Maya Aztec Inca

Tikal

 Northern Guatemala  Independent City-State – linked through alliances and trade  Ruled by a god-king  Pyramids, temples, palaces dedicated to gods and rulers Tallest buildings in Americas until Flatiron Building in 1903

 Grew maize, beans, and squash  Slash-and-burn agriculture Burn vegetation and plant in ashes  Built raised beds above swamps and hillside terraces  Cacao (chocolate) beans could be used as forms of currency

 Achievements Human sacrifice to please gods Calendar – two of them  260-day religious calendar  365-day solar calendar  Used in tandem to identify best times to plant crops, attack enemies, etc Writing system  Glyphs  800 symbols  Bark paper books  Codex Math  Developed decimal system  Used the concept of zero Nobility - priests and warriors Merchants and master artisans Peasants

Abandoned cities in late 800s Warfare broke out between city-states = disrupted trade Soil erosion = poor crops  food shortages

Tenochtitlan Founded on a small island in Lake Texcoco 200,000 plus people Build raised roads connecting island to mainland Massive palaces, temples, markets, residential districts City divided by canals Aqueducts brought fresh water to city

 Military society Empire divided into 38 provinces  Local rulers govern own territory and pay tribute Gold, maize, cacao beans, cotton, jade  Emperor ruled society  absolute power Nobility made up of military leaders, gov’t officials, and priests

Emperor Nobility Commoners (farmers, soldiers, merchants) Slaves

 Hundreds of temples and religious structures dedicated to the gods  Adopted beliefs and practices from Toltecs  Public ceremonies and rituals to communicate with gods Sacrifices to Huitzilopochtil (Sun God) to keep him nourished with human blood  Thousands of POWs sacrificed and hearts carved out Constant need for sacrifices as a result

 Farming Chinampas  Farm plots built on fringes of lake  Floating gardens  7 crops a year  Decline Montezuma II emperor Constant warfare for tribute and sacrificial victims weakening Aztec Spanish conquistadors  Prophecy, technology, and disease

 Crime 1. Adultery  2. Commoner wearing cotton clothes  3. Cutting down a living tree  4. Drunkenness  5. Handling stolen property  6. Kidnapping  7. Treason   Punishment 1. Death 2. Death 3. Death 4. 1 st Off. Head shaved, house destroyed  2 nd Off. Death 5. Sold into slavery 6. Sold into slavery 7. Death, loss of property, destruction of land, children sold into slavery

 Land ownership State lands, religious lands, community lands  Terrace farming Maize, free-drying potatoes  Ayllu  small groups of people working for communal good  Everyone must contribute through labor Mita  labor tribute to work on state farmlands, build public works, work in state warehouses

 Spread wealth, production, and distribution throughout society  Families divided into groups of 10, 100, 1,000, and 10,000 Each group led by a chief Local chief report to regional chief all the way up to Cuzco

 Reinforce power of state  Fewer gods than Aztecs  Focused on nature spirits (stars, moon, thunder)  Incan ruler descendent of Inti – sun god)  Young men women drafted into religious service

 Controlled lands through conquest and diplomacy Allowed areas to keep own customs  One official language – Quechua  Built cities and roads in conquered areas to control populations  Quipo  knotted string to record data Red strings counted warriors

 Built 14,000 miles of roads and bridges to connect empire Guest houses along trail Runners employed as a postal service Move troops easily  Two calendars – one for night and one for day

 Civil war  Spanish arrival Technology Disease