Comparing The Aztecs And Inca

The Mayan, Aztec, and Inca civilizations brought major accomplishments to the world today. These accomplishments established them as advanced societies during their time without the influence of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Some of these accomplishments ranged from agriculture to architecture and on to writing and trade. Such as, the Mayans with their agriculture system of chinampas and there monumental temple/pyramids, the Aztecs with their trading in the city of Tenochtitlan, and the Incas with their road and bridge system connecting the whole empire.

The Aztecs were a civilization that emerged in Mesoamerica around the start of the thirteenth century and existed until 1521 CE. The Aztecs had their own system of government, a very complex religion, and sports and games were very important to the civilization. The Aztecs were a civilization that was complex as well as very advanced in many different areas of their civilization such as their government, religion, and sports.

The Inca Empire, the massive nation that extended 2,500 miles along the western coast of South America and had a population of over 7 million at its peak. It included all of what is now Ecuador and Peru and most of Chile. Known as “The Children of the Sun”, they excelled at craftsmanship, weaving, and culture (“Children of the Sun”). A very religious people, they worshiped the Sun as their supreme god and held religious festivals monthly to appease these gods. Although they did not value it aside from its beautiful appearance, the Inca Empire was home to millions of pounds of solid gold and silver. The Inca had no use for it except to use it to craft decorations and statues. In fact, an Inca citizen valued cloth more than they valued gold

     The Aztecs were an American Indian people who ruled a mighty empire in Mexico from the 1400's to the 1500's. The Aztecs had one of the most advanced civilizations in the Americas and built cities as large as any in Europe at that time. They also practiced a remarkable religion that affected every part of their lives and featured human sacrifice. The Aztecs built towering temples, created huge sculptures, and held impressive ceremonies all for the purpose of worshipping their gods. The Spaniards destroyed their magnificent empire in the year 1521, but the Aztecs left a lasting mark on Mexican life and culture .

Religion played a very important role in the Aztec and Inca culture. Religious rituals consisted of human sacrifice and polytheism. Their deities were inspired by nature and the earth’s physical makeup. Both appear to be similar but peel back the onion and notable differences reveal themselves. It is difficult for modern day society to understand how human sacrifice can exist in such advanced civilizations.

gain control of areas in the Central and South America, the Aztec and Inca Empires had a period

There were several ancient civilizations that built their cultures around their geography. The Incas were among one of those ancient civilizations. They had amazing ingenuity to make use of their environment. The Incas built agriculture terraces and they had a complex irrigation system. And some crops that we use today. The physical environment of the Incas affected and shaped their civilization.

The Aztecs were describe as warrior. The Aztecs ruled on the empire on the city of Mexico, from 1325-1521. From their capital city of Tenochitlan, presently the site of modern day lake Texcoco. The Aztecs were known for two things in especially for their farming and Human Sacrifice. Historians should emphasize the rule of Human Sacrifice in Aztecs culture""It was Human Sacrifice that led to the Aztecs expanding their empire.

1. Before Francisco Pizarro began the Spanish conquest in 1532, the Incan empire dominated the Andes Mountain region. An emperor who demanded strict obedience ruled the land. All business was run by the state, which could draft citizens for its projects. The Inca, terracing the landscape and irrigating the crops, farmed the mountainsides. The Inca were brilliant engineers, whose roadways included bridges. The city of Machu Picchu is an example of their skill with tools like the plumb bob and wooden roller, which they used for in heavy construction. Hundreds of years after their civilization was subdued by the Spanish, the descendants of the once-dominate Incas make up about 50 percent of Peru’s population.

According to Aditia Rinaldi “Every end should be followed by great new beginning”. The ending of the Toltec and Chavin civilizations marked the new beginnings of the Aztec and Incan cultures. The cultures of former civilizations in Mesoamerica developed technology that aided in the creation of the Aztec and Incan civilizations. The culture of these civilizations was also impacted by their location. The Aztecs were built on cities next to lakes and plentiful water sources while the Incans were founded on mountainous, rough soil. The soil type determined the number of crops that could be grown and trade patterns. Another important aspect of Incan and Aztec culture was social class structure. The class structure of the Aztecs started with monarchs/religious leaders and ended on slaves with warriors, craftsmen, and traders located in the middle. The Incan hierarchy was based on the lower class (poor families) working for the upper class (monarch and government). Both class structures had a majority of low class poor workers. The cultures of both Incan and Aztec empire were greatly affected by civilizations before them, geographic location, and social class structure.

The Aztecs practiced religion of many gods. They worship gods. The Aztecs gods are Tlaloe-rain god, Quetzalcoatl-feathered sepert god, Tezcatlipoca-supreme god, Xipe Toltec-god of springs, Xiuhtechti-god of fire, Xochipilli-god of summertime, Mictlunechuhti-god of dead, Coatlical-earth mother goddess. Also, Xochipilli is one of the gods he has a statue of a man sitting. The Aztecs are a symbol of spiritual and national unity. Also, the gods are divided into 3 groups sky, celestial beings, and rain agriculture. Their temple was called Temple Mayor.

The Aztec and Inca Empires had similarities and differences that contributed to their individual successes. Each Empire had different origins yet the both grew and became powerful Empires. The Aztecs, also known as the Mexica, originated in the valley in Mexico and began as nomadic people, moving from place to place until their powerful neighbors drove them away. Around 1325 A.D. they came upon a valley in Mexico and settled around the surrounding lakes. The Aztecs built the capital, Tenochtitlan, on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco, and started to rapidly expand.

Religion was very important in Aztec life, and the aztecs worshipped their many gods daily. Each god ruled a human activity, or an object. As the Aztec culture was based on farming, lots of their god were god of agriculture, or certain crops.

The Aztec capital city was located at Tenochtitlán, which is the site of the modern Mexico city, and their empire covered nearly all of the current country of Mexico, extending down into other regions of Central America (Aztec TImeline, 2006). Most of their land had a swamp-like soil that made it difficult to farm. However this soil was very rich and fertile. The Aztecs were also very smart people that invented many things that we use today. They thought of a way to create “floating” gardens to be able to farm.

Aztec is civilization created by the ancient Indian, which was mainly distributed in central and southern Mexico. Aztecs were a tribe with a lower level of development at first, but they absorb and fuse with other outstanding cultural traditions of Indian in the region that they rose rapidly. Aztec had developed agriculture and the main crops were corn, beans, squash, potatoes. Religion played an important role in the life of the Aztecs. The inhabitants believed in the immortality of the soul and Supreme domination. They adored the natural god that one of the peculiar was to use the living person for sacrifice.