CHAPTER 11

The Americas on the eve of invasion

Objective

How did the environment influence the development of societies in the Americas and how does that compare with the empires we have discussed so far?

2500s BCE-400 BCE Olmec 300s-900s CE Mayas 900s-1200s CE Toltecs 1100s-1500s CE Incas 1300s- 1500s CE Aztecs

Olmecs (800 BCE)

River-valley equivalent Adopt agriculture and cultivate corn and

potatoes Lack system of writing Create massive architecture Domestication of dogs, turkeys and guinea

pigs

Maya (400-700CE)

Polytheistic Blood sacrifice Intellectual Achievements

astronomy, calendric systems, hieroglyphic writing, ceremonial architecture, and masonry without metal tools

Toltecs (900-1150 CE)

Adoption of earlier agricultural practices

Human sacrifice Viewed as givers of

civilization by later tribes (inaccurate)

Legend of Topiltzin & Quetzalcoatl

Possible contact with SW American Indians

Aztecs (1300s – mid 1521)

Aggressive & warlike people Continue practice of human sacrifice Creation of divine kingship Region trade and tribute from conquered peoples Unable to remove women from economic activity

Provided necessary labor for food production Due to lack of animal domestication or the wheel Women were treated better (finally)

Empire conquered by the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes

Aztec Religion

Polytheistic religion 128 gods

Fertility, agriculture, creation, war, sacrifice Still address the major theological questions of

human existence Cult of Human Sacrifice

Took a tradition and changed it More and different

Aztec Agriculture

Chinampas, man-made floating islands Video

High yield farming Most of the 150,000 -200,000 people were not

food producers Maize, beans and crops

Aztec Social Structures

Calpulli: Kin groups or clans

Historically 7 As the Aztecs grew in power the Calpulli

changed Became residential groups

Social stratification Some Calpulli were more important than others Within the Calpulli itself, some families were

more important than others Social separation was very apparent and

widened as the empire grew

Tenochtitlan (Before and After)

Incas (1300’s – 1533)

Influenced by earlier Andean cultures, but not by Olmecs/Toltecs Earlier societies known as

intermediate horizon states

Incan Culture

Culture of war and conquest Cult of the Ancestor

split inheritance Power given to one heir, wealth to remainder of male

offspring Wealth used to support deceased in afterlife

New ruler compelled to acquire new wealth through conquest to ensure his one care in afterlife

Gender-specific roles in the home and in society Emphasis on cooperation Inheritance passed through gender

Father to son, Mother to daughter

How the Inca’s maintained control

Development of regional government and state bureaucracy Land and labor from conquered people,

rather than monetary tribute Considerate of local customs and

traditions Creation of complex system of roads

(2500 miles) More complex system of trade than Aztecs

No written language Development of Quipu: knotted counting

system

Inca agricultural

Development of agricultural terraces on mountainsides Similar to Aztec chinampas

Incan Downfall

Weakened by alliances and arranged royal marriages Centralization was not as strong

Empire conquered by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizzaro Kidnapped the Inca Killed Him

Comparing Incas and Aztecs

Both built on previous civilizations Both represented success at imperial and military

organization Both created by the conquest of sedentary

agricultural people and the extraction of tribute and labor from them

Both older kinship-based institutions changed with the rise in nobility

Both recognized local ethnic groups and powers

Aztec trade and markets more developed

Exit

How did the environment influence the development of societies in the Americas and how does that compare with the empires we have discussed so far?

Answer this please in your check for understanding worksheet