The+Americas

In America

The Incas
 * E || * **Twantinsuyu**, or, the Inca Empire had a centralized system
 * Recognized each ethnic group and placed them in an imperial state
 * Organized an extensive agricultural system
 * Areas along the **Andean** zone near **Lake Titicaca** were the centers of agriculture
 * Wars over the vital land
 * After **Huayana's** reign the empire stretched from **Colombia** to **Chile** and eastward towards Lake Titicaca and **Bolivia** to northern **Argentina**;
 * Split into four great provinces; Ruled by a governor
 * Minimal trade with outside nations/tribes || [[image:http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/imagevoy/inca2.gif width="210" height="238" caption="Inca Empire"]] ||

** **Temple of the Sun** was located in Cuzco; Center of the state religion * The highest deity was the sun. The Inca ruler was said to be the Sun god’s representive on Earth. * Natural phenomenal encouraged animismm ||  ||
 * S || * Local resources were divided up for the people, state, and church.
 * Women were of low status, served as temple servants or concubines for Inca. They would take care of the household.
 * **Ayllus** would control each community in the hopes that it is self-sufficient.
 * Peasants and herders were mostly men
 * There were social classes; Inca nobility had special privileges and were distinguished by dress and custom
 * There was no distinct merchant class.
 * Fused the old Andean cultures together
 * **Cult of the dead**
 * The living needed more rulers to be mummified in order to acquire more jobs and wealth
 * Resulted in more royal courts ||
 * P || * The fused Andean cultures were organized into a bureaucratic state mixed with different cultures and languages
 * Still able to control and maintain their own powers
 * Coastal kingdom of **Chimor** was powerful but grew stronger after the Incas conquered it in 1465
 * **Pachacuti** (1438-1471)
 * Rose to power and created a strong military alliance
 * Acquired areas from **Cuzco** to Lake Titicaca
 * **Topac Yupanqui (**Pachacuti's son)
 * Conquered the northern coastal kingdom of Chimor
 * Seized the irrigation system
 * Spread power to present day **Ecuador**
 * **Huayna Capac** (1493-1527)
 * Ended the resistance of the **Araucanian Indians**
 * **Split inheritance -** Political power and title passing on to the next successor
 * All land and wealth went to male descendants
 * Integrated imperial policy with regional diversity, as **reciprocity**
 * **Royal marriages** forged alliances, eventually creating rival claimants for power and civil war.
 * Inca rulers were considered to be gods (Higher than a messenger of gods; prophet)
 * Established a bureaucracy **in which all nobles contributed to**;
 * Local rulers, **Curacas**, could keep their power as long as they remained loyal to the Incas- Gained their privilege
 * Curacas were exempt from paying taxes; Gained labor and produce ||
 * I || * Conquered Mesoamerica- Eventually going towards the Andean highlands
 * I || * Conquered Mesoamerica- Eventually going towards the Andean highlands
 * Andean region by Lake Titicaca held the centers of agriculture and the cause of wars.
 * The conquered people from the many wars provided the land and labor. They also served in the military to get rewards for new conquests. ||
 * R || * **State religious centers**
 * The sun god was the most important
 * The Incas themselves represented the sun god; They were still allowed to worship other deities
 * The mummified bodies of past rulers were kept in the temples for protection by the gods
 * Mountains, stones, rivers, caves, tombs, and temples were all considered "**holy shrines**"
 * Offerings to the gods included animals, humans, food, and humble prayer
 * Temples were extremely important to everyday religious life.
 * Male priests and women worked in temples
 * Temple priests were responsible for celebrations and preparations for the gods
 * Holy Shrines, **huancas,** were offered for prayers and sacrifices under ayllus authority.


 * I || * Rulers were mummified
 * Rulers were to become an intermediate with the gods
 * The Quechua language
 * Complex systems of roads, bridges, and causeways with way stations, tambos, and storehouse; for military movement ||
 * T || * Produced beautiful pottery and cloth
 * One of the most advanced in metallurgy
 * **Quipu -** style of recording types of information using a system of knotted strings; numerical, historical, etc. ||

Summary: The Incas were a Mesoamerican civilization, controlling land on the west coast towards the **Andes** and **Lake Titicaca**. Religion and pleasing the gods was a vital part of everyday life. As a result, human sacrifices (usually of those captured in battle or prisoners) were common. Sometimes captive people were forced to work as slaves. The Incas had a bureaucratic government system and political power was passed down through **split inheritance**. Local rulers, known as **Curacas,** could remain in power if they remained loyal to the Incas. The economy of the Incas relied upon agriculture, yet the society itself was rather advanced for its time; with advanced architecture and complex structures. The Incan Empire was the fusion of all the old **Andean** cultures. Many Incan rulers were focused on expanding territory while also pleasing the gods.

