Week 12: Chapter 11: Part 1: Terms
Toltecs – Native people in Mesoamerica. They established a capital at Tula. They also
established political control over a large area after 1000. Declined after 1200.
Tula – The Toltec capital.
Topiltzin – The religious leader of the Toltecs. He was dedicated to the god Quetzalcoatl.
Later, he lost a struggle for power and then went to the Yucatan peninsula for exile.
Quetzalcoatl – Mesoamerican god
Chichen Itza – Mayan city conquered by Toltecs.
Teotihuacan – An area with many different cultures that were situated in central Mexico. Many
religious functions occurred here. It is supported by intensive agriculture in surrounding regions.
The population was about 200,000.
Anasazi – A culture located in the southwestern US that flourished from 200 to 1200. They had
many adobe and stone buildings built in canyons and cliffs.
Hopewell culture – A mound/building culture which lasted from 200-500
Mississippian culture – A mound/building culture of N. America. Lasted from 800-1300 with
large towns and ceremonial centers, but no stone architecture.
Aztec – Culture took power after the fall of the Toltecs. They penetrated the sedentary
agricultural zone of Mesoamerican plateau. They made their empire around 1325.
Nahuatl – Language of the Toltec people
Tenochtitlan – A city which was the center of Aztec power.
Tlatelolco – An island city in Lake Texcoco. It was later incorporated into Tenochtitlan. The
market was central.
Tlacaelel – He advised the Aztec rulers from 1427-1480 and made sure that the history of
Mexico was rewritten. Made human sacrifice into a tactic to encourage people to join the
Aztecs.
Tlaloc – Major god of the Aztecs who was associated with fertility and the agricultural cycle.
Huitzilopochitli – An Aztec tribal god, who was the central figure of human sacrifice and
warfare.
Nezhualcoytl – An Aztec king in the 15th century.
calpulli – Seven clans in the Aztec society, that later expanded to more than sixty clans. They
distributed land and provided labor and warriors.
chinampas – A type of floating island made with weeds, mud, and earth placed into cane
frames. It was a system of irrigated agriculture.
pochteca – A special merchant class that specialized in long distance trade in luxury items like
plumes of tropical birds and cacao.
The Great Speaker – The ruler of Tenochtitlan. The emperor, basically, and he was revered by
all. He ruled a city-state and held the power along with his chief advisor.
Inca Empire – Also known as Twantinsuyu. It was located in the Andes mountains, which are
on the coast of South America.
Tihuanaco and Huari – Large horizon states that were broken up. After their breakup, several
smaller regional states were powerful.
Chimor – A coastal kingdom, centered on its capital of Chan-chan. It was the most powerful
kingdom and later gained control of most of the north coast of Peru by 1465.
Ayllus – Households in the Andes that were kin households. They traced their descent from a
common ancestor.
Inca – A group of clans centered in Cuzco that were able to create an empire in the Andes
Pachacuti – The ruler of the Inca, who was also known as the Inca. He got together many
military alliances and campaigns in order to gain more land.
Topac Yupanqui – Pacahcuti's son who conquered Chimor and part of Chile.
Huayna Capac – Consolidated previous conquests and suppressed rebellions on the frontiers.
Twantinsuyu – The Inca empire, which stretched from what is now Colombia to Chile and then
east toward Bolivia and northern Argentina.
split inheritance – All the political power and titles of the ruler went to his successor, but
everything else: his palaces, money, land, and possessions, went to his male descendants.
Temple of the Sun – Located in Cuzco, and was the center of the state religion in the Inca
Empire
huacas – Holy shrines where prayers were offered and animals were killed as sacrifices.
Cuzco – The area in which all the temples were present. The center of the Inca Empire.
Quechua language – Language of the Incan people
mitmaq – Colonists.
tambos – Way stations along the roads. They served as inns, storehouses, and supply centers for
Inca armies that were on the move.
mita – Communities were expected to take turns working on state and church lands and
sometimes on building projects and mining. The labor turns are mita.
yanas – A class of people who were removed and served as servants, artisans, or workers for the
Inca.
orejones – The Spaniards called the Inca nobles this because they wore large ear spools that
made their ears bigger. Orejones means big ears.
quipu – Knotted strings used to keep track of information.
