THE AMERICAS

600-1450

Toltec (900 AD – 1200 AD)

Had own writing system Scientists have not

deciphered Mythologized as

great, tall, good-looking people

Quetazalcoatl vs. Tezcatlipoca

Possessed a modest state

950-1150 Toltecs build Tula

Associated with fall of Teotithuacan

Quetzalcoatl By 1100 CE was

largest urban center in Mesoamerica

@ 10 sq kilometers; 35,000 people

Center for crafts Long-distance trade Influenced Maya Destroyed in 1150 CE

and center of power in the region shifts

Aztecs

Originally northern people with clan-based organization

Take advantage of fall of Toltecs

Aztec social contract

Social stratification pronounced

Human sacrifice Some area left

independent to create war/human sacrifice

Religion and ideology of conquest Worshipped large

number of gods incl. Huitzilopochtli

1325-1519 build Tenochtitlan: The Foundation of Heaven

Arrived in Valley of Mexico in 1325

Grew on reclaimed swampland

Thousands transported for forced labor and human sacrifice

Tenochtitlan: The Foundation of Heaven

Aztec Economy

Tribute System Chinampas Merchants operated

all markets Merchants distance

from and subordinate to elite traded long-distance

State controlled all trade

Maya

Were a civilization Agriculturally

dependent State religion Great art style Architecture Formal legal system Sophisticated writing

system Not unified: series of

warring city-states

Maya

Women Central role in

politics Lady Wak-Chanil-

Ahaw Unity cultural, not

political Urban culture King – commoner

social structure

Maya (continued)

Religion Universal deities Local gods Sacrifice (see

bloodletting pic) Trade

salt obsidian Basalt

Andes - - > Inca

Four ecological zones Coast Mountain valleys Higher Elevations Amazon region

Goods were exchanged through a network of trade routes

1200-1230 Founding of Incan State

Manco Capac consults Inti

“big ears” Moved to Cuzco Married daughters

of elites to weaker groups

Capac – aligned with sun god

Inca – political and economic organization

Emperor almost considered a god

Empire divided into four great provinces each ruled by a governor

Priests and noblemen influenced politics

Left local rulers in place

Economy based on agriculture

Allyu – agricultural village

Mit’a labor system

Inca – social organization

Small communities aimed at self-sufficiency

Men and women had gender-specific, but virtually equal jobs Men: hunting, war,

government Women: wove, cared

for crops and the home Developed strong

professional military

Split inheritance Property passed

though men and women Women did not serve

as head of ayllus Some women forced

into concubinage or given to temples

No distinct merchant class

Incan cultural achievement

Did not introduce new technology, but made efficient use of existing technologies

Proficient metallurgists

Used quipus Developed

monumental architecture and roads

Coastal South America: Chimu(600 CE – 1470 CE)

Come after Moche Built irrigation

and water storage Capital: Chan

Chan (see photo) 10 Royal

compounds Built admin.

Centers are far South as Lima, Peru