Aztec vs. Inca AP World History Victoria Rains
Rise of the aztecs • • Aztecs migrate • to Lake Texcoco in • central Mexico around 1325 • • Founded city of • Tenochtitlan in 1325 • • Empire started in 1434 • • Aztec kings represented • civil power and served • as a representative
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 • • The Aztecs made the people they conquered pay tribute, or give them cotton, gold, or food.
Aztec religion • Aztec maintained • traditional deities of • Mesoamerica • 128 major deities • Huitzilopochtli (right) • was the Aztec tribal • patron and patron • god of the cult of • sacrifice and warfare • Quetzalcoatl (meaning feathered serpent) was the one who would create humans.
HumANsacrifice • • 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
tenochtitlan • • Captial of the Aztec Empire • Built in the middle of a lake on an island • • Aztecs called it the • “foundation of Heaven” • • By 1519 had a • population of 150,000 • • Connected by causeways • and canals
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
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
Aztec scientific achievements • • The Aztecs studied astronomy and created a calendar much like the Mayan calendar. • • The Aztecs also knew many different uses for plants. They knew of 100 different plants that could be used for medicine. Lippiadulcis- used to treat coughs & colds Mexican poppy- used for depression & anxiety
Aztec calendar Mayan Calendar
Rise of inca • • Founded by Quechua speakingclans (ayllus) • living near Cuzco around 1350 • • Inca (ruler) Pachacuti • expanded the empire from • 1438-1471 • • Built Machu Picchu • • Expansion continued after • Pachacuti’s death
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
Incan government • • The Incas established an official language, Quechua • • 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 • • Made conquered leaders move out of their villages and move in with leaders who were loyal to the Inca government
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 They carved steps of flat land up the side of the mountain to create flat land for farming. The terraces also helped to keep rainwater from running off. They reduced erosion. The government built raised aqueducts to carry water to farmlands for irrigation.
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
Aztec art • Ancient Aztec art was primarily a form of religious expression and a means for paying tribute to their gods • Showed their deep religion through a variety of sculptures made of stones • Pottery was not only useful to the Aztecs; it was also an important religious craft within the Aztec arts
Inca art • Sculpted pottery which featured geometric designs painted in black, red, brown, yellow, and white. • Metalworkers make ornaments, tools, and weapons out silver, copper, gold, and bronze. • Inca weavers wove beautiful textiles from alpaca, llama, and vicuña wool and from cotton.
Aztec video • http://www.history.com/videos/the-aztecs#the-aztecs
