The Aztecs and The Incas
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Aztec Background
• Originally named
Mexica
• Located in what is now
central Mexico
• The empire lasted
during the 14th, 15th,
and 16th centuries CE
http://www.geocities.com/kimmykim7072003/aztec_empire.jpg
Background
• Tenochtitlan was the
capital city and is located
in what is now present
day Mexico city
• The Aztec empire caused
the biggest demographic
explosion in
Mesoamerican history
http://www.mte.asd103.org/art/images/Aztec.jpg
Government
• The Aztecs founded the city of Tenochtitlan in
1325
• Empire began in 1434
• Aztec kings represented civil power and served
as a representative of the gods on Earth
• City-states were individually ruled by speakers
that were chosen by the noble class
Social Structure
• The Aztec society was divided into three socal
classes: the macehualli (people) or peasantry,
the pochteca or merchants and traders, and the
pilli or nobility
• Slaves or tlacotin consisted as a large part of the
Aztec society
• Though people were born into a certain class it
was possible to move up the ranks within a life
time
Religion
• Main deity in the Aztec religion was known as
both the sun god and war god
• Human sacrifice was practiced heavily in the
Aztec religion
• The Aztecs believed that by performing these
sacrifices that it gave power to the gods which in
turn would insure the survival of the Aztec
universe
Religion
• War captives were used in the sacrifices and in
times of peace the Aztec would have to resort to
ritualistic warfare or flower war
• In the year 1487 the Aztecs reported killing
84,400 war prisoners in four days at the great
pyramid of Tenochtitlan
• After a town was conquered the inhabitants
where no longer eligible for sacrifice and
became Aztec citizens
Art
• The favored form of art in
the Aztec empire was
sculpture
• Most Sculptures were made
from limestone, which is still
abundant in Mexico today
• Aztec sculpture was like
most other Mesoamerican
cultures and was mostly
directly related to religion
http://library.thinkquest.org/16325/y-art.html
Art
• The Aztecs also made other
religious and non-religious
artifacts such as jade masks
• Clothing was also a popular
art form and women from
around the empire would use
bead, flower, and metal
decorations
• These artifacts were sold in
markets by visiting merchants
www.latinamericanstudies.org/.../aztec-mask.gif
Architecture
• There where three main types of architecture in
the Aztec society: sacrificial temples, emperors
temple, and different shrines of the gods
http://library.thinkquest.org/10098/aztec.html
Tenochtitlan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec
The Inca
• Starting around 1438 the Incan leader,
Pachacuti, began building the largest ancient
empire in the Americas
• The Inca’s developed the land of present day
Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia etc.
• The most famous Inca site is called Machu
Picchu
Machu Picchu
Religion
• The Inca were Polytheistic (they believed
in many Gods)
• The Sun God was the primary God
• The Incas considered mountains and
rivers their holy shrines
Inca Economy
• Unlike the Aztecs, the Incas did not do a
lot of trading, they tried to be self-sufficient
• Primarily their success was based on
agriculture- they used terrace farming and
complex irrigation
• The Incas grew over 200 types of potatoes
• They used forced labor for massive
projects
• They colonized their conquered areas
Inca Society
• The Inca emphasized their military
strength
• They built a complex system of roads and
bridges (over 2,500 miles of roads)
• The Inca used a system of runners to
carry messages throughout the empire
• They made beautiful pottery, cloth and
metalworking
Hernan Cortes
• Hernan Cortes was a Spanish solider who
lived in the 1500’s
• The Spanish king asked Cortes to find and
conquer new people who could serve
Spain
• In June 1521, the Spanish attacked the
Aztec people and defeated the emperor
Montezuma
Pizzaro
•
•
•
•
•
The riches of the Aztec Empire led
other Spanish conquerors to seek
their fortunes in South America
In 1533 Francisco Pizarro ordered an
attack on the Incas and seized their
emperor
Pizarro charged the emperor with
many crimes and a military court
sentenced him to death
To reward Pizarro the Spanish king
made him governor of Peru
The Spanish conquerors were able to
defeat the Aztec and the Inca by using
horses and guns
http://library.thinkquest.org/16325/y-art.html