1. The Americas

2. 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

3. 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

4. Aztecs Originally northern people with clan- based organization
Take advantage of fall of Toltecs

5. 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
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

6. Tenochtitlan: The Foundation of Heaven

7. Aztec Economy Tribute System Chinampas Merchants operated all markets
Merchants distance from and subordinate to elite traded long- distance
State controlled all trade

8. Maya Were a civilization Not unified: series of warring city-states
Agriculturally dependent
State religion
Great art style
Architecture
Formal legal system
Sophisticated writing system
Not unified: series of warring city-states

9. Maya Women Unity cultural, not political Urban culture
Central role in politics
Lady Wak-Chanil- Ahaw
Unity cultural, not political
Urban culture
King – commoner social structure

10. Maya (continued) Religion Trade Universal deities Local gods
Sacrifice (see bloodletting pic)
Trade
salt
obsidian
Basalt

11. Andes - - > Inca Four ecological zones
Coast
Mountain valleys
Higher Elevations
Amazon region
Goods were exchanged through a network of trade routes

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. Incan cultural achievement
Did not introduce new technology, but made efficient use of existing technologies
Proficient metallurgists
Used quipus
Developed monumental architecture and roads

16. 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