The+Americas

The Americas

SOURCES: Princeton Review book
 * [|Maya]
 * organized city-states ruled by ONE king
 * peasant population bound to nobility by ties of loyalty and religion
 * cities: 10,000 to 40,000 inhabitants
 * main goal: capture slaves/sacrificial victims
 * DECLINE:
 * debatable
 * abandoning of cities around 800 C.E.
 * overuse of land --> environmental degradation
 * political dissension
 * social unrest
 * natural disasters
 * outside invaders
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">[|Aztecs]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">called Mexica
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">arrived around mid-1200s
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> build capital at [|Tenochtitlan]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">expansionist policies and professional army
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">build empire through conquests and alliances --> 12 million people
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">didn't use bureaucratic gov't
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">women: could inherit property, main business to take care of household BUT still involved in skilled crafts like weaving.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">religion vs. military
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">purpose of military to obtain victims for sacrifice
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">[|Incas]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Andes Mnts. in Peru
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">controlled 2,000 miles of S. American coastline
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">controlled territory using professional army
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">achievements:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">bureaucracy
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">unified language
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">complex system of roads and tunnels
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">no large animals --> source of labor: humans
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">women: work in fields, weave cloth, care for household, inherit property, religion
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">polytheistic
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">human sacrifice
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">military: ensure his place of lordship, the ruler had to conquer
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">state bureaucracy: nobility
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">excellent builders, stone cutters and miners
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">[|Temple of the Sun]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">[|Machu Picchu]