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aztecs

aztecs Mayans, Incas and Aztec Civilizations The Mayan, Inca, and Aztec civilizations each originated from Latin America. The Mayans lived in southern and central Mexico, other Mayans lived in Central America in the present day countries of Belize, Guatemala, and ancient Honduras. The Incas lived along the long coastal strip, and in the high peaks and deep fertile valleys of the Andes Mountains, and along the edges of the tropical forest to the east; this would be the country of Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina in present days. The Aztecs were from Aztlan located in both north and northwest Mexico. These civilizations were possible because the people in the areas became sedentary and agricultural. They were able to do this because of the vast natural resources and climates of where they lived. Their cultures were for the most part male dominated, possessions usually past through the male line from one male member to another male. Women would normally move to the male’s village when they got married. All three empires had some form of writing, the use of a calendar and math. They all had elaborate and highly decorated ceremonial architecture, including temple-pyramids, palaces and observatories, all built without metal tools. They had no metal tools, no draft animals, and very little use of the wheel. They did understand the use of the wheel but because of the geography where they lived they could use it very little. All three civilizations were warlike; because they were sedentary and could grow enough food for the people to eat they always had large populations, which gave them manpower for military expeditions. The Aztecs and Incas had military warehouses setup in different areas in case of war. They mainly used clubs and relied upon man-to-man conflict with no real tactics. If the Mayan commander was captured or killed they would just retreat until they appointed a new commander. They did not have a set military hierarchy, they just picked who they thought was best for the job at that time. Expansion was the cornerstone of the Aztec civilization, because their religion demanded that a large number of human sacrifices be made to the gods. To get these sacrifices the Aztec went to war with other tribes; in this way they captured more slaves for sacrifices and also more land to add to their empire. The Aztec was a strong civilization who had specialized war chiefs and an organized system for amassing large armies in a short time. Each Maya City governed the area surrounding it; some large cities each controlled one or more of the smaller cities. If the leader died his younger brother or son would succeed the ruler. This led generations of a single family to rule for hundreds of years. In the Andes, the Incas, kept their power by providing entertainments and giving luxurious gifts to the people. The people paid taxes in return for these gifts. The Inca emperor married his sister and his generals were normally related to him. This ensured a certain loyalty from them to the emperor. The Aztecs held power through land ownership. In the beginning there existed very little political hierarchy in the areas of the Amazon River Basin; usually they just had a tribal chief. This was because villages were usually separated by dense forest and jungle. Later the Mayans had a ruler and nobles. Families shared a piece of land and part of the land was given to the state as a tax. Entire Maya families lived together and everyone helped with the work. Men provided food and women provided clothing for the family. The Mayans filed their teeth and attached things to their children’s heads to reshape them. This was probably a form of beautification to them. The rank of an Inca family depended on his or her social position in life. Social rank was established in “ayllus” which were clans and they had to provide food for the whole family or clan. This groups or clans were very flexible and could be changed when a family unit became too large. In the Inca culture individuals did own property. The lower classes were used as slave labor. Land and human power was the Incas main source of wealth. Labor was very different between these societies, in Brazil, the labor was very much communal. Everyone worked together for the good of the village and its people. The Inca rulers did very little work except for watching over and maintaining the empire. The Mayans and Aztecs worshiped many Gods and Goddesses. Each God or Goddess influenced some part of Maya and Aztec life. If a bad or good thing happened it was attributed to a certain God. Their religion was very flexible in that they could add or subtract Gods or Goddess if they wanted. They would often accept the Gods or Goddess of their conquerors. The Incas worshipped only one God, the Sun God. Inca emperors believed they were descendants of the Sun God and they were worshipped as divine beings. All three civilizations had some form of human sacrifice, however the Aztecs definitely used it more than the other two. Each culture grew a different variety of foods, but corn was the main crop of each civilization. Each culture managed to use corn in some form of alcoholic beverage. They also grew beans, squash and many other vegetables. The Aztecs grew cacao beans, which they called the “food of the Gods”. They were right! They Mayans and Aztec used a slash and burn style of farming and they relocated once the nutrients of the land were used up. The Incas were much more advanced. Labor specialization was common, especially in the large densely populated areas like Cuzco. The Incas made roads, had irrigation channels, fortresses, and mines. They used crop rotation and terracing and other advanced agricultural methods. These civilizations had retainers and all had slaves, usually slaves were from other villages that they had fought in wars. War was a way of life to these people, they fought throughout their history and basically their empires died without it. They were always expanding the empires through war and when they could no longer do this they fought with themselves within their own empires. When this happened they rapidly declined and where easy prey for the Europeans when they arrived. Bibliography:

Word Count: 1124