of Inca sun god, Inti, in the capital of Cuzco.

• It housed the bodies of seven deceased and mummified Incas adorned with golden décor.

Inca Mummification

• Mummification was a type of burial heavily employed by the Incas.

• It represented a deep respect for older generations and kinship within communities.

• Mummies were frequently removed from their resting place and consulted for advice or blessing on marriages, planting, or warfare.

Inca Government

• Inca (emperor) was considered almost a living god.

• Divided empire into four provinces, each ruled by a governor.

• Developed a bureaucracy run by nobles.• Local rulers could maintain their positions so long

as they remained loyal to Inca.• 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 (p.248)

• Used forced labor for massive projects• Mita (p.248)

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

Inca textiles