AP World History

Victoria Rains

AZTEC VS. INCA

• 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

RISE OF THE AZTECS

• City-states ruled by a speaker chosen fromthe 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 GOVERNMENT

• Aztec maintainedtraditional deities ofMesoamerica• 128 major deities• Huitzilopochtli (right)was the Aztec tribalpatron and patrongod of the cult ofsacrifice and warfare • Quetzalcoatl (meaning

feathered serpent) was the one who would create humans.

AZTEC RELIGION

• 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

• 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 apopulation of 150,000• Connected by causewaysand canals

TENOCHTITLAN

• Agriculture• Food often provided as tribute• Built chinampas• Pochteca was a special merchant classwhich specialized in long-distance luxury trade• Cacao beans and gold dust were used ascurrency; bartering was most common

AZTEC ECONOMY

• Originally divided into seven clans calledcalpulli• Calpulli redistributed land, organized laborgangs & 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 SOCIETY

• 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.

AZTEC SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS

Lippia dulcis- used to treat coughs & colds

Mexican poppy- used for depression & anxiety

Aztec calendar Mayan Calendar

• Founded by Quechua speaking clans (ayllus)living near Cuzco around 1350• Inca (ruler) Pachacutiexpanded the empire from1438-1471• Built Machu Picchu• Expansion continued afterPachacuti’s death

RISE OF INCA

MACHU PICCHU

• Expansion motivatedby split inheritance• Polytheistic• Sun God was theprimary god• Influenced by animism• Mountains, rivers, etc.were considered holyshrines

CONQUEST & RELIGION

Temple of the Sun in Machu Picchu

• 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

INCAN GOVERNMENT

• 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

INCA ECONOMY

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 emphasis on military reinforced genderinequality• 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 theirdaughters

INCA SOCIETY

• Built a complex system of roads and bridges• 2500 miles of roads• Used a system of runners to carry messagesthroughout the empire• Beautiful pottery, cloth, and metalworking• Quipu• Masonry

INCA TECHNOLOGY

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.

http://www.history.com/videos/the-aztecs#the-aztecs

AZTEC VIDEO