The+Americas



Aztecs 500-1450 C.E.
 * E || * Their economy greatly depended on their agriculture and on innoventions that they created.
 * Adopted an ingenious system for irrigated agriculture. They built the chinampas, which were beds of aquatic weeds, mud, and earth that had been made of cane and rooted to the lake floor.
 * Each community had periodic markets that usually occured every 5 to 13 days.
 * Cacao beans (chocolate) and gold dust were mainly used for currency, however they used more of a bartering system.
 * The markets were highly regualted and under the control of inspectors and special judges.
 * Even though markets were the basis of their economy, they were not considered to be a market society.
 * The working class were known as pochteca, who specialized in the long distance trade in luxury items, such as plumes of tropical birds and cacao. ||
 * S || * Dominated and extended their land from the Tarascan frontier (present day Mexico) to the southward Mayan area.
 * The Aztec people were forced to pay tributes, surrender lands, and sometimes do military service for the growing Aztec empire.
 * What started off, as small clans, became a strong and successful empire.
 * They were described as people who were chosen to serve the Gods. Human sacrifice played a huge part in their culture. Many of their suppliers were prisoners of war who they help captive.
 * A few territories were left unconquered and the periodic “flower wars” could be staged. It was during these wars, the Aztecs acquired many of their victims.
 * The cult of human sacrifice and conquest was united with the political power of the ruler and the nobility. ||
 * P || * The state controlled the use and distribution of many commodities and redistributed the vast amounts of tributes received from subordinate peoples.
 * Tribute levels were assigned according to whether the subject peoples had accepted Aztec rule or had fought against it. Those who surrendered paid less.
 * Tribute payments usually included were slaves, food, and sacrificial victims.
 * Tributes helped the economic and political systems of the Aztecs.
 * More than 120,000 mantles of cotton cloth alone were collected as a tribute every year and sent to Tenochtitlan where they were then redistributed.
 * After original conquests the nobility richly gained a lot more, while the commoners received far less. ||
 * I || * They were a very warlike society.
 * They took lands by force for themselves, to build their huge society.
 * They formed some weak bonds with other people in order to become more powerful. ||
 * R || * Many of their religious features were based off of the Mesoamerican belief system.
 * Religion was said the be uniting and sometimes oppresive force, for which little distinction was made between the world of the gods and the natural world.
 * The traditional deities of Mesoamerica (the gods of rain, fire, water, corn, the sun, and the sky) were also used by the Aztecs.
 * There were at least 128 major deities worshipped by the Aztecs. Each deity had a male and female form, because a basic duty was recognized in all things.
 * Each god had at least five aspects: Each was associated with one of the cardinal directions and the center. Certain gods were thought to have been patrons of specific cities, ethnic groups, or occupations.
 * The gods were supported by year round festivals and ceremonies which involved feasting, dancing, penance, and sacrifice.
 * These can be arranged into three main cults.
 * 1.) The first were the gods of fertility and the agricultural cycle. Tlaloc was the god of rain and the gods and goddesses of water, maize, and fertility.
 * 2.) Focused on on the creater deities. These were the gods and godesses who brought the universe into being.
 * 3.) The last cult was Huitzilopochtli who was the Aztec tribal patron and became the central figure of this cult.
 * The great temple of Tenochtitlan was built and dedicated to Huit. and Tlaloc. Many of the human sacrifices took place here.
 * Aztec religion also focused different poetry. ||
 * I || * One of their most successful and important intellectual acheivements was their poetry.
 * Nezhualcoyotl was the kings of Texacco and he wrote hims, such as "lord of the close vicinity" in order to show a sense of spiritual unity.
 * This was an invisible creative force that supported all the gods.
 * However, his views on monotheism, made him less popular,
 * His poetry survived in oral form and was written down in the 16th century.
 * Their religion, poetry, and art included many images of birds, flowers, and song all of which the Aztecs greatly admired. ||
 * T || * Adopted an ingenious system for irrigated agriculture. They built the chinampas, which were beds of aquatic weeds, mud, and earth that had been made of cane and rooted to the lake floor.
 * The Aztecs did not have to many technological achievements. They had no animals that could really be useful to them and they did not choose to use to wheel. ||

The Aztecs were a powerful people, who originated in the Americas. For which started as small clans morphed into a structural society. They had a structured economy, which consisted of periodic markets, even though they were not considered a "market society". Many of their profits came from trade from these markets and tributes that the people payed to the state. Some examples of the tributes that the people were required to pay, were slaves, food, and sacrificial victims. The main currency was gold dust and cacao beans which are now known as chocholate. Their political system also had a structured body. The state played a major part in the success of the markets. They sent inspectors and special judges to make sure that the markets were functioning correctly. They also made some different finds in the beliefs of their religion. They were a polytheistic society. They followed the Mesoamerican system which used deities. There were over 128 deities worshipped by the Aztecs. The temple of Tenochtitlan was originally built for two of the Aztecs religious idols, but then turned into a place where sacrifice and festivities for the gods occured.

