The Aztecs rose to power in central Mexico in the 14th century, founding the city of Tenochtitlan in 1325 and establishing an empire in 1434 ruled by an emperor. They developed a complex religion centered around over 100 deities including Huitzilopochtli and practiced widespread human sacrifice of war captives for political and religious purposes. By 1519, Tenochtitlan had grown to a population of 150,000 and was connected by causeways, canals, and featured floating agricultural islands called chinampas. The Aztec economy was based on agriculture and long distance trade while their society was divided into noble and common classes.

1. The Aztecs

2. Rise of the Aztecs
• Aztecs (Mexica) migrate
to Lake Texcoco in
central Mexico c. 1325
• Founded city of
Tenochtitlan in 1325
• Empire started in 1434
• Aztec kings represented
civil power and served
as a representative of the
gods on Earth

3. Aztec Government
• City-states ruled by a speaker chosen from
the nobility
• The Great Speaker, ruler of Tenochtitlan,
was in effect an emperor
• Increasingly considered a living god
• Conquered peoples maintained some
autonomy if they paid tribute

4. Aztec Religion
• Aztec maintained
traditional deities of
Mesoamerica
• 128 major deities
• Huitzilopochtli (right)
was the Aztec tribal
patron and patron
deity of the cult of
warfare and sacrifice

5. Human Sacrifice
• Human sacrifice was a
typical part of
Mesoamerican religion
• Aztec expand practice
into a cult where military
supplied war captives for
sacrifice
• Why?
• Political purposes
• Population control
• Cannibal kingdom

6. Human Sacrifice

7. Tenochtitlan
• On an island in Lake
Texcoco
• Aztecs called it the
“foundation of Heaven”
• By 1519 had a
population of 150,000
• Connected by causeways
and canals

8. Tenochtitlan “The Venice of the
Americas

9. Aztec Economy
• Agriculture
• Food often provided as tribute
• Built chinampas
• Pochteca was a special merchant class
which specialized in long-distance luxury
trade
• Cacao beans and gold dust were used as
currency; bartering was most common

10. Chinampas
Chinampas were man-made floating islands 17’ long x 100’ to 300’
feet wide. Aztecs built over 20,000 acres of chinampas.

11. Chinampas

12. Aztec Society
• Originally divided into seven clans called
calpulli
• Calpulli redistributed land, organized labor
gangs & military units, maintained temples &
schools
• Eventually a class of nobility emerged
• Nobility controlled the priesthood & military

13. Aztec Society
• Women’s primary role was the household
• Women spent six hours a day grinding corn;
restricted women’s rights
• Marriages were arranged
• Polygamy existed amongst the nobility
• Women could inherit property

14. The Inca

15. Rise of Inca
• Founded by Quechua-
speaking clans, ayllus,
living near Cuzco c. 1350
• Inca (ruler) Pachacuti
expanded the empire from
1438-1471
• Built Machu Picchu
• Expansion continued after
Pachacuti’s death

16. Machu Picchu

17. Machu Picchu

18. Conquest & Religion
• Expansion motivated
by split inheritance
• Polytheistic
• Sun God was the
primary god
• Influenced by
animism
• Mountains, rivers, etc.
were considered holy
shrines
Temple of the Sun in Machu Picchu

19. Inca Government
• Inca was considered almost a god
• Divided empire into four provinces
• Developed a bureaucracy run by nobles
• Nobility drawn from the ten ayllus
• Local rulers maintained their positions
• Colonized conquered areas
• Relocated some conquered peoples

20. Inca Metalworking

21. Inca Economy
• Unlike Aztecs, not a lot of trade
• Tried to be self-sufficient
• Primarily agricultural
• Terrace farming & complex irrigation
• Over 200 types of potatoes
• Inca Socialism
• Used forced labor for massive projects
• Mita

22. Terrace Farming

23. Inca Society
• Inca emphasis on military reinforced gender
inequality
• Women worked in the fields, wove cloth,
and cared for the household
• Women worshipped fertility deities
• Recognize parallel descent
• Women passed rights and property to their
daughters

24. Inca Technology
• Built a complex system of roads and
bridges
• 2500 miles of roads
• Used a system of runners to carry messages
throughout the empire
• Beautiful pottery, cloth, and metalworking
• Quipu
• Masonry

25. Bridges and Roads

26. Quipu