Aztecs And Incas Essay, Research Paper
The Inca and the Aztec were alike in some ways but also had very large differences. The Inca lived on the northeastern coast of South America from 1450 AD to 1535 AD. The Aztecs lived in central Mexico from 1325 AD to 1523 AD.
Let’s look at the agriculture. The Inca had an advanced agriculture system, which allowed them to grow more food and specialize. They would carve steps out of a hill and then would plant vegetables such as corn, beans, and squash. These were called terraces. They also had an advanced irrigation system that consisted of canals and streams to help water the terraces. The Aztecs also had an advanced agricultural system. They used floating gardens called chinampas which were rafts made of reeds which soil was put onto and then seeds were planted in it. This way they could have more land for farming.
Let’s look at warfare. The Inca were not very aggressive people and rarely fought wars. Usually they fought only to conquer more lands or if they were threatened. You will read later how a civil war brought the Inca empire down. The Aztecs were a very warlike civilization and were very aggressive. They fought often so they could take captives for sacrifice. All Aztec men were required to fight at the king’s order. When they could not find a excuse for war they played a ball game called tlatchli in which the losers of the game would be sacrificed.
Now let’s look at religion. The Incas religion was complex and focused around the sun. The Inca believed in blood sacrifice and idols. Also they sacrificed black llamas as offerings to the sun. Like the Inca, the Aztec religion focused around the sun. They believed in human sacrifice and that the sun would die if they did not make a sacrifice. Aztec priests made the sacrifices and were ranked high in the Aztec civilization.
Now let’s talk about government. The Inca government was a strict monarchy. The main rulers were the king and his nobles. The people’s lives were completely controlled by the king and his nobles. Without the king and his nobles, the empire would fall. The Aztec government consisted of an emperor who ruled the people. The next most important person to the emperor was the snake woman (who was a man), who advised the emperor in important decisions. The last important group in the government were the nobles, knights, and the priests.
Let’s talk about the downfall of the civilizations. The end of the Incas empire was in 1531 at the hands of the Spanish. They were conquered by a Spanish soldier named Francisco Pizzaro. The Incas empire fell when the king and all the nobles were murdered by Pizzaro when they came out to greet him. With no rulers to guide the people, the Incas empire was subdued easily. The Aztec were conquered in 1521 by the Spanish. They were conquered by Hernando Cortes. He had taken over them with a small army in 1519, but was driven out of Mexico. Cortes came back with a larger army in 1521 and finally conquered the Aztecs.
These are some of the big differences between the Inca and Aztec civilizations. But they also had some similarities like in farming and religion. Its interesting how some different cultures can be alike.