Download Social Studies-Aztec Power Point

The Aztec Empire
VALLEY OF MEXICO
7.7.2
7.7.4
7.7.5
• The Aztec Empire started in the Valley of Mexico
• 2 non-Aztec groups lived in the Valley of Mexico for
2,000 years before the Aztecs – Teotihuacans and
Toltecs
• In 1250 c.e. the Aztecs arrived in the Valley of
Mexico
• The Aztecs were hired as mercenaries (paid
military)
AZTEC LEGEND
• Group of Aztecs were being chased away after sacrificing
the daughter of another chief
• Got in their boats and rowed away from the people
• As they were crossing Lake Texcoco they saw something
• They saw a bald eagle sitting on a cactus with a long
snake in its beak
• They took this as a sign from the gods
• They built their city on the island of Tenochtitlan
• Tenochtitlan mans “the place of the fruit and prickly pear
cactus”
TENOTCHTITLAN
AZTEC CAPITAL CITY
TENOCHTITLAN: A CITY OF WONDERS
• Population: Between 200,00-300,000 people in the city
• Created “floating gardens”
THE GREAT TEMPLE
• 150 feet tall
• Decorated with bright sculptures and murals
• Could be seen from several miles away
ROYAL PALACE
• Home of the Aztec ruler
• Two stories tall (20 feet)
CAUSEWAYS
• Causeway – A road across open water
• 3 causeways linked the island to the mainland
• Wooden bridges that could be raised and lowered
OTHER TECHNOLOGY
AQUEDUCTS
• Two pipes ran for 3 miles
• While one was being cleaned the other could be used
DIKE
• A 10 mile wall to hold back flood waters
Main Idea 1:
Aztec society was divided by
social roles and by class.
People in Aztec society had clearly defined roles. These
roles, along with social class, determined how Aztec men
and women lived. They had five distinct social classes.
– Ruler
– Government Officials, Priests and Military Leaders
– Commoners
– Peasants
– Slaves
Classes of Aztec Society:
RULER
• The Aztec ruler, or emperor, was considered more than
human but not fully a god.
• When an emperor died a group of advisors chose the new
ruler from the royal family.
Classes of Aztec Society:
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, PRIESTS, MILITARY LEADERS
• The emperor appointed government officials for life.
• The priests served individual gods.
• Priests ran schools to train boys for government jobs or
priesthood.
• Girls could become priestesses.
• All Aztec men were trained to be soldiers.
• Common soldiers could become a military leader if they
captured enemies in battle.
Classes of Aztec Society:
COMMONERS
THREE SMALL CLASSES
POCHTECA
•
Led caravans to the to distant lands to acquire exotic goods.
•
Some also served as spies for the emperor.
CRAFTS PEOPLE AND ARTISANS
•
Pottery, jewelry and were painters.
FARMERS, FISHERMAN, LABORER, SERVANTS
•
They were loaned plots of land to work from the emperor
•
All commonors paid taxes to the upper classes in the form of crops, labor or goods.
Classes of Aztec Society:
PEASANTS
• 30 % of the Aztec people were peasants.
• Peasants were free but considered below the commoners.
• Their services were hired out to the upper class.
CLASSES OF AZTEC SOCIETY:
SLAVES
•
•
•
•
Prisoners, lawbreakers, people who owed money.
They could own property, goods and even other slaves.
Children of slaves were born free.
Gained freedom after working off debt, criminal
punishment or when their masters died.
Main Idea 2:
Aztec religion required human sacrifice
for keeping the gods happy.
The Aztecs believed that they had to feed the gods. Most
sacrifices were enemy warriors.
AZTEC SACRIFICES
• The Aztecs believed that keeping the gods happy meant
that their lives would be blessed.
• The greatest number of sacrifices were made to the war
god Huitzilopochtli and the rain god Tlaloc.
• Priests led the sacrificial rituals, which took place on top of
the temples that had been built.
• Humans were sacrificed because it was believed that the
human hearts and blood would “feed” the gods and keep
them strong.
• Aztec priests sacrificed as many as 10,000 victims a year
in religious sacrifices.
Main Idea 3:
Hernán Cortés conquered
the Aztec Empire.
In the late 1400s Spanish explorers and soldiers arrived in
the Americas. The soldiers, or conquistadors, came to
explore new lands, search for gold, and spread the Catholic
religion.
Cortés and Moctezuma
• A small group of conquistadors led by Cortés reached
Mexico in 1519.
• Moctezuma II, the Aztec leader, believed that Cortés was a
god.
• Moctezuma sent Cortés gifts, including gold. Cortés
wanted more gold, so he went to Moctezuma.
• Cortés took Moctezuma prisoner. The other Aztecs
attacked Cortés and his men. The Spanish were driven
out, but Moctezuma was killed.
