1. The Aztec and Inca Empires

2. General Info
Aztecs = in Mexico and Central America ( chinampas, causeways, canals along Lake Texcoco to form Tenochtitlan)
Incas = in South America (suspension bridges and roads will connect Central Ecuador to the tip of Peru)
Both will engage in expert engineering despite geographic adversity
Both will collect tribute (inca mita system, Aztec militaristic tribute often for human sacrifice)
Both polytheistic( monumental architecture)
Both lacked: large work animals, metal tools, wheels
Both still developed: centralized governments ( although Aztecs will provide more autonomy for its empire) & armies and both conquered other empires
Both ended when: conquered by the Spanish ( guns, germs, steel… and horses too)
Both will have much of their history told by the Spaniards (who were looking for Gold and Glory and looking to convert to Roman Catholicism: God)

3. Theses
From both the Inca and Aztec Empires would flourish engineering great monumental irrigation projects (Chinampas, Waru waru Farming and strong fortresses and temples) despite the geographic adversity of their respective regions, both would collect respective tribute in labor or goods to maintain the stability of the empires, however the Aztecs would maintain a written glyph system while the Incas only form of communication would be the knotted string Quipus.
The Aztec and Incas would both have limited contact with regional trading networks and, thus, have limited exposure to the Afro-Eurasian diseases which would wipe them out, both would innovate methods of irrigation to develop surplus crop yields, yet the system of Mita in the Inca capital of Cusco suggests a far more centralized method of control than the tribute system of the Aztecs which left far more autonomy of their surrounding regions around Tenochtitlan.
The Aztecs and Inca Empires adapted to a vastly different topography with the Aztecs in the central valley of Mexico with chinampas as the incas adapted terrace farming in the Mountains of the Andes. They also appeased their polytheistic deities in a varying degree with human sacrifice in the Aztecs and animal and agricultural appeasement in the Incas. Both Empires would erect monumental architecture to honor their various deities arguably the most important being that of the sun (Huitzitipotchtli/Inti)

4. Aztec Empire

5. Inca Empire

6. Aztec Empire Capital = Tenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico City)
Agricultural center and marketplace

7. Aztec Empire
Built chinampas = artificial islands used for farming made by piling mud from the lake onto rafts  floating gardens
As population grew, Aztecs expanded outside of the city  built canals and bridges to connect the mainland to the island where the capital was

9. The Empire Stretched from Mexico to the border of Guatemala
Stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean
Conquered people had to pay tribute (taxes) in the form of: food, clothing, raw materials, prisoners for sacrifice, jewelry, military supplies, rubber balls, etc.

10. The Empire Aztec civilization organized as a hierarchy
At the top = the emperor
Classes = nobility, commoners, serfs, slaves
Land owned by: nobility and commoners
Commoners = priests, merchants, artisans, farmers
Serfs = farm workers tied to noble lands
Lowest class = slaves = prisoners of war; criminals; debtors – often sacrificed

12. God of dying & resurrection
Religion & the Arts
Religion moved them to engage in war and sacrifice
Live human sacrifices were needed to keep the gods happy
Aztec artists decorated temple-pyramids with scenes of gods or battles
Writers glorified Aztec victories in their works
Quetzalcoatl
God of dying & resurrection

13. The Inca Empire Lived in the Andes Mountains in South America
Empire stretched about 2500 miles along the Andes
Capital = Cuzco

14. The Inca Empire Raided other tribes and slowly built a large empire
Strong central government  local rulers had to report to Inca emperor
Unlike the Aztec Empire, which had no centralized government or complex administration

15. The Inca Empire Emperor closely controlled the lives of common people
Owned all land and carefully regulated the growing & distribution of food
Farmers used step terraces on hillsides
Part of all crops after every harvest went to emperor as taxes

16. The Inca Empire
Work crews built roads & bridges to link different regions of the empire
Gods pleased with food, animal, and human sacrifices
Not even close to the scale of the Aztecs
No writing system  used quipus to record information = ropes with knotted cords of different lengths

17. The Inca Empire Mita = labor service used
Required periodically of every household
Required to work for the state
Examples: farming, herding, mining, crafting manufactured goods, construction
In return: state provided elaborate feasts for the people

18. “Gender Parallelism”
Both the Aztec and Inca Empires used this system with men and women
Separate spheres and responsibilities, but each one equally valuable
Each had autonomy in its own sphere
Did NOT mean total gender equality

19. What would a conversation between an Aztec and Inca sound like?
Nahuatl or Quechua?
Highlands or lowlands?
Peaceful or aggressive?
Respectful or disrespectful?
What would have happened if the allied agaainst the Spanish (conquistadors)conquerors)?

20. Pow Wow
a spiritual gathering
For native Americans