The Americas on the Eve of
Invasion
Entry Reading Assessment
What was unique about the Aztec and Inca
civilizations in this time period? Think globally
and about the PERSIAN chart characteristics
What was similar about the Aztec and Inca
civilizations (both compared to each other and
the world as a whole)
Mesoamerican and South American Civilizations.
“It’s like America, but South”- Disney Pixar’s UP
2500s BCE-400 BCE
300s-900s CE
900s-1200s CE
1100s-1500s CE
1300s- 1500s CE
Olmec
Mayas
Toltecs
Incas
Aztecs
Postclassic Mesoamerica, 10001500 CE
8th century collapse of Teotihuacan and
abandonment of classical Maya cities
Toltecs (nomadic peoples from the north) took
advantage of political vacuum left by Maya and
established a capital at Tula about 968
Toltec culture adopted any features from the
sedentary peoples and added a strongly militaristic
ethic
The Toltec Heritage
Topiltizin- Toltec leader and priest
dedicated to the god Quetzalcoatl -legend
Toltecs created vast empire that spread over
much of central Mexico and as far down as
Guatemala
North and Easterly influence debated
Aztec Rise to Power
Toltecs lasted until 1150, when it was destroyed by
nomadic invaders from the north
People flocked to lake regions and argued over water
resources and control of lakes. The Aztecs won this
struggle (they called themselves Mexica)
Aztec ancestry debated and unclear
Aztecs were a group of about 10,000 people who migrated
to the shores of Lake Texcoco in the central valley of
Mexico
After the fall of the Toltecs many people moved to this
area and the area around the lake was organized into citystates. Political units claimed power on the basis of
military power and connections to Toltec culture
Aztec were tough warriors and worshippers
of gods, to whom they made sacrifices
1325 founded the city of Tenochtitlan
1428 emerged as an independent power
1434 created an alliance with two other
city-states that controlled much of the
plateau
The Aztec Social Contract
Aztec domination vast. Subject peoples
made to pay tribute, surrender lands, and do
military service
Became a stratified society under the
authority of a supreme ruler
Human sacrifice expanded and military
class played central role as suppliers of
victims
Religion and Ideology of Conquest
128 major deities
Each deity had a female form and many had
different forms
Supported by festivals and ceremonies
3 major themes/cults of gods: gods of fertility and
the agricultural cycle (Tlaloc, the god of rain) ;
creator deities; cult of warfare and sacrifice
(Huitzilopochtli- the Aztec tribal patron)
Religion explained the birth and history of the
gods and their relationship to peoples
Tenochtitlan: The Foundation of
Heaven
The Aztecs considered their capital a sacred space
The palaces and temples were impressive
architectural feats
1519 population larger than 150,000
City was an island connected by four waterways,
which the calpulli, or kin group, maintained
Present-day Mexico City on this site
Feeding the People: The Economy
of the Empire
Agriculture
Developed an ingenious system of irrigated agriculture by
building chinampas (beds of aquatic weeds, mud, an earth
placed in frames and rooted on the lake floor and formed
artificial floating islands that were able to bring water to all
the plants and produce four corn crops a year)
Each Aztec community- local clan apportioned the lands.
Individual nobles might have private estates . Each
community had markets to exchange goods but they were
regulated. Pochteca- special merchant class that specialized
in long-distance luxury trade
Tribute payments assigned
Widening Social Gulf
Aztecs had been divided into seven calpulli earlier when
they were wandering. They maintained this division to
include neighbors, allies, and dependants- they organized
labor, military, schools. Calpulli were governed by
councils of family heads but not all families were equal
As Aztec power expanded a class of nobility emergednobles born into their class and nobles controlled the
priesthood and the military leadership
Social gulf between nobility and comers grew with the
empire
As nobility broke free from old calpulli and acquired
private lands a new class of workers like serfs developed.
