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Petetronique DavisHistory Project 10RG The AZTECS and INCAS
Hair was coarse, black, and straight. Men usually wore it cut in a fringe over the forehead and allowed it to grow to the level of the nape of the neck at the back, but the priests had their own distinctive hair style and the warriors wore pigtails and various kinds of scalp lock. The women let their hair grow long. Normally it was allowed to hang loose, but on festival days it was braided with ribbons. A more elaborate coiffure was created by binding the hair into two plaits which were wound round the head with the ends projecting like two little horns above the eyebrows. They are very skillful, robust, and tireless, and at the same time the most moderate men known. They are very warlike and face death with the greatest resolution.
Their dress • The Aztec skin was naturally brown or bronze-colored, but the fashionable shade for a woman's complexion was yellow. To achieve this effect the cheeks were either rubbed with a yellow earth or anointed with a cream containing axin, a waxy yellowish substance obtained by cooking and crushing the bodies of fat-producing insects. Travellers also used axin ointment as a salve to prevent the lips from cracking in frosty weather, and to protect the skin from the effect of cold. Their faces were painted with dry, colored powder. faces were colored with yellow ochre, or with bitumen. Feet were anointed with an unguent of burned copal incense and dye. Some cut their hair short, so that their hair reached their noses. It was cut and dyed with black mud, so did they place importance upon their heads; it was dyed with indigo, so that their hair shone. The teeth were stained with cochineal the hands and neck were painted with designs.
Their religion • The Aztecs worshiped many gods. • Sun god-One of the most important aspects of Aztec religion was the sun. The Aztecs called themselves the "People of the Sun". They felt that in order for the sun to rise each day the Aztecs needed to perform rituals and sacrifices to give the sun strength. Despite worshiping many gods, there were certain gods that the Aztecs considered more important and powerful than the others. The most important god to the Aztecs was Huitzilopochtli.
Huitzilopochtli - The most fearsome and powerful of the Aztec gods, Huitzilopochtli was the god of war, the sun, and sacrifice. He was also the patron god of the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlan. The Great Temple in the center of the city was built in honor of Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc. His name is thought to mean "left-handed hummingbird". He was often drawn with feathers and holding a scepter made from a snake.Tlaloc - Tlaloc was the god of rain and water. While Tlaloc helped the Aztecs much of the time by sending rain and causing plants to grow, he also could get angry and send thunder storms and hail. Tlaloc was worshiped at the Great Temple in the city of Tenochtitlan and also at the top of a tall mountain named Mount Tlaloc. He was often drawn with fangs and big goggle-like eyes.Quetzalcoatl - Quetzalcoatl was the god of life and wind. His name means "feathered serpent" and he was usually drawn as a serpent which could fly, very much like a dragon. When Cortez first arrived at the Aztecs, many thought that he was the god Quetzalcoatl in human flesh. • Tezcatlipoca - Tezcatlipoca was a powerful god associated with many things including magic, the night, and the earth. He was a rival god to Quetzalcoatl. According to Aztec mythology, he was the first god to create the sun and the earth, but was struck down by Quetzalcoatl and turned into a jaguar. There was a large temple built to him in the city of Tenochtitlan just south of the Great Temple. His name meant "smoking mirror".Chicomecoatl - Chicomecoatl was the Aztec goddess of agriculture, nourishment, and corn. She was often drawn as a young girl carrying flowers or a woman using the sun as a shield. Her name meant "seven snakes".
PriestsThe Priests were responsible for making sure that the gods were offered the correct offerings and sacrifices. They had to perform all sorts of ceremonies in the temples to make sure that the gods were not angry with the Aztecs. Priests had to undergo extensive training. They were well-respected and powerful in the Aztec society. Human SacrificeThe Aztecs believed that the sun needed the blood of human sacrifice in order to rise each day. They performed thousands of human sacrifices. Some historians think that more than 20,000 people were killed when the Great Temple was first dedicated in 1487. The AfterlifeThe Aztecs believed in a number of levels of heaven and the underworld. Depending on how you died would determine where you went. Those who died in battle would go to the top level of heaven. Those who drowned would go to the underworld.
Society and Political System • Social ClassesThere were different social classes within Aztec society. At the very top of society was the king along with his family. The king was called the Huey Tlatcani and he was very powerful. • Tecuhtli - Just below the emperor, who ruled the capital Tenochtitlan, were the rulers of the other city-states. They were very wealthy and lived in large palaces within their cities. They had complete power over their cities as long as they paid tribute to the emperor. • Pipiltin - Below the Tecuhtli were the pipiltin or the noble class. Only the noble class could wear certain types of clothes and jewelry such as feathers and gold. The pipiltin held the high ranking positions in the priesthood, the army, and the government. They formed the city council which helped to rule the city-states. The king was always chosen from the pipiltin. • Pochteca - There was a special class of Aztec merchants called pochteca. They were treated like the nobility in society because their jobs were considered very important to the Aztec Empire. The pochteca traveled long distances in order to bring back luxury goods that were treasured by the nobility.
Macehualtin - The common people in Aztec society were called the macehualtin. This included the farmers, warriors, and craftsmen. Later on in the history of the Aztecs, craftsmen and warriors began to have a higher position in society than the farmers. Slaves - At the bottom of Aztec society were the slaves. In Aztec society, the children of slaves were not slaves. Aztec people became slaves by selling themselves into slavery to pay for debts or as punishment for crimes. The slaves had certain rights. They were not to be mistreated by their owners, they could buy their freedom, and they could not be sold by their masters unless they agreed.
INCAS WAY OF LIFE • Inca-a member of a South American people living in the central Andes before the Spanish conquest • One of the most important aspects of the Inca daily life was the ayllu. The ayllu was a group of families that worked a portion of land together. They shared most of their belongings with each other just like a larger family. Everyone in the Inca Empire was a member of an ayllu. Once a person was born into an ayllu, they remained part of that ayllu their entire life.
