1. The Americas on the Eve of Invasion12
The Americas on the Eve of Invasion

2. Figure The great Aztec city-state of Tenochtitlan was established on an island in the midst of a large lake. Connected to the shores by causeways, supplied with fresh water by an aqueduct, it housed a population estimated to be over 150,000. Early Spanish observers compared its canals to Venice and were fascinated by its markets and gardens. To the Aztecs it was the center of political and spiritual power, or as they called it, “the foundation of heaven.”
Figure The great Aztec city-state of Tenochtitlan was established on an island in the midst of a large lake. Connected to the shores by causeways, supplied with fresh water by an aqueduct, it housed a population estimated to be over 150,000. Early Spanish observers compared its canals to Venice and were fascinated by its markets and gardens. To the Aztecs it was the center of political and spiritual power, or as they called it, “the foundation of heaven.”

3. Chapter Overview Postclassic Mesoamerica, 1000–1500 C.E.
Aztec Society in Transition
Twantinsuyu: World of the Incas
The Other Peoples of the Americas

4. TIMELINE 900 C.E. to 1450 C.E.
TIMELINE 900 C.E. to 1450 C.E.

5. Postclassic Mesoamerica, 1000–1500 C.E.
Teotihuacan collapses, 700s
Toltec culture
The Toltec Heritage
Rule extended to Yucatan, Maya lands, c. 1000
Commercial influence to American Southwest
Possibly Mississippi, Ohio valleys

6. Figure Toltec political and cultural influence spread from its capital at Tula in northern Mexico to places as far south as Chichén Itzá in Yucatan. The colossal statues of warriors shown here served as columns that supported the roof of a great temple.
Figure Toltec political and cultural influence spread from its capital at Tula in northern Mexico to places as far south as Chichén Itzá in Yucatan. The colossal statues of warriors shown here served as columns that supported the roof of a great temple.

7. Postclassic Mesoamerica, 1000–1500 C.E.
The Aztec Rise to Power
Toltec collapse, c. 1150
Caused by northern nomads?
Center moves to Mexico valley
Lakes used for fishing, farming, transportation
Aztecs in, early 14th century
Begin as mercenaries, allies
1325, found Tenochtitlan
Dominate by 1434

8. Map 12.1 Central Mexico and Lake Texcoco An aquatic environment at the heart of the Aztec empire.

9. Postclassic Mesoamerica, 1000–1500 C.E.
The Aztec Social Contract
Transformation to hierarchical society
Service of gods pre-eminent
Sacrifice increased
Source of political power
Moctezuma II
Head of state and religion

10. Postclassic Mesoamerica, 1000–1500 C.E.
Religion and the Ideology of Conquest
Spiritual and natural world seamless
Hundreds of deities
Three groups
Fertility, agriculture, water
Tlaloc
Creator gods
Warfare, sacrifice
Huitzilopochtli
Aztec tribal god
Identified with sun god

11. Figure Human sacrifice was practiced by many Mesoamerican peoples, but the Aztecs apparently expanded its practice for political and religious reasons. This image shows Aztec priests cutting out their victims’ hearts and then rolling the bodies down the steps of the pyramid. (Ms. Magliabechiano: sacrificio umano azteco. Biblioteca Nazionale Firenze. Scala/Art Resource, NY.)
Figure Human sacrifice was practiced by many Mesoamerican peoples, but the Aztecs apparently expanded its practice for political and religious reasons. This image shows Aztec priests cutting out their victims’ hearts and then rolling the bodies down the steps of the pyramid. (Ms. Magliabechiano: sacrificio umano azteco. Biblioteca Nazionale Firenze. Scala/Art Resource, NY.)

12. Postclassic Mesoamerica, 1000–1500 C.E.
Religion and the Ideology of Conquest
Nezhualcoyotl
Sacrifice
Motivated by religion or possibly terror
Cyclical view of history

13. Figure This Aztec stone calendar is about 12 feet across and 4 feet thick, and it weighs about 24 tons. It was unearthed accidentally by construction crews in Mexico City in 1790.
Figure This Aztec stone calendar is about 12 feet across and 4 feet thick, and it weighs about 24 tons. It was unearthed accidentally by construction crews in Mexico City in 1790.

