The+Americas

ESPIRIT for Aztecs

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 * Tenochtitlan- capital of Aztec Empire
 * markets and shores of the city were linked by canals and causeways
 * "floating gardens" kept thousands of peasants working
 * lands of conquered people were often appropriated
 * food was always demanded as a tribute
 * chinampas helped the agriculture system
 * the local clan apportioned the land
 * each community had periodic markets
 * cacao beans and gold dust sometimes used as currency
 * trade was done as barter
 * great market at Tlatelolcon operated daily and was controlled by the merchant class (pochteca)
 * specialized in long distance trade in luxury items like plumes of tropical birds and cacao
 * state controlled use and distribution of many commodities and redistributed vast amounts of tribute recieved from subordinate people
 * tribute levels assigned based on whether or not the person accepted Aztec ruling or fought against it
 * Aztecs were divided into 7 calpulli or clan

S P I R I T
 * two story homes (nobles)
 * state marriages
 * rulers and warrior nobles took lands and tribute from conquered towns
 * became more stratified society under authority of supreme ruler
 * basic duality recognized in all things...women and men
 * nobles recieved much more of the tributes than the commoners did
 * calpulli- basic building block for Aztec society
 * class of nobility emerged as Aztec power expanded
 * this group of nobles accumulated high offices, private lands, and other advantages
 * commoners could be promoted to noble status
 * military people had special uniforms and fought together as units
 * restrictions on clothing, hairstyles and uniforms made apparent social distinctions
 * new class of laborers (almost like serfs) created to work on lands...they were low in social status but slaves were even lower
 * scribes, artisans, and healers- intermediate group very important in larger cities
 * peasant women helped on the fields but primary focus was the household
 * marriages arranged between lineages
 * polygamy existed among nobles but peasants were monogamous
 * women could pass their inheretance and had almost equal rights to men, though they remained subordinate
 * each city controlled by kin group that cared for its temples, shrines, and palaces
 * organized by city-states
 * political units claimed power based on military power
 * calpulli distributed land to heads of the household and organized labor gangs and military units, mantained a temple and a school
 * calpulli governed by councils of family heads
 * each city-state ruled by an emperor who was considered a living god
 * emperor elected by siblings in the royal family
 * prime minister help great power also and was usually related to the emperor
 * conquered people were kept as slaves and sacrifice victims
 * little distinction between gods and natural world
 * many gods for nature
 * 128 major dieties
 * gods celebrated by human sacrifice and yearly festivals and feasting
 * Tlaloc- god of rain and of fertility and agricultural cycle
 * much abstract and philospphical thought was devoted to the theme of creation
 * Huitzilopochtli- aztec tribal patron
 * great temple of tenochtitlan was dedicated to Tlaloc and Huitzilipochtli
 * religion depended on complex mythology that explained birth, history, and relationships with people, of the gods that influenced every aspect of life
 * believed the world had been destroyed four times and it would be destroyed again, so fatalism in aztec thought was created and they thought the sacrifices to the gods would be insufficient
 * rewrote history to suit their purposes
 * spoke Nahuatl...this made their rise to power and claims to legitimacy more acceptable
 * served as mercenaries and allies
 * 1428- Aztecs became independent power
 * human sacrifice- military class played central role as suppliers of war captives to be used as sacrificial victims
 * human sacrifice expanded in postclassical period of militarism
 * warrior cults and images of jaguars eating human hearts were typical of Toltec art
 * cannibalism developed as part of the cult of human sacrifice
 * Nezhualcoyotl- king of Texoco...wrote hymns and poetry to an invisible creative force that supported all the gods
 * religious art and poetry are filled woth images of flowers, birds, and songs as well as human hearts, blood, and the "percious water" needed to support the gods
 * chinampas- beds of aquatic weeds, mud, ans dirt that had been placed in frames of cane and rooted to the lake floor...formed artficial floating islands and allowed water to reach all the plants and willow trees were also planted at intervals to give shade and help fix the roots
 * animal or water powered mills turned wheat into flour

ESPIRIT for Incas

E S P I R I T
 * bureaucratic control over people with different languages and cultures