Their Appearance • Most have a sort of a light to reddish-brown skin tone and an Asiatic (mongoloid) appearance. Many Incans are also have Spanish ancestry in their heritage. The Inca people are small in stature and have blackhair, and dark brown eyes They are also typically short in stature compared to Europeans.
Their Dress • The men wore long sleeveless shirts or tunics. The women wore long dresses. Both men and women would wear capes or ponchos to keep them warm during the winter. The peasants and the nobles wore similar fashions. Of course the clothing of the rich was made from finer cloth and was more decorated.
Their Houses • Most of the people lived in adobe brick homes with thatched roofs. The homes were mostly single story with one room. There was typically very little furniture in the homes, just some baskets for storing things, thin mats to sleep on, and a stove.
Their Food • Corn, squash, and beans were the main staples of their diet, but they ate other things as well including tomatoes, peppers, fish, and ducks.
Their Religion • The Inca believed that their gods occupied three different realms: 1) The sky or Hanan Pacha. 2) The inner earth or Uku Pacha. 3) The outer earth or Cay pacha. • Inti - Inti was the most important of the gods to the Inca. He was the god of the sun. The emperor, or Inca Sapa, was said to be a descendent of Inti. Inti was married to the Goddess of the Moon, Mama Quilla. • Mama Quilla - Mama Quilla was the goddess of the Moon. She was also the goddess of marriage and the defender of women. Mama Quilla was married to Inti the god of the Sun. The Inca believed that lunar eclipse occurred when Mama Quilla was being attacked by an animal. • Pachamama - Pachamama was the goddess of Earth or "Mother Earth". She was responsible for farming and the harvest. • Viracocha - Viracocha was the first god who created the Earth, the sky, the other gods, and humans. • Supay - Supay was the god of death and ruler of the Inca underworld called the Uca Pacha.
Their Political & Social System • The Inca Empire was ruled by the ancestors of the original Inca people. These were the people who originally established the city of Cuzco. • Sapa Inca - The emperor or king was called the Sapa Inca. He was at the top of the Inca social class and was considered a god in many ways. • VillacUmu - The high priest was just behind the Sapa Inca in social status. The gods were very important to the Inca and the high priest spoke directly to their most powerful god, the Sun god Inti. • Royal Family - The direct relatives of Sapa Inca were next in line. They received high positions in the government. The primary wife of the emperor was the queen called the Coya. • Inca - The noble class, or Inca class, was made up of the people directly descended from the people who first established the city of Cuzco. They were called the Inca. They lived lives of luxury and held the best positions in the Inca government. • Inca-by-privilege - As the empire grew, the emperor needed more people he could trust in high positions in the government. There weren't enough of the original Inca to rule. So a new class was created called Inca by-privilege. These people were considered nobles, but not as high in class as the true Inca.
Public Administrators Below the Inca or noble class was the class of public administrators. These people ran the government at the low level. • Curacas - The Curacas were the leaders from the tribes that were conquered. They were often left as leaders of their tribes. They still had to report to the Inca, but if they remained loyal, they often kept their position. • Tax collectors - Each group of families, or ayllu, had a tax collector who kept watch over them. He made sure that they paid all of their taxes. There was also a strict hierarchy of tax collectors. The higher levels kept an eye on the people below them. • Record keepers - In order to track who had paid their taxes and where the supplies were stored, there were many record keepers in the government. • Commoners • Artisans - Artisans were commoners, but were also considered a higher social class than the farmers. They worked on crafts such as pottery or gold jewelry for the nobles. • Farmers - At the bottom of the social class were the farmers. The farmers were also the largest and the most important class within the Inca Empire. Farmers worked long hard days and sent two-thirds of their crops to the government and the priests. The Inca Empire relied on the production of the farmers for its wealth and success.
Technology • QuipusA quipu was a series of strings with knots. The number of knots, the size of the knots, and the distance between knots conveyed meaning to the Inca, sort of like writing. Only specially trained officials knew how to use quipus. • Stone BuildingsThe Inca were able to create sturdy stone buildings. Without the use of iron tools they were able to shape large stones and have them fit together without the use of mortar. By fitting the stones closely as well as other architectural techniques, the Inca were able to create large stone buildings that survived for hundreds of years despite the many earthquakes that occur in Peru.
FarmingThe Inca were expert farmers. They used irrigation and water storage techniques to grow crops in all sorts of terrain from the deserts to the high mountains. Despite not having beasts of burden or iron tools, the Inca farmers were very efficient. Calendar and AstronomyThe Inca used their calendar to mark religious festivals as well as the seasons so they could plant their crops at the correct time of the year. They studied the sun and the stars to calculate their calendar. The Inca calendar was made up of 12 months. Each month had three weeks of ten days each. When the calendar and the sun got off track, the Inca would add a day or two to bring them back into alignment.
The Aztecs and Incas Compare Contrast The Aztecs were located in Central America whereas the Incas in South America. The Aztecs ruled 100 years longer than the Incas did. The Incas built there pyramids out of mud but the Aztecs did it out of Limestone. The Incas planted their crops on artificial terraces along the mountainside with raised beds so that the plants roots could get as much warmth from the sun as possible to help them grow. Lastly, the Aztecs had written languages and the Incas didn't. • The Incas and the Aztecs both did human sacrifices. Not only that but they got conquered by the Spanish Conquistadors. The Incas and Aztecs both worshipped the sun God. Both groups depended on agriculture. They all built huge pyramids and had advanced technology. The Aztec empire was viewed as a god and the Inca Supreme Ruler were seen as gods to.