14. Postclassic Mesoamerica 1000–1500 C.E.
Feeding the People: The Economy of the Empire
Agriculture
Chinampas, man-made floating islands
High yield
Farming organized by clans
Markets
Daily market at Tlatelolco
Controlled by pochteca, merchant class
Regulated by state

15. Aztec Society in Transition
Society increasingly hierarchical
Widening Social Gulf
Calpulli
Transformed from clans to groupings by residence
Distribute land, labor
Maintain temples, schools
Basis of military organization

16. Aztec Society in Transition
Widening Social Gulf
Noble class develops from some calpulli
Military virtues give them status
Serf-like workers on their lands
Social gaps widen
Imperial family at head of pipiltin
Calpulli of merchants

17. Figure In the militarized society of the Aztec empire, warriors were organized into regiments and groups distinguished by their uniforms. They gained rank and respect by capturing enemies for sacrifice. Note the symbolic gripping of the defeated captives’ hair as a sign of military success.
Figure In the militarized society of the Aztec empire, warriors were organized into regiments and groups distinguished by their uniforms. They gained rank and respect by capturing enemies for sacrifice. Note the symbolic gripping of the defeated captives’ hair as a sign of military success.

18. Aztec Society in Transition
Overcoming Technological Constraints
Women have various roles
Can own property
No public roles
Elite polygamy
Most monogamous
Lacked the wheel, suitable animals for power

19. Aztec Society in Transition
A Tribute Empire
Speaker
One rules each city-state
Great Speaker
Rules Tenochtitlan
Prime Minister powerful
Subjugated states could remain autonomous
Owe tribute, labor

20. Twantinsuyu: World of the Incas
Tihuanaco, Huari (c C.E.)
After 1000, smaller regional states
Chimor ( )
North coast of Peru

21. Twantinsuyu: World of the Incas
The Inca Rise to Power
Cuzco area
Quechua-speaking clans (ayllus)
Huari
Control regions by 1438, under Pachacuti
Topac Yupanqui
Son of Pachacuti
Conquered Chimor
Rule extended to Ecuador, Chile

22. Twantinsuyu: World of the Incas
The Inca Rise to Power
Huayna Capac
Furthers conquests of Topac Yupanqui
1527, death
Twantinsuyu (empire)
From Colombia to Chile
To Bolivia, Argentina

23. Map Inca Expansion Each ruler expanded the empire in a series of campaigns to increase wealth and political control.
Map Inca Expansion Each ruler expanded the empire in a series of campaigns to increase wealth and political control.

24. Visulizing the Past Archeological Evidence of Political Practices Chan-Chan covered more than 2 square miles. It contained palace compounds, storehouses, residences, markets, and other structures.
Archeological Evidence of Political Practices Chan-Chan covered more than 2 square miles. It contained palace compounds, storehouses, residences, markets, and other structures.

25. Visulizing the Past Archeological Evidence of Political Practices City of Chan-Chan.

26. Twantinsuyu: World of the Incas
Conquest and Religion
Split inheritance
Power to successor
Wealth, land to male descendants
Result is continual conquest

27. Twantinsuyu: World of the Incas
Conquest and Religion
Religion
Sun god supreme
Represented by ruler (Inca)
Temple of the Sun at Cuzco
Local gods survive
Huacas

28. Twantinsuyu: World of the Incas
The Techniques of Inca Imperial Rule
Inca
Rules from Cuzco
Governors of four provinces
Bureaucracy
Local rulers (curacas)
Unification
Quechua
Forced transfers

29. Twantinsuyu: World of the Incas
The Techniques of Inca Imperial Rule
Military
System of roads, way stations (tambos), storehouses
State
Redistributive economy
Mita
Building, irrigation projects

30. Twantinsuyu: World of the Incas
The Techniques of Inca Imperial Rule
Gender cooperation
Ideology of complementarity of sexes
Also seen in cosmology
Inca's senior wife links state to moon
Yanas

31. Map 12.3 The Ancient Cities of Peru The Inca system of roads, with its series of tambos, linked major towns and cities and allowed rapid communication and troop movement.
Map 12.3 The Ancient Cities of Peru The Inca system of roads, with its series of tambos, linked major towns and cities and allowed rapid communication and troop movement.