Muisca and Tairona peoples – Located in the mountain valleys of central Colombia. Their
culture was based on sedentary agriculture.
Arawaks – The Native Americans that Columbus met on the island of Hispaniola.
Week 12: Chapter 11: Part 2: Questions
1. The Aztecs and Incas used institutions inherited from earlier societies/cultures. What were
these and what role did they play in the respective societies?
The Aztecs and Incas inherited much from the Toltecs, whom the Aztecs considered the givers of
civilization. Influences included the cult of sacrifice, emphasis on war and organized trade. City
planning was also similar to that of the Toltecs – with towns located around rivers and large
stepped temples. The Aztecs spoke the same language as the Toltec, perhaps contributing to their
claims of legitimacy for the throne.
2. How did the Aztecs organize their agricultural sector?
The lands of the conquered were often taken for agricultural expansion and tributes tended to be
paid in forms of food. The Aztecs created a system of irrigation for the areas surrounding water –
building artificial islands which could then be planted. Under this system, four corn crops could
be planted each year.
3. What were some of the social, political and technological problems faced by the Aztecs?
Social – they were divided into 7 rival clans, emergence of a noble class, classes determined by
birth, limited social mobility, gap between social groups grows wider over time with specific
dress, hairstyles and symbols of rank distinguishing between them
Political – organized into 7 calpilli which formed basis of local government, calpulli was
responsible for local life, not all were equal, ruled as a tribute empire, empire not integrated
Technological – using hand techniques when others have moved to water or animal power (such
as Egypt and Rome), women grind corn by hand (6 hours per day)
4. How were the Incas able to overcome geographic problems such as distance in their empire?
Local rulers remained intact and were given special privileges for their loyalty. Sons of
conquered chieftains were taken to the Incan capital for education, but also as type f insurance
policy. The Incas might also move a conquered people to a new home. A complex system of
roads connected the empire and established way stations along the path (which also facilitated
the movement of the military.) Conquered peoples were kept happy with access to goods not
previously available.
5. Describe in detail the social organization within Andean society?
Information taken directly from teacher studyguide found on the publisher’s open website at
occawlonline.pearsoned.com/bookbind/pubbooks/stearns_awl/
Most males were peasants and herders. Women worked in the household, wove cloth, and aided
in agriculture. Since Andean people recognized parallel descent, property passed in both lines.
Even though an ideology of complementarity of the sexes was strong, the emphasis on military
virtue made men dominant. The idea of gender cooperation was reflected in cosmology. Gods
and goddesses were venerated by both sexes, though women had a special feeling for the moon
and the fertility goddesses of the earth and corn. The ruler's senior wife was a link to the moon.
Still, male power within the empire showed in the selection of women for state and temple
purposes. The integration of imperial policy with regional diversity was a political achievement.
Reciprocity between the state and local community allowed the empire to function efficiently.
Within the system the Inca nobility had many privileges and were distinguished by dress and
custom. There was no distinct merchant class because of the emphasis on self-sufficiency and
state management of the economy. The state remained strong until it lost control of its subject
peoples and government mechanisms. Royal multiple marriages used to forge alliances
eventually created rival claimants for power and civil war.
6. Describe the major cultures of North America?
The other cultures of North America vary greatly depending on their social complexity and
material culture. Much of the Northwest United States was based on small fishing communities,
in Colorado and South America agrarian areas developed but never became fully formed states.
Warfare was common in most cultures and many were based on sedentary agriculture. Social
organization tended to have no major class divisions. Over 200 languages had developed by
1500 and most groups were strongly kin-based. Women held political and social roles in addition
to playing a large role in crop production.
7. Compare and contrast Andean and Mesoamerican civilizations. (Aztec & Inca)
Both had effective and organized military and imperial branches. They were both based on
extensive agriculture that was organized by the state. Goods were redistributed to all groups.
Both based on a hierarchy where nobility was at the top. The Inca’s navigated their empire as a
unit, however both groups allowed local rulers in exchange for loyalty.
Most differences were the result of climate and geography. The Aztecs developed greater trade
and markets. However other differences included metallurgy, writing systems, and social
definition and hierarchy.
8. Compare and contrast the civilizations of the Americas with those of the Old World (pick two
Old World civs.).
Answers will vary based on choices made.