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The Aztecs and Incas
Brenda Luchetti
Debbie Bailey
James Mayse
Will Clarke
And EDM
Aztec Empire
 The Aztecs were a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people of
central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries who
built an extensive empire in the late Postclassical period of
Mesoamerican chronology. Aztec civilization and society
possessed a vibrant culture which included mandatory
education and rich and complex mythological and religious
traditions. For Europeans, the most striking element of the
Aztec culture was the practice of human sacrifice which was
conducted throughout Mesoamerica prior to the Spanish
conquest.
Inca Empire
 The Inca Empire was the largest empire in Pre-Columbian
America, and one of the largest empires in the world at the
time of its collapse. The administrative, political and military
center of the empire was located in Cuzco. It arose from the
highlands of Peru in 1197; from 1438 to 1533, the Incas used
conquest and peaceful assimilation to incorporate a large
portion of western South America, centered on the Andean
mountain ranges, including large parts of modern Ecuador,
Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile.
Conquest of the Aztec Empire
 The nucleus of the Aztec Empire was the Valley of Mexico,
where their capital Tenochtitlan was built upon raised islets in
Lake Texcoco. After the 1521 conquest and fall of
Tenochtitlan by Spanish forces and their allies which brought
about the effective end of Aztec dominion, the Spanish
founded the new settlement of Mexico City on the site of the
now-ruined Aztec capital. The capital of the modern-day
nation of Mexico, the greater metropolitan area of Mexico
City now covers much of the Valley of Mexico and the nowdrained Lake of Texcoco.
Conquest of the Aztec Empire
 In what is probably the most widely known episode in the
Spanish colonization of the Americas, Hernán Cortés
(Cortez) conquered the Aztecs in 1521 thus immortalizing
himself and the Aztec Hueyi Tlatoani, Moctezuma II
(Montezuma II).
Conquest of the Inca Empire
 In 1533, Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor (Sapa Inca) was
killed on the orders of the conquistador Francisco Pizarro,
marking the beginning of Spanish rule. The Inca Empire was
organized in “señoríos” (dominions) with a stratified society,
in which the ruler was the Inca. It was also supported by an
economy based on the collective property of the land. In fact,
the Inca Empire was conceived like an ambitious and
audacious civilizing project, based on a mythical thought, in
which the harmony of the relationships between the human
being, nature and Gods was truly essential
Click on the following links to learn more about the Aztec
and Inca Gods, their similarities and differences!
Aztec Gods
http://www.windows2universe.org/mythology/aztec_culture.html
Inca Gods
http://www.windows2universe.org/mythology/inti_sun.html
Chart: Aztec and Incan Deities
 What are the similarities?
Chart: Aztec and Incan Deities
 What are the differences?
Transitions
Write 3 sentences that you can use to transition from a similarity to
a difference.
   Write 3 sentences that you can use to transition from a difference to
a similarity
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Questions
1.) Why do we still study the Aztec and Inca empires?
2.) Why is it important to know the differences and similarities
between these two pre–Columbian empires?
3.) Why do you think that the Aztec and Inca empires have
different Gods, although they are all based around nature?
4.) Broadening the context: Why do we study anything in the
past?
5.) Broadening the context: Compare and contrast other
ancient prehistoric empires to that of the Aztecs and Incans.
6.) Broadening the context: Compare and contrast other
cultures in history that “share” similar deities.
Conquistadors: Fast Facts
 Around the same time, both Hernan Cortez and Francisco Pizarro made
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their moves on the Aztecs and Incas, respectively, and both brought on
their downfall.
Interestingly enough, Cortez was actually the second cousin of Francisco
Pizarro.
Both Cortez and Pizarro used religion to their advantage, by justifying
their action in the name of Christianity.
Both Conquistadors defeated newly founded totalitarian empires; in
other words, the Aztecs and Incans had only recently dominated the
area.
This most likely set the stage for a mentality of the oppressed (i.e. the
natives were used to the idea of being under imperial native rule, and
now were under imperial colonial rule- no big leap of governmental
systems - so rebellions were easily kept to a minimum)
Added notes: Pizarro
 Complete this Powerpoint on Pizarro, based on the lecture notes.
Added notes: Pizarro
 Complete this Powerpoint on Pizarro, based on the lecture notes.
Added notes: Cortez
 Complete this Powerpoint on Cortez, based on the PERSIA reading notes.
Added notes: Cortez
 Complete this Powerpoint on Cortez, based on the PERSIA reading notes.
Final Notes
 Based on the lecture, the readings, and the videoconference,
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what conclusions can be made in regard to Latin American
history? Include 5 broad statements in your answer.
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