Aztec and Inca Empires Overview

The Aztec Empire

A. Formation of the Aztecs

  • Origins: The Aztecs, also known as Mexica, began as nomadic people from Northern Mexico.

  • Founding of Tenochtitlán (1328):

    • Established on Lake Texcoco.

    • Became the capital of the Aztec Empire.

  • Key Alliances:

    • Formed a triple alliance with Texcoco and Tacuba to defeat common enemies.

    • Post-victory, power was shared among the allies, but over time, the Mexica grew dominant.

    • Resulted in the Aztecs controlling most of the surrounding territories, becoming the principal rulers in the region.

B. Beliefs and Practices

  • Origins Mythology:

    • Aztecs claimed descent from ancient prestigious cultures.

  • Sacrificial Practices:

    • The Aztecs believed that the sun required human blood to sustain its cycle.

    • Human sacrifices, notably war captives and slaves, were core to religious rituals to maintain cosmic balance.

    • Key Deities:

    • Huitzilopochtli: God of the sun and war, believed to need blood for sustenance.

    • Sacrifices served to demonstrate Aztec power and order in the cosmos.

C. Structure and Society of the Aztec Empire

  1. Population: Approximately 5-6 million individuals.

  2. Governance:

    • Loose rules led to frequent rebellions.

  3. Tribute System:

    • Conquered peoples were required to provide goods such as food, textiles, jewelry, and building materials.

  4. Tenochtitlán:

    • Population ranged between 150,000-200,000.

    • Known for its canals, causeways, and pyramids as well as floating gardens (chinampas).

    • Chinampas: Created by piling mud/plant matter on lakes, served as agricultural plots that 'floated' on the water.

The Inca Empire

A. Emergence in the Andes

  • Geography of the Andes:

    • A long mountain range featuring diverse ecological zones and valleys.

  • Resource Acquisition:

    • Utilized trade and conquest to gather various resources from these environments.

    • Coastal areas relied on irrigation from rivers and seafood from the Pacific Ocean.

    • Different altitudes offered distinct agricultural products:

    • Coastal: Seafood.

    • Low valleys: Maize and cotton.

    • High plains: Potatoes, quinoa, and llamas.

    • Eastern slopes: Fruits and coca leaves.

B. Growth of the Inca Empire

  • Inca Civilization (1438-1533):

    • Aquechua-speaking society formed the largest empire in the Andes through military conquest.

  • Empire Size: Spanned approximately 2,500 miles with around 10 million people.

  • Cultural Foundations:

    • Built upon earlier Andean civilization traditions, similar to how the Aztecs built upon Mesoamerican traditions.

C. Political Structure

  1. Centralized Government:

    • Led by a divine emperor viewed as the son of Inti, the sun god.

    • Government divided into 80 provinces, each managed by an Inca governor.

  2. State Ownership:

    • In theory, the state owned all land and resources.

    • Local leaders incorporated into the administration supervised by Inca officials and inspectors.

    • State properties referred to as "land of the sun."

  3. Machu Picchu:

    • A significant sacred site built as a royal and religious retreat high in the Andes (~8000 feet).

    • Discovered in 1911 by a Yale archaeologist.

E. The Inca's record-keeping, language training, & record-keeping to control & unite their empire

  1. Quipu: Knotted cords for record keeping (counts, deaths, taxes).

  2. Resettlement: Moved 85% of people to prevent rebellion & ensure loyalty.

  3. Leaders of conquered people learned Quechua, sent leaders to Cusco for training.
    a) Cusco: Inca capital city where leaders learned about Inca culture.
    F. People accepted Inca gods but kept local religions.
    G. Instead of paying tribute, Incas made people work for the state through the Inca system.

  4. Mita system: Required labor service instead of tribute.
    a) Every household had to work for the state.

  5. Skilled workers made textiles, metal goods, ceramics, & stonework.

  6. Chosen Women: Girls trained in Inca religion, made textiles, food, and aids in return.
    H. Inca & Aztec societies gave men & women different roles but valued them equally through gender parallelism.

  7. Practiced "gender parallelism": men/women different but equal roles.

  8. Incas: Men worshipped sun; women worshipped moon; separate religious & political roles.

  9. Both Aztecs & Incas had male & female priests & local leaders.

  10. Women's roles (cooking, weaving, birthing) seen as important/sacred.

  11. Men broke ground; women spaced seeds; both harvested crops.