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Chapter 15 – The Aztec and Inca Empires
Section Notes
Video
The Aztec Empire
Aztec Life and Society
The Inca Empire
Inca Life and Society
Mesoamerican Achievements
in Science and Math
History Close-up
Tenochtitlán
Machu Picchu
Quick Facts
People in Aztec Society
Chapter 15 Visual Summary
Maps
The Aztec Empire, 1519
The Inca Empire, 1530
Inca Roads
Lake Texcoco
Assessment Map
Images
Linking to Today:
Preserving Food
The Aztec Empire
7.7.1
7.7.3
The Big Idea
The Aztecs built a great empire in central Mexico but were
conquered by the Spanish in 1521.
Main Ideas
• The Aztecs built an empire through warfare and trade and
created an impressive capital city in Mesoamerica.
• Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztec Empire.
Main Idea 1:
The Aztecs built an empire through warfare
and trade and created an impressive
capital city in Mesoamerica.
The first Aztecs were farmers, but when they arrived in
Central America, all the good farmland was taken. To
survive, they had to hire themselves out as warriors.
The Aztecs’ Rise to Power
• War was the key factor in the Aztecs’ rise to power.
• The Aztecs built alliances, or partnerships, to build their
empire.
• The Aztecs made the people they conquered pay tribute,
or give them cotton, gold, or food.
• The Aztecs controlled a huge trade network. Markets drew
buyers and sellers from all over the Aztec Empire.
• By the early 1500s the Aztecs had the most powerful state
in Mesoamerica.
Tenochtitlán
• Tenochtitlán was the capital of the Aztec Empire. It was
built in the middle of a lake, on an island.
• The Aztecs built causeways, or raised roads across water
or wet ground, so people could access the city.
• The Aztecs built stone canals to bring water to the city and
floating gardens to raise food and flowers.
• The city had huge temples, a busy market, clean streets,
and magnificent palaces.
• It was the greatest city in the Americas during the time of
the Aztecs.
Main Idea 2:
Hernán Cortés conquered
the Aztec Empire.
In the late 1400s Spanish explorers and soldiers arrived in
the Americas. The soldiers, or conquistadors, came to
explore new lands, search for gold, and spread the Catholic
religion.
Cortés and Moctezuma
• A small group of conquistadors led by Cortés reached
Mexico in 1519.
• Moctezuma II, the Aztec leader, believed that Cortés was a
god.
• Moctezuma sent Cortés gifts, including gold. Cortés
wanted more gold, so he went to Moctezuma.
• Cortés took Moctezuma prisoner. The other Aztecs
attacked Cortés and his men. The Spanish were driven
out, but Moctezuma was killed.
• Cortés returned with many Indian allies and in 1521 they
defeated the Aztecs and ended their empire.
Causes of the Defeat of the Aztecs
• Alliances The Spanish had made allies in the region who
gave them supplies, information, and warriors.
• Weapons The Spanish had better weapons than the
Aztecs. They had cannons, armor, swords, and horses that
the Aztecs did not have.
• Geography The Spanish were able to cut off the capital
city. The people had no food or water, so many Aztecs died
of starvation.
• Disease The Spanish had unknowingly brought deadly
diseases such as smallpox to the Americas. These diseases
killed the Aztecs, who had never been exposed to such
diseases.
Aztec Life and Society
7.7.2
7.7.4
7.7.5
The Big Idea
The Aztecs developed complex social, religious, artistic, and
scientific systems in their empire.
Main Ideas
• Aztec society was divided by roles and by class.
• The Aztec religion required human sacrifice to keep the
gods happy.
• The Aztecs had many achievements in science, art, and
language.
Main Idea 1:
Aztec society was divided by
social roles and by class.
People in Aztec society had clearly defined roles. These
roles, along with social class, determined how Aztec men
and women lived. They had four distinct social classes.
– Kings and nobles
– Priests and warriors
– Merchants and artisans
– Farmers and slaves
Classes of Aztec Society:
Kings and Nobles
• The king was the most powerful person in Aztec society.
• The king was in charge of law, trade and tribute, and
warfare.
• The king had nobles to help him manage the kingdom.
• The nobles were tax collectors and judges as well as other
jobs. They passed their titles down from father to son.
Classes of Aztec Society:
Warriors and Priests
• The priests had a great deal of influence over the lives of
the Aztecs.
• The priests had many duties, including keeping calendars
to decide when to plant crops and hold religious
ceremonies.
• Aztec warriors also had many duties. They fought to
capture victims for religious sacrifices. They also brought
great wealth to the empire.
• The warriors were very well respected by the Aztecs.
Classes of Aztec Society:
Merchants and Artisans
• Merchants gathered goods from all over the empire and
sold them in the main market.
• Many merchants were very wealthy and used their money
to build large houses and send their sons to private
schools.
• Artisans were also rich and important to the Aztecs. They
made gold jewelry and elaborate headdresses.
Classes of Aztec Society:
Farmers and Slaves
• Farmers and slaves made up the lowest class of Aztec
society.
• Most of the people who lived in the empire were farmers
who grew maize, beans, and a few other crops.
• Farmers were very poor and did not own their own land.
• Slaves were people who had been captured in battle or
who could not pay their debts. They were laborers, and if
they did not obey, they were sacrificed to the gods.
Main Idea 2:
Aztec religion required human sacrifice
for keeping the gods happy.
