Robert Wade AP World History Bryan Adams High School Robert Wade AP World History Bryan Adams High School

New Cultures  appearance of new peoples in central America  Toltecs  Aztecs

The Toltecs  adopted sedentary agricultural practices  added a strong military and imperial culture –conquest of neighboring peoples  ritual wars –war....capture...sacrifice  “givers of civilization”

Toltec empire  central Mexico  expansion into former Mayan territories  northern Mexico –trade with the American Southwest –Chaco Canyon ???

Quetzalcoatl  The Feathered Serpent  Topiltzin: a priest –religious reformer –opposed to human and animal sacrifice  exiled to the east, with a promise to return on a specific date  same year as Cortez and the Conquistadors

The Aztecs  collapse of the Toltecs: 1150 A.D.  influx of nomadic invaders form the north  shift of power to central Mexico –large lakes –fertile agricultural areas  contests for control

The Aztecs: Origins  obscure background  claimed to have live in the area originally  exiled to the north to Aztlan  actually, nomads from the North  took advantage of the Toltec collapse  wrote history to suit their purposes

Origins  group who settled near Lake Texcoco  1325 A.D.  competed with other Chichimec immigrants  small states –claiming connections to the Toltecs –speaking Nahuatl

Lake Texcoco  several tribes  small city-state  Azcapotzalco, Culhuacan  Culhuacan: control by diplomatic marriage  complex alliances, constantly shifting

Aztecs  new group  used as mercenaries and occasional allies  constant movement around the lake shore –driven by stronger powers  reputation: good warriors and religious fanatics

Aztec Settlement  the legend: an eagle on a cactus, holding a rattlesnake  an island in Lake Texcoco  Tenochtitlan –1325 A.D. –Tlateloco: a second settlement

Aztec expansion  more active role in regional politics  rebelled against Azcapotzalco  emerged as an independent power  political merge: 1434 –Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, Tlacopan –Aztecs dominated the alliance

Social and Political Change  imperial expansion  subject peoples paid tribute, surrender land, and do military service  stratified society –under the authority of a supreme ruler –Tlacaelel: advised rulers and rewrote histories –the Aztecs had been chosen to serve the gods  human sacrifice greatly expanded

Human sacrifice  role of the military  role of expansion  flower wars  means of political terrorism  cult of sacrifice united with the political state

Religion and Conquest  little distinction between the natural and supernatural  traditional gods and goddesses  128 major deities

Gods  male/female dualism  different manifestations  five aspects –four directions –the center  gods as patrons  complex ceremonial year

Gods, con’t  gods of fertility and agriculture  gods of creation –cosmology and philosophical thought  gods of warfare  Huitzilopochtli: their tribal deity –identified with the Sun God

The Sun God and Sacrifice  a warrior in the daytime sky  fighting to give life to the world  enemy of the forces of night  the sun needs strength  52 year cycle of the world –required blood to avert destruction

The Sun God, con’t  sacrifice for sacrifice  the gods need nourishment –human blood and hearts  adoption of longstanding human sacrifice  expansion to “industrial” proportions –10,000 people on one occasion

The Empire: the Economy  high population density  combination of tradition and innovation –chinampas –20,000 acres –four crops a year  food as tribute

The Empire: the Economy  high population density  combination of tradition and innovation –chinampas –20,000 acres –four crops a year  food as tribute

Lands of the Aztecs

Aztec View of Tenochtitlan

Ruins of the City Center, Tenochtitlan

The Codex Mendoza : The Founding of Tenochtitlan

Tenochtitlan: The “Venice” of the Americas

Aztec Chinampa or Floating Garden: 15ft. to 30ft. wide

Tenochtitlan - Chinampas

Aztec Math Aztec Writing

Aztec Sun Stone -- Calendar

Aztec Sun Motifs

Aztec Codex (15c Manuscript)

The Aztecs Were Fierce Warriors

Aztecs Sacrifice Neighboring Tribes to the Sun God

Heart Sacrifice on an Aztec Temple Pyramid

Wall of Skulls, Tenochtitlan

Sacrificial Statue, Tenochtitlan

Aztec Gold

South America: the Incas  Cuzco: original home –1350 A.D.  expansion by 1438  Incan empire –ruled million people

Religion and expansion  cult of ancestors  “split inheritance” –position to successor –land and wealth to descendants to care for the dead  new land necessary for each ruler

Religion  animism  sun worship

The Empire  four provinces  decimal organizations  Ouechua: the official language  colonists

The Empire con’t  infrastructure: roads and bridges  communications by runners –10,000  purpose: land and labor  little actual tribute

Inca “socialism”  empire claimed all resources  redistributed them evenly to all peoples  local independence  access to new goods and services

Weakness  top-heavy with royal and noble families  low level of technology  easy prey for the Spanish

Lands of the Incas

Cuzco: A ncient Capital of the Inca (11,000 ft. above sea level)

Machu Picchu

Incan Suspension Bridges

Incan Terrace Farming

Incan Digging Sticks

Maize in Incan Pottery & Gold Work

Over 100 Different Types of Potatoes Cultivated by the Incans

Produce from a Typical Incan Market

Incan Ceramic Jars PeanutPeanut PotatoPotato SquashSquash Cacao God Cacao Pod

The Quipu: An Incan Database

Incan Mummies

Inca Gold & Silver