Aztecs vs Incas Culture plays a major role all around the world, but it played a greater role during the Incan and Aztec Civilization. These two civilizations had a lot of things in common, but also, there were things that were very different. For example, their political structure, both civilizations were conquered or decline for a specific reason and religion and writing was very similar or different between these both civilizations. In the following essay, I will be comparing and contrasting the Inca and Aztec civilizations on the three main given points. The Aztecs and the Incas were people who were very intelligent, and represented who they were very thoroughly.
Incas were pastoralists meaning their military strength and success based on how many llamas and alpacas you had. Woman in the Inca society wove cloth and the men drove animals to trade. The chiefs did judicial functions. The royal family supposedly came from the sun which was the most important Inca god. The Incas sacrificed a lot like the Aztecs did, they sacrificed textiles, animals, and more.
Agriculture was also a very important role in the Mayan and Incan civilizations. They used a system called the Terrace system. This system helped decrease erosion and surface run-off and are affective for growing crops requiring much water. Despite their many similarities, they also had differences. The Mayans had a writing system which was Hieroglyphics, however the Incans did not.
The caste system which was a part of their religion mostly gave order to the land. However, both empires were ruled by emperors which benefitted each significantly. Even though they differed, they both had great leaders that expanded their countries by conquest. Mauryan Emperor is seen as the greatest Indian Emperor while Rome had many great emperors like Augustus and Vespasian. Mauryan expanded the Central Asian country as many of the great leaders of Rome did.
Andean Builders By the time Spanish arrived at the South America, indigenous people were organized in large empires and built large cities, greater than anything Europeans have ever seen before. Unfortunately, blinded by the shining gold, Spanish conquistadors did not see the glory and monumentality of Inca engineering. The largest empire in the New World stayed firm in Andean Mountains and united neighboring communities since its founding around 1200 for more than 300 years. Inca people somehow managed to keep large population and build beautiful cities and fortresses in this harsh area. Elevated thousands of feet above the sea level, dotted with steep mountain peaks, carved with deep valleys and covered in thick vegetation, Andean territories seamed to be the worst place to build even if often earthquakes were not taken to account.
Irrigation Systems DBQ The ancient world is famous for its technological advances and innovative methods. Irrigation systems was one of those technological advances and were wildly popular in most Ancient civilizations. Irrigation systems in the Ancient world were beneficial because they effectively moved water to create fertile lands that gave an abundance of crops. However, irrigation systems were also problematic because they required gruesome manual labor and increased governmental control over citizens. Irrigation systems were a great way to transport water to easily grow an abundant amount of crops.
Native American, food and culture Native Americans survived largely on the food sources that were closest to them. The cultures of these peoples developed based on how their food was obtained. Elaborate societies emerged in South and Central America that developed complex political systems, paved roads, written language and numerical systems. These large populations lived in large cities and had a harsh religion that required human sacrifice. The economies of these people were based mostly on agriculture.
AP UNITED STATES HISTORY Question 1: Describe the Aztec civilization and the effect that European conquest had on it. While the Aztecs shaped a sophisticated civilization with advanced agricultural practices, elaborate cities, talented mathematicians, sacrificial religious rituals, and far-flung commerce, European conquest brought negative things like death, along with positive things such as animals, language, and laws. The Aztecs based their agriculture primarily on the cultivation of the Indian corn, maize, which fed huge populations. Even though they didn’t rely on large draft animals like horses and oxen, and didn’t have the invention of the wheel, these people were able to create complex cities and carry commerce to great lengths. Also, some of their people were talented mathematicians that made extremely accurate astronomical observations.
The conquest of certain civilizations lead to new ideas being brought in by the conquerors, and this lead to a much larger surplus, larger than ever before. Along with the arrival of surplus-enhancing technology, the smelting of iron also appeared. Before, copper and bronze had been used, but had proved to be only accessible to the wealthy and made poor tools, and weapons, too. Iron ore was much more abundant than copper, and with the skillful workings of the blacksmiths, “the effect [it had] on agriculture was massive,” (Harman 46). By the 7th century BC, new civilizations that were based on the new technologies that came around were on the rise.
The Romans were one of the first civilizations of their kind, their 1000 year reign of power found them Making new discoveries and inventions out of necessity to support their ever growing society. As the roman empire grew, cities became larger and larger, as did the recourse requirements to keep them sustained. The Romans found that a high population compact city could be very productive, and very powerful, but the natural resources in the immediate area became too sparse to support the massive growth. Most towns prior to the roman empire were small enough in population that resources such as food and water could be taken easily from the surrounding areas without fully depleting them. And waste could be easily disposed of because f the relatively small amount.