AP WORLD: Americas

Mexica/Aztecs

Mexica/Aztecs

Indigenous societies in the Americas that migrated to Lake Texcoco and founded Tenochtitlan, known for their advanced city planning and religious practices.

Tenochtitlan

Capital city of the Mexica/Aztecs, considered the "Venice of the Americas," connected by canals, causeways, and bridges, with terracotta aqueducts for fresh water supply.

Mexica Government

City-states ruled by a speaker from the nobility, with a centralized theocracy, where rulers embodied gods and human sacrifice was common.

Mexica Economy

Utilized chinampas for agriculture, had a merchant class for long-distance trade, and used bartering or items like cacao beans as currency.

Mexica Society

Nobility controlled military and priesthood, women primarily in the house but could be healers or part of the merchant class, and practiced polygamy among the nobility.

Incas

Indigenous society founded by Quechua-speaking clans near Cuzco, known for their split inheritance system and advanced agricultural practices.

Inca Economy

Primarily agricultural society with terrace farming and irrigation, no merchant class, and a strong government overseeing production and distribution of goods.

Inca Politics

Head of Inca considered almost a god, divided empire into provinces run by nobles, allowed self-rule for conquered peoples, and used coerced labor for massive projects.

Inca Religion

Polytheistic society worshiping Inti, the sun god, with human sacrifices on a smaller scale than the Aztecs, influenced by animism.

Inca Society

Limited social mobility, polygamy among nobility, women played critical roles in the household, and practiced parallel descent in passing down property and belongings.

Inca Technology

Built extensive road systems, used quipu for numerical calculations, and excelled in pottery, cloth, masonry, and metalwork.