• Cortés returned with many Indian allies and in 1521 they
defeated the Aztecs and ended their empire.
Causes of the Defeat of the Aztecs
• Alliances The Spanish had made allies in the region who
gave them supplies, information, and warriors.
• Weapons The Spanish had better weapons than the
Aztecs. They had cannons, armor, swords, and horses that
the Aztecs did not have.
• Geography The Spanish were able to cut off the capital
city. The people had no food or water, so many Aztecs died
of starvation.
• Disease The Spanish had unknowingly brought deadly
diseases such as smallpox to the Americas. These diseases
killed the Aztecs, who had never been exposed to such
diseases.
The Inca Empire
7.7.1
7.7.3
The Big Idea
The Incas built a huge empire in South America, but they
were conquered by the Spanish.
Main Ideas
• The rise of the Inca Empire was due to conquest and the
achievements of the Inca people.
• Pizarro conquered the Incas and took control of the
region.
Main Idea 1:
The rise of the Inca Empire was due to
conquest and the achievements
of the Inca people.
In South America, another great empire arose. That empire
belonged to the Inca.
Foundations for the Incan Empire
• Pre-Inca civilization began to develop in what is now Peru.
Four major cultures developed and built some of South
America’s first cities.
• The early Incas began as a small tribe in the Andes
mountains. A ruler named Pachacuti led the Incas to
expand their territory through agreements with, or
conquests of, other tribes.
• Later Inca rulers continued to expand their territory. By
the 1500s the Incan Empire was huge and had
12
million people.
The Incan Government
• As the Incas conquered more people, they had to devise a way to
control them.
• They made the conquered leaders move out of their villages and
move in with leaders who were loyal to the Inca government.
• The Inca made the children of the conquered leaders come to the
Incan capital to learn about Incan ways.
• The Incas established an official language, Quechua.
• They controlled the economy by having the Inca pay a tax with
their labor.
• There were no markets or merchants. Instead, the government
would distribute goods. Leftover goods were stored in the capital
for emergencies.
Main Idea 2:
Pizarro conquered the Incas and took
control of the region.
A civil war began in the Inca Empire between the two sons of
the king, Atahualpa and Huáscar. Atahualpa eventually won
the war and ruled the empire.
The Fall of the Incas
• Although Atahualpa had won the war, the infighting had
weakened the empire.
• A group of conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro arrived in the
empire. They demanded that Atahualpa convert to Christianity.
• When Atahualpa refused to convert, the conquistadors attacked
the Inca, and thousands were killed.
• The Incas tried to free Atahualpa with a roomful of gold and
silver, but the Spanish killed him anyway.
• The Spanish defeated the last of the Inca, and the empire fell in
1537.
– The Spanish had superior weapons and horses.
– They brought diseases that weakened the native peoples.
Inca Life and Society
7.7.2
7.7.4
The Big Idea
Many kinds of people make up Inca society in an empire
know for grand architecture and complex oral literature.
Main Ideas
• For the Inca, position in society affected daily life.
• The Incas made great achievements in building, art, and
oral literature.
Main Idea 1:
For the Incas, position in society affected
daily life.
Inca society had two main social classes—an upper and a
lower class. The Incas from Cuzco, the capital, made up the
upper class.
Society and Daily Life
Upper Class
• Kings, priests, and
government officials made
up the Inca upper class.
• Men worked for the
government, and women
had household duties.
• Sons went to school.
• Upper-class families had
many privileges, such as
private schools, stone
houses, and the best
clothes.
Lower Class
• The lower class was made
up of farmers, artisans,
and servants. There were
no slaves in Inca society.
• They worked on
government farms, served
in the army, worked in
mines, or built roads.
• Most children did not go to
school, but instead learned
to farm.
Religion in the Inca Empire
• The Inca Empire had an official religion.
• When they conquered new regions, they taught this
religion to the conquered people.
• They allowed the conquered people to worship their own
gods as well.
• The god of the sun was the most important god to the
Incas. They believed their kings were related to the sun
god.
• The Incas rarely sacrificed humans. Instead, they
sacrificed llamas, cloth, or food.
Main Idea 2:
The Inca made great achievements in
building, art, and oral literature.
The Incas had strong traditions of building, art, and
storytelling. Many of their creations still exist today.
Inca Contributions to Culture
• The Inca were known for their massive buildings and forts
made of huge stone blocks. Blocks were cut so precisely
that even today it is nearly impossible to fit a knife blade
between the stones.
• The Inca also built a system of roads that connected all
parts of the empire.
• The Inca artisans made jewelry of silver and gold.
• Oral literature was made up of storytelling and songs. The
Inca also passed down their songs, dances, and religious
practices.
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