Aim: How should we remember the Aztecs and Inca?

Do Now: What do you know about the Aztecs, or Inca? What do you want to know?

I Pre-Columbian Civilizations

A) Pre-Columbian civilizations flourished in the Americas prior to the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492.

The Olmecs (1200 – 400 BCE)

Carved giant heads out of stone

The Maya (Golden Age 500 – 900 CE)

*When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the early 16th century, the Maya had abandoned their cities.

Lived in the Yucatan (rainforest)City-states (no centralized government)Slash and burn agriculture (cut down and burned trees to create space and fertilizer)Human sacrifice to keep the gods happyCreated multiple calendars, hieroglyphics, a number system including zero, and built large stone temples

Recall earlier Pre-Columbian civilizations in Mesoamerica…

II GeographyAztecs 1427 CE – 1521 CE Inca 1438 CE – 1572 CE

Lived in Mexico by Lake Texcoco

They invaded from the north The empire was bordered by

the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

Western coast of South America (Peru and Argentina)

From the Pacific Coast to the Andes mountains

Lake Titicaca is the highest elevated lake in the world!

III GovernmentAztec Inca

Empire ruled by an Emperor Capital at Tenochtitlan Conquered cities had to pay

tribute in goods/sacrificial victims

Empire ruled by an Emperor Capital at Cuzco

IV ReligionAztec Inca

Polytheistic Most important god was the

Sun God The Emperor was the High

Priest Practiced human sacrifice on

top of their temples

Polytheistic Most important god was the

Sun God The Emperor was the High

Priest Practiced human sacrifice by

leaving victims on top of the Andes Mountains (many mummified naturally)

Practiced mummification of the Emperor

Aztec Temple of the Moon

Incan Mummies

These young girls were left to die on top of the Andes mountains as sacrifices to the Incan gods. Due to the cold and dry climate, their bodies became preserved.

The Inca intentionally mummified their

Emperors. The Emperor mummy would be dressed and fed! Unfortunately the

Spanish conquistadors destroyed most of the

Emperor mummies.

V Economy and AgricultureAztecs Inca

Built chinampas (floating artficial islands used to farm).

Main crop was corn. Used cacao beans as currency.

Terrace farming Main crops were potatoes

and corn.

Pre- Columbian Yum Yums

The Mayans and Aztecs made cocoa beans into a frothy drink, with

cinnamon and chili pepper. No sugar!

By treating corn with lye, you can digest more of the nutrients in the corn. You can then make the flour into tortillas, tamales, and other

goodies!

Roasted guinea pig – an Incan delicacy!

VI Science and Technology

Aztecs IncaUsed hieroglyphics (different from the Mayan) and codices (books made of wood bark)2 calendars (one was just for religious ceremonies, similar to the Mayan)Did NOT have the wheel

Quipu: Knotted colored strings that were used as a counting system (see below)Built bridges of rope across rivers & mountainsBuilt a road system connecting the empire across the Andes!Built Machu Pichu, a city high in the Andes.Domesticated llamasDid NOT have the wheel

Incan Quipu and Rope Bridges

Machu Pichu

The Aztecs Short ReadingThe Aztecs are believed to have begun as a northern tribe of hunter-gatherers. According to their religion, when the Aztecs saw an eagle perched on a cactus near Lake Texcoco, they took it as a sign to build their settlement there. Their capital city, Tenochtitlán, was built in 1325 CE. By the early 16th century, the Aztecs had come to rule over 5 to 6 million people, either by conquest or commerce. Aztec markets were visited by some 50,000 people on major market days! (Long-distance traders and merchants did their jobs without a wheel!) Aztec religionshared many aspects with other Mesoamerican religions, like that of the Maya, including the rite of human sacrifice. In the great cities of the Aztec empire, magnificent temples, palaces, plazas and statues embodied the civilization’s unfailing devotion to the many Aztec gods, including Huitzilopochtli (god of war and of the sun) and Quetzalcoatl (“Feathered Serpent”). The Aztec calendar, similar to the Maya, was based on a solar cycle of 365 days and a ritual cycle of 260 days; the calendar played a central role in the religion and rituals of Aztec society.

The Inca Short ReadingThe Inca Empire originated at the city of Cuzco in what is today southern Peru. It appears to have started out as a small local state until it rapidly expanded into a vast empire during the 15th century CE. At its peak, the empire extended from the border of Ecuador and Colombia down to about 50 miles south of modern Santiago, Chile. Its population was as high as 12 million people! To support this empire, a system of roads stretched for almost 25,000 miles, about three times the diameter of the Earth! While the Inca did not develop a formal system of writing, they did use recording devices such as quipu, a cord with strings suspended from it. While modern-day scholars are unable to read them, it is known that they would have been used for creating records such as a census. The main Inca god was Inti, the Sun god.

Summary Questions1. How did the Aztecs and Inca adapt to their

environments?2. Compare and contrast Aztec civilization with the

earlier Maya civilization. *Include geography, government, achievements, and religion.

3. Compare and contrast the Aztecs and the Inca. *Include geography, government, achievements, and religion.

Key VocabularyAndes mountainsAztecsChinampasCuscoIncaLake TexcocoLake TiticacaMachu PichuMayansOlmecs

Pre-ColumbianQuipuSlash and burnTenochtitlanTerrace farmingYucatan Peninsula