32. The "Troubling" Civilizations of the Americas
Inca socialism and despotism
Cultural clash with the west
Violent customs
Ritual torture, human sacrifice
Moral judgment
West has history of sacrifice but deems it "barbaric" in Aztecs
Cannibalism
Possibly due to lack of cattle, sheep

33. Twantinsuyu: World of the Incas
Inca Cultural Achievements
Metallurgy
Knotted strings (quipu)
Accounting
Monumental architecture
Organization of labor

34. Figure This Inca sculpture, made of gold, portrays one of the mamaconas, or “chosen women,” who served as concubines to the Inca emperors. The wool of her cloak is woven in a classic Inca design.
Figure This Inca sculpture, made of gold, portrays one of the mamaconas, or “chosen women,” who served as concubines to the Inca emperors. The wool of her cloak is woven in a classic Inca design.

35. Twantinsuyu: World of the Incas
Comparing Incas and Aztecs
Similarities
Built on earlier empires
Excellent organizers
Intensive agriculture under state control
Redistributive economy
Kinship transformed to hierarchy
Ethnic groups allowed to survive

36. Twantinsuyu: World of the Incas
Comparing Incas and Aztecs
Differences
Aztecs have better developed trade, markets
Metallurgy
Writing systems
Social definition, hierarchy

37. The Other Peoples of the Americas
Great variety elsewhere
How Many People?
Larger densities in Mesoamerica, Andes
Compared
China, India: 75–150 million
Europe: 60–70 million
Americas: est. 60–70 million

38. Table Population Estimate for the Western Hemisphere, 1492 Sources: William M. Deneven, The Native Population of the Americas in 1492 (1976), 289–292; John D. Durand, “Historical Estimates of World Population,” Population and Development Review 3 (1957): 253–296; Russell Thornton, American Indian Holocaust and Survival (1987).
Table Population Estimate for the Western Hemisphere, 1492 Sources: William M. Deneven, The Native Population of the Americas in 1492 (1976), 289–292; John D. Durand, “Historical Estimates of World Population,” Population and Development Review 3 (1957): 253–296; Russell Thornton, American Indian Holocaust and Survival (1987).

39. Table 16. 2 World Population, c. 1500 Sources: William M
Table World Population, c Sources: William M. Deneven, The Native Population of the Americas in 1492 (1976), 289–292; John D. Durand, “Historical Estimates of World Population,” Population and Development Review 3 (1957): 253–296; Russell Thornton, American Indian Holocaust and Survival (1987).
Table World Population, c Sources: William M. Deneven, The Native Population of the Americas in 1492 (1976), 289–292; John D. Durand, “Historical Estimates of World Population,” Population and Development Review 3 (1957): 253–296; Russell Thornton, American Indian Holocaust and Survival (1987).

40. The Other Peoples of the Americas
Differing Cultural Patterns
Caribbean islands
Some similar to Polynesian societies
c. 1500
200 languages in North America
Mississipian mounds abandoned
Anasazi descendants along Rio Grande

41. Figure 12. 7 Taos Pueblo, in the foothills of what is now New Mexico
Figure Taos Pueblo, in the foothills of what is now New Mexico. The pueblos of the Rio Grande Valley were based on agriculture and the concentration of population in urban areas. This reflected a number of the traditions of the older Native American cultures of the southwestern United States.
Figure Taos Pueblo, in the foothills of what is now New Mexico. The pueblos of the Rio Grande Valley were based on agriculture and the concentration of population in urban areas. This reflected a number of the traditions of the older Native American cultures of the southwestern United States.

42. The Other Peoples of the Americas
American Indian Diversity in World Context
Two great imperial systems by 1500
Mesoamerica and the Andes weakened
Technologically behind Europeans