The Aztecs
 * E || * City of Tenochtitlan was created in 1325; Aztecs conquered the people
 * Dominated areas from the **Tarascan** frontier to the **Mayan** region
 * **Chinampas**- beds of aquatic weeds, mud and earth that were placed in frames made of crane and placed into the bottom of the lake
 * Formed very little islands;
 * Provided water to all plants; More than 20,000 acres were created
 * **Cacao** and **gold dust** were used as forms of currency
 * **Pochteca**- The merchant class, specializing in long distance trade
 * Distribution of goods were taken by authorities
 * Not a market economy
 * Decided who to distribute to
 * Mainly to those who were under Aztec rule/ cooperated with Aztec law and customs
 * Power and wealth was concentrated in the Aztec capital
 * Surrounding areas were poorer
 * The wealthy lived in more populated area ||
 * S || * Aztecs originated from a tribe of 10,000 people who migrated to **Lake Texcoco**;
 * After the fall of the **Toltec Empire,** the Lake was dominated by people of mixed backgrounds
 * They were organized into city-states, creating shifting powers
 * They knew how to farm and cultivate land
 * Forced those they conquered to pay tribute, surrender lands and give military service
 * Conquered and captured tribes/warriors were used for human sacrifice
 * **Calpulli**- Clans of Aztecs that divided different functions to every member like distributing land, deciding heads of households, organizing labor groups, and creating militaires
 * Each individual was born into a social class; __no mobility__
 * Nobles controlled the priesthood and military
 * Imperial family became more dominant than the pipiltin families
 * Calpulli was no longer active once nobles broke the chain
 * bought land and hired serf-like workers
 * low class and couldn't own land (resembling feudalism)
 * Women were barely allowed out of the house
 * Worked in the field, cooked
 * Had marriages arranged for them
 * Could inherit and pass on land
 * Spent 6 hours a day grinding corn for dinner
 * Aztecs spoke **Nahatl**- Same language as the Toltec ||
 * P || [[image:http://www.portalestoria.net/IMAGES%2060/moctezuma.jpg width="186" height="214" align="right" caption="Montezuma II "]]
 * Aztecs defeated the Toltec Empire around 1150;
 * Rose to power and formed an imperial state
 * Aztecs were disliked due to their aggressive warfare and military dominance
 * Most tribes favored siding with the Aztecs over being sacrificed to their gods.
 * **Moctezuma II** became the most powerful king with civil power
 * Great Speaker elected by the Aztec nobles
 * Ruler of the Tenochtitlan with great power and wealth
 * Considered a living god
 * (Those who wanted to speak to him had to throw dirt at themselves to humiliate themselves; you could not look him in the eye)
 * Prime minister- usually a close relative of the great speaker ||  ||
 * I || * Cooperated and with allies around the Tenochtitlan
 * Established dominance over those they ruled in the city-states
 * Conquered lands to expand territory
 * Captured people from other cities to practice human sacrifice || [[image:http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTQRKRURPUcQvipS6c1M9mdPed3zLuGqKTXSKOXxsaWZhK9e6k2sA caption="Aztec Empire"]] ||


 * R || * Aztecs practiced strictly based on their view of God;
 * Offered human sacrifices
 * Made themselves feared by other tribes
 * Had more than __128 major deities__
 * Each deity was broken down into male and female forms
 * Each god was worshiped through sacrifice, festival, feasts, and dance
 * **Tlaloc** was the god of rain
 * Prayed to Tlaloc to help crops, etc.
 * Most Aztecs were centered around the theme of creation; Warfare and Sacrifice had became the cult of the state
 * **Huitzilopochtli** was the tribal patron god that became the figure of the cult
 * Known as the old sun god
 * Thought to be a warrior in the daytime fighting in the skies
 * Sacrafices were to aid the gods in sacraficing as well in order to help the believers; so that they are worthy
 * They had many religious questions
 * Were gods real?
 * Was there and afterlife?


 * Believed the gods created catastrophe and were the true rulers of their empire ||
 * I || * Toltec art depicted warrior cult images of exotic animals
 * Jaguars; Eagles eating human hearts
 * Cults developed **cannibalism**
 * Aztec imagery focused on human hearts, blood, God; flowers, birds, feasting, singing ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 65pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">T || * Architecture was complex, but not as advanced as European structures beore the Dark Ages (Fall of Rome) ||

Summary: The Aztecs originated from a tribe of 10,000 people who migrated to **Lake Texcoco** from near the Gulf of Mexico. After the fall of the Toltec Empire, the Aztec consolidated power over the various people of mixed backround living by the Lake. They established many traditions and instilled fear in their enemies hearts due to their violent and brutal customs. The Aztecs were very religious and offered human sacrafices to their gods as gifts. They had over 128 major deities, in both male and female forms. Even though they had questions about religion and it's effects, religion still had an undeniable impact on their lives. They took the captives of conquered lands prisoners as slaves and forced them to work or sacrificed them. The **chinampas** efficiently increased the growth of agriculture which, in turn, provided a large source of food. Their arts consisted of human sacrifice and bloody images which related to their offering to their gods. Technology was rather sparse, but they did invent mills for the purpose of providing energy. The Aztec Civilization was a gruesome, religious, successful society (a Mesoamerican Sparta) based on war and agriculture.