Low status but higher than slaves
Overcoming Technological
Constraints
Membership in society defined by participation in
wider groups, such as calpulli or specific social
class
Women had a decent status- had political rights
but in reality remained subordinate to men
Technology limited social development- women
spent 30-40 hours a week preparing food because
they had to grind maize by hand
Highly dense population
A Tribute Empire
Each city-state ruled by a speaker chosen from the
nobility- The Great Speaker was the ruler of Tenochtitlan
and equivalent to an emperor
Ancient cult of military virtues elevated to supreme
position as the religion of the state and securing tribute for
the state drove Aztec conquests
Empire never integrated
Many revolts against the Aztecs but they ruthlessly put
them down
Aztecs were a continuation of earlier civilizations- a
militarized version of them
The Incas
3000 miles in extent in Andean highlands
Incorporated many aspects of previous Andean
cultures but fused them together in new ways
State organization and bureaucratic control- high
level of integration
After break-up of states of Tihuanaco and Huari
(550-1000) several smaller regional states
exercised some power
Coastal kingdom of Chimur emerged as most
powerful. Between 900 and its conquest of the
Incas in 1465 it gained the most power
Inca Rise to Power
Quechua-speaking clans around 1350 living near
Cuzco
1438 had defeated hostile neighbors in the area
and under Pachacuti (1438-1471) extended control
to Lake Titicaca
For next 60 years further expanded the empire.
Topac Yupanqui (Pachacuti’s son) seized much of
north and some of south. Next ruler Huayna Capac
consolidated conquests and suppressed rebellions
Between 9 and 13 million people of different
ethnic backgrounds came under their rule
Conquest
Cult of the ancestors important in Inca belief
Split inheritance – all political power and titles of
the ruler went to his successor but all his palaces,
wealth, land, and possessions remained in the
hands of his male descendents, who used them to
support the cult of the dead Inca’s mummy for
eternity
Self-perpetuating need for conquest
Sun highest deity
Inca Rule
Empire was ruled by the inca, who was considered almost
a god
Ruled from Cuzco
Priest usually a close relative
Divided into four great provinces, each under a governor
and then divided again
State bureaucracy in which nobles played a role
Some local practices slowed to continue
Spread of Quechua as means of integrating the empire
Extracted land and labor from subject empires
Inca Rule
Did not demand tribute in kind but exacted labor on the lands assigned
to the state and religion
Labor turns (mita)- essential aspect of control
Women almost on equal status- had gender-specific duties but
recognized parallel descent. Of course, theory was better than reality.
In reality gender hierarchy developed
Integration of imperial policy with regional and ethnic diversity a feat.
Ethnic headmen kept in place but over them were administrators from
Inca nobility in Cuzco
Nobility in Cuzco and greatly privileged
No development of a special merchant class
Emphasis on self-sufficiency
By 1520s empire weakened by civil strife
Inca Cultural Achievements
Metalworking, pottery, cloth, copper and bronze
tools and weapons
No wheel, no writing system
Used numerical system of knots like the abacus to
record numerical data like census information
Genius at land water management, road system,
architecture and public buildings (2500 miles of
roads)
Comparing Incas and Aztecs
Both built on previous civilizations
Both represented success at imperial and military
organization
Both created by the conquest of sedentary
agricultural people and the extraction of tribute
and labor from them
Both older kinship-based institutions changed with
the rise in nobility
Both recognized local ethnic groups and powers
Aztec trade and markets more developed
The Other Indians
When comparing consider gradations of culture and social complexity
Mesoamerica and the Andes supported high levels of population- 67
million total population- almost equal to other groups in the world
(china, India- 75-100, Europe- 60-70)
Intermediate zone between Mesoamerica and northern South Americaresembled sedentary agricultural states in many ways
Chieftainships ruled over many parts of Caribbean, Northwest South
America- societies more egalitarian and material culture simple
Americas lacked nomadic herders
Great diversity in North America- as many as 200 languages by 1500
Some hunter gatherers- northwest coast Indians
Most Indian societies strongly kin based, communal action and
ownership stressed