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Major Pre-Colombian Empires of the New World: The Aztecs and The Incas I. The Aztec Empire Basic Information: • Height = ca. 1325 – 1519 CE • Location = Central Mexico • Capital city-state = Tenochtitlan (Mexico City is now on top of it) – Other major city-states = Texcoco and Tlacopan (with Tenochtitlan were called the “Triple Alliance”) I. The Aztec Empire Government: • Basic Structure – Emperor – ruled empire from Tenochtitlan • Elected from one royal family by all of the rulers of all Aztec citystates • Advised by other members of the nobility who served in various councils – Each Aztec city-state ruled by a hereditary ruler – Cities divided into clan-based neighborhoods called calpulli, each was • ruled by a hereditary “chief” • had its own local temple and school • Tribute – Conquered city-states were allowed to keep their own ruler/government, as long as they paid their tribute – Commoners of the empire were also required to pay tribute (taxes) to the nobles of their city-state I. The Aztec Empire Social Systems: • Social Classes – Nobility • “Rulers” = leaders of city-states of the empire • “Chiefs” = ruled over districts within cities and served in high positions in army and government • “sons of nobles” = served in lower army and government posts and also as priests – Non-noble elites • Pochteca – hereditary merchant/spy class • Artisans who made luxury items – Commoners • “free commoners” – farmers, artisans • “rural tenants” – who lived on/worked nobles’ lands – slaves I. The Aztec Empire Subsistence Strategies: • Food Crops = Corn, beans, squash, amaranth, chia, tomatoes, peppers • Other Crops – cacao – beans used as money and to make a drink for high status people called xocolatl – cotton – for clothing • Domesticated Animals = dog, turkey • Hunting/fishing still done • Chinampas I. The Aztec Empire Economic Systems: • Craft production – Artisans lived in major cities and had guild-like organizations – Each guild usually had their own neighborhood (calpulli) within cities • Trade – Pochteca – Long-distance trade over land and water • Tributary State Relationships – Aztecs conquered outlying peoples and forced tribute out of them – Pochteca collected tribute and brought stuff back to major cities for storage and distribution • All cities had marketplaces for buying/selling of goods I. The Aztec Empire Religion: • Polytheistic Belief System (close to 1000 gods) – Each calpulli had a patron god/goddess – Some of the Major Deities: • • • • Huitzilopochtli – sun god Quetzalcoatl – feathered serpent and ancestor of royal family Tlaloc – rain god Xipe Totec – “Our Lord the Flayed One” • Human Sacrifice – Mostly Killing of POWs – Done to “feed” the sun god – Sometimes involved ritual cannibalism • Priestly Class – performed ceremonies and sacrifices – Women could be priestesses – Performed Auto-sacrifice • Center of cities were ceremonial districts with pyramid temples and courtyard groupings Tzompantli (“skull rack”) I. The Aztec Empire Record Keeping: • Spoken language is called Nahuatl • Some basic symbols (mostly related to numbers and dates) • But, no fully-developed system of writing I. The Aztec Empire Science/Technology: • Calendar system – 260 day ceremonial calendar – 365 day solar calendar • Basic medical care I. The Aztec Empire Art/Architecture: • Monumental Architecture = Pyramid/courtyard complexes • Art – codex “books”, sculpture I. The Aztec Empire Collapse: • By about 1500, many tributary states were unhappy and planning rebellion • Conquest by the Spanish in 1519 – “The Prophesy” of Quetalcoatl • Hernán Cortéz – Execution of last Emperor, Montezuma II II. The Inca Empire Basic Information: • Height = 1438 – 1532 CE • Location = Western South America (from modern day Ecuador to Chile and Argentina) • Capital = Cuzco II. The Inca Empire Government: • Structure of Twantinsuyu – Emperor (called the “Inca”) – ruled from the capital – Imperial divisions (a HUGE bureaucracy): • Empire divided into 4 quarters or suyus, each ruled by a governor who was one of the Emperor’s relatives • Each suyu was further divided into 10 districts, each ruled by an appointed noble governor – A district roughly = 10,000 peasants • Each district was divided into waranqa (villages/small towns), each ruled by a noble village leader – roughly = 1000 peasants (usually related to one another) • Each waranqa was divided into units of 100 peasants, each overseen by another low-level noble • Each unit of 100 was further divided into a unit of 10 peasants overseen by a low-level noble • Taxes = both resource and labor (called Mita system) • Mitmaq system = resettlement of people throughout empire to minimize rebellion II. The Inca Empire Social Systems: • Social Classes – Nobility • Royal Family – said to be descendents of the Sun God, Inti • Aristocracy – served in highest levels of government, military and priesthood – Commoners • Artisans, farmers, merchants • Divided up into ayllus – each was clan-based and totally selfsupporting (in terms of agriculture and craft production) • Some boys and girls were selected and trained in special schools for a lifetime of service for the nobility – Slaves II. The Inca Empire Subsistence Strategies: • Food Crops = potatoes, corn, beans, peppers, squash, peanuts, cassava, quinoa • Domesticated Animals = llama, alpaca, vicuña, guinea pig, ducks, dogs • Terraced Fields II. The Inca Empire Economic Systems: • Craft production – Artisans – Gold and Silversmiths lived in special ayllus and were tax-exempt • Trade System – Complex system of roads and rope suspension bridges linked cities – tambos – structures along road system used as rest stops and storage of goods – “Vertical trade system” • Marketplaces in cities and villages II. The Inca Empire Religion: • Polytheistic Belief System – Main god = Inti (the sun god and ancestor of the royal family) – Huacas – places (both natural and man-made) with spiritual significance – Ancestral worship • Sacrifices – mostly animal (but in some cases human, if the situation was serious) • Priestly Class – huge class (mostly from nobility) who carried out ceremonies and were healers, too – Women could be priests of Inti (“virgins of the sun”) II. The Inca Empire Record Keeping: • Spoken language is called Quechua • No system of writing at all • The Quipu II. The Inca Empire Science/Technology: • Medicine – Bone graphs – Trepanning • Lunar calendar II. The Inca Empire Art/Architecture: • Monumental Architecture – Masonry without mortar! • Art – textiles, metalworking, pottery II. The Inca Empire Collapse: • 1525 - Civil war over the throne between 2 sons of the recently dead emperor – Atahualpa won and became the emperor in 1532 • 1532 – Francisco Pizarro and 180 Spanish soldiers arrived – Incas thought that he was Viracocha (the creator god) – Spanish attacked and took Atahualpa Captive • 1533 – Spanish kill Atahualpa and place Manco Capac II on the throne as a puppet emperor • 1536 – Manco Capac II escaped to city of Vilcabamba and led revolt against the Spanish • 1572 – Spanish capture Vilcabamba and execute the last Inca Emperor, Tupac Amaru Tupac Amaru Not this one… …THIS one!