R, Jan 20

Thursday, January 20, 2011 Important Dates:

3:05 PM 

Today's Topics: Important People:

 Native Americans Pre-Encounter 

Lecture Topic:
During the lecture, take notes here.
-sedentary empires (Inca & Aztec) utilized tribute to extract things of value from conquered
territories
-tribute "in kind" (goods, etc.)
-labor
-the Incan empire controlled nearly 20% of population
-the Aztec empire controlled nearly 35%

-semi-sedentary empires are removed from features of empire

-not much specialization
-tribute is token at best

-non-sedentary groups were able to avoid confrontations with the Spanish for longer period
because they could move around more instead of being forced to defend their capital cities (as
was the case in sedentary groups)

-Incan Empire
-crops included potatoes, primarily, and different crops were produced at different
altitude levels in the Andes
-some residents of a newly conquered area would function as hostages for the Incan
Empire, and simultaneously loyal members of the empire would be sent to the new
territories
-would forcefully integrate the newly conquered into Inca culture
-would allow for spies on these newly conquered
-would force the remaining individuals to acquiesce to the Incan Empire through
holding hostages
-forcefully spread the Quechua language, and their religion
-their system of tribute was all about labor (Mit'a system -- rotary draft labor); newly
conquered territories were to provide workers on a regular basis
-there is a system of reciprocity: laborers would provide with work, the ruler would
provide them with food and shelter, etc.
-Spanish settlers brought smallpox, which eventually devastated the Incan Empire by
killing the ruler, and civil war ensued

-record keeping in the Incan empire (quipu)

-not written, used knotted cords
-was APPARENTLY the means by which the Incan kept track of tribute, goods, etc.

-Meso-America
-between Mexico and South America
-generally non- or semi-sedentary groups
-social cultures are generally less advanced than the Incan or Aztec

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 -Maya cultures here have dramatically de-evolved before the Spanish arrived
-large amounts of debate as to why the empire collapsed
-most powerful argument seems to be the thin soils prone to overuse and inability
to support larger populations
-their writing system was pictographic in nature, and has only recently been
decoded

-Aztec Empire (Mexica / Nahua people)

-spoke the Nahuatl language
-Tenochititlan, the Aztec capital city, was on par or larger than any European city at the
time of Encounter
-utilized raised-field agriculture, where nutrient-rich material was brought up from the
lakebed to create a fertile planting bed
-warfare was so ingrained into the function of these people it deals with cosmology,
religion, human sacrifice, etc.
-their sun god required human sacrifices in order to continue rising and setting (as
the giver of life, it required life)
-the Aztecs demanded tribute in kind
-as long as the conquered territories continued playing tribute, they would be left
alone
-the Spaniards find the subjugated territories ready to turn on the Aztec empire, and
bound them together to overthrow the empire
-particularly Tlaxcala (a semi-training ground for Aztec warriors)

Summary
After the lecture, summarize the main points of this lecture topic.
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