The Aztecs believed that they had to feed the gods. Most
sacrifices were enemy warriors.
Aztec Sacrifices
• The Aztecs believed that keeping the gods happy meant
that their lives would be blessed.
• The greatest number of sacrifices were made to the war
god Huitzilopochtli and the rain god Tlaloc.
• Priests led the sacrificial rituals, which took place on top of
the temples that had been built.
• Humans were sacrificed because it was believed that the
human hearts and blood would “feed” the gods and keep
them strong.
• Aztec priests sacrificed as many as 10,000 victims a year
in religious sacrifices.
Main Idea 3:
The Aztecs had many achievements in
science, art, and language.
The Aztecs valued learning and art. Aztec scientific
achievements, artistic traditions, and language contributed to
their culture.
Scientific Achievements
• The Aztecs studied astronomy and created a calendar
much like the Mayan calendar.
• The Aztecs also knew many different uses for plants. They
knew of 100 different plants that could be used for
medicine.
Writing and Literature
• The Aztecs had a complex writing system and kept
extensive written records.
• The Aztecs also had a very strong oral tradition.
• They considered fine speeches very important and also
enjoyed riddles.
• Stories about ancestors and gods were also a part of the
oral tradition. The Aztecs told these stories to their
children and passed them down from generation to
generation.
• After the Spanish conquered the Aztecs, many of these
stories were written down.
The Inca Empire
7.7.1
7.7.3
The Big Idea
The Incas built a huge empire in South America, but they
were conquered by the Spanish.
Main Ideas
• The rise of the Inca Empire was due to conquest and the
achievements of the Inca people.
• Pizarro conquered the Incas and took control of the
region.
Main Idea 1:
The rise of the Inca Empire was due to
conquest and the achievements
of the Inca people.
In South America, another great empire arose. That empire
belonged to the Inca.
Foundations for the Incan Empire
• Pre-Inca civilization began to develop in what is now Peru.
Four major cultures developed and built some of South
America’s first cities.
• The early Incas began as a small tribe in the Andes
mountains. A ruler named Pachacuti led the Incas to
expand their territory through agreements with, or
conquests of, other tribes.
• Later Inca rulers continued to expand their territory. By
the 1500s the Incan Empire was huge and had
12
million people.
The Incan Government
• As the Incas conquered more people, they had to devise a way to
control them.
• They made the conquered leaders move out of their villages and
move in with leaders who were loyal to the Inca government.
• The Inca made the children of the conquered leaders come to the
Incan capital to learn about Incan ways.
• The Incas established an official language, Quechua.
• They controlled the economy by having the Inca pay a tax with
their labor.
• There were no markets or merchants. Instead, the government
would distribute goods. Leftover goods were stored in the capital
for emergencies.
Main Idea 2:
Pizarro conquered the Incas and took
control of the region.
A civil war began in the Inca Empire between the two sons of
the king, Atahualpa and Huáscar. Atahualpa eventually won
the war and ruled the empire.
The Fall of the Incas
• Although Atahualpa had won the war, the infighting had
weakened the empire.
• A group of conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro arrived in the
empire. They demanded that Atahualpa convert to Christianity.
• When Atahualpa refused to convert, the conquistadors attacked
the Inca, and thousands were killed.
• The Incas tried to free Atahualpa with a roomful of gold and
silver, but the Spanish killed him anyway.
• The Spanish defeated the last of the Inca, and the empire fell in
1537.
– The Spanish had superior weapons and horses.
– They brought diseases that weakened the native peoples.
Inca Life and Society
7.7.2
7.7.4
The Big Idea
Many kinds of people make up Inca society in an empire
know for grand architecture and complex oral literature.
Main Ideas
• For the Inca, position in society affected daily life.
• The Incas made great achievements in building, art, and
oral literature.
Main Idea 1:
For the Incas, position in society affected
daily life.
Inca society had two main social classes—an upper and a
lower class. The Incas from Cuzco, the capital, made up the
upper class.
Society and Daily Life
Upper Class
• Kings, priests, and
government officials made
up the Inca upper class.
• Men worked for the
government, and women
had household duties.
• Sons went to school.
• Upper-class families had
many privileges, such as
private schools, stone
houses, and the best
clothes.
Lower Class
• The lower class was made
up of farmers, artisans,
and servants. There were
no slaves in Inca society.
• They worked on
government farms, served
in the army, worked in
mines, or built roads.
• Most children did not go to
school, but instead learned
to farm.
Religion in the Inca Empire
• The Inca Empire had an official religion.
• When they conquered new regions, they taught this
religion to the conquered people.
• They allowed the conquered people to worship their own
gods as well.
• The god of the sun was the most important god to the
Incas. They believed their kings were related to the sun
god.
• The Incas rarely sacrificed humans. Instead, they
sacrificed llamas, cloth, or food.
Main Idea 2:
The Inca made great achievements in
building, art, and oral literature.
The Incas had strong traditions of building, art, and
storytelling. Many of their creations still exist today.
Inca Contributions to Culture
• The Inca were known for their massive buildings and forts
made of huge stone blocks. Blocks were cut so precisely
that even today it is nearly impossible to fit a knife blade
between the stones.
• The Inca also built a system of roads that connected all
parts of the empire.
• The Inca artisans made jewelry of silver and gold.
• Oral literature was made up of storytelling and songs. The
Inca also passed down their songs, dances, and religious
practices.
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