Incas 500-1450 C.E.
 * E || * Agricultural advancements were a crucial part of their economical system, because they would then barter and trade the goods that were produced.
 * They were also considered to be a herding society, because of the animals that they had. ||
 * S || * The Incan people did not have to pay tributes to their government.
 * Some woman were forced into being concubines. Concubines were forced to have sex and reproduce with their masters.
 * Women were also required to weave cloth for the court.
 * Just like in many other societies of this period women did most of their work with the household, while the men tended to the fields.
 * However a major difference from other civilizations, was that women were able to pass down their properties. ( Reflection: I think that this was fair because the women took such good care of the households, that they should pass it on to someone they knew could also take care of it.)
 * Just like other societies, their was a divide between the rich and the poor. ||
 * P || * They were ruled by a king. (This was why these people were known as Incas?)
 * The Incas divided their empire first into four different regions. However they eventually kept dividing. Each would have their own seperate government system.
 * They had different government programs that not only helped the society, but the people in it as well.
 * Most nobles had some form of a part in the bureaucracy.
 * However, since they most focused their energy on territory gain, they ended up splitting into to many different societies with ended up weakening their society. ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I || * They, like the Aztecs, were also a very warlike society.
 * However, since they most focused their energy on territory gain, they ended up splitting into to many different societies with ended up weakening their society. In order to gain all of this power, they would need to conquer the people to gain their land.
 * Their "military" became very powerful.
 * It was said that they attacked the "spine" of South America. ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">R || * The cults of the ancestors were heavily believed by the Incas.
 * Deceased rulers were mummified and then treated as intermediateries with the gods. They were then paraded in public festivals, offered food and gifts, and then consulted on important matters by special oracles.
 * Adopted the practice of split inheritance, where the political power and titles of the ruler wnt to his successor but all his palaces, wealth, lands, and possestions remained in the hands of male descendents who would then use them to support the persons infinate mummification.
 * Temple of the Sun in Cuzco was the center of the State religion and it confined the mummies of past incas.
 * The cult of the sun was spread throughout the empire, but the Incas did not prohibit the worship of local gods there. ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I || * Beautiful pottery and cloth were produced in specialized workshops.
 * Incan metalworking was among the most advanced in the Americas.
 * Artisans worked gold and silver with great skills.
 * Used copper and some bronze for weapons and tools.
 * Even though it was produced, there was no advancements with the use of the wheel.
 * Unlike the Mesoamerican people, the Incas had no system of writing.
 * They did however, create a system of knotted strings, quipa, which helped to record numerical and some other information. It worked like an abacus. They used it also, to keep financial records.
 * They worked a lot with numerical order and the population was divided into decimal units from which population, military enlistment, and work details could be calculated.
 * They also, created ingenious agricultural advancements, like the Aztecs.
 * They developed terraces on the steep slopes of the Andes, combined woth a complex technology system which irrigated their crops with water.
 * Their empire was connected by over 2500 miles of road. Many of these roads included rope suspension bridges over rivers and mountain gorges.
 * Buildings were built with large fitted rock, and many of them were immense. ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">T || * They were able to mobilize through large and heavy amounts of labor.
 * They developed terraces on the steep slopes of the Andes, combined woth a complex technology system which irrigated their crops with water.
 * Their empire was connected by over 2500 miles of road. Many of these roads included rope suspension bridges over rivers and mountain gorges.
 * Buildings were built with large fitted rock, and many of them were immense. ||

Summary: The Incas, were a powerful people who originated in South America. They developed many different intellectual achievements and even many technological acheivements for their time period, with limited sources for supplies. In intellectuals they created many beautiful cloth and pottery, which they produced in different specialized workshops. They would also, make bronze and copper weaponry, which they would then trade and use for their own military gain. They also invented the quipa, which was a system of knotted strings, which they used to keep numerical and financial records. They were a heavily technological society. There were cities connected by over 2500 miles of road, which contained rope suspension bridges in order to stay up over rivers and mountain gorges. This allowed the Incans to travel along their empire a lot faster.