Aztec Vs Inca
How would you your heart to be cut out as a sacrifice to ancient gods? Or to be a runner on a 18,000 mile road? These both could have happened in the ancient Aztec and Inca civilizations.The Aztecs lived from 1427-1514, on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco in present day Mexico. Their capital city, Tenochtitlan, is present day Mexico City. The Incas lived from 1230-1525, in the Andes mountains, from present day Ecuador to Chile. Their capital city, Cuzco, is in present day Peru. The Aztec and Inca civilizations were both similar and different in the fields of agriculture, warfare, and religion.
In the area of agriculture, there were similarities and differences in the techniques, environment, and crops. The Aztecs and Incas both could …show more content…
Both the Incas and Aztecs highly prized the Sun god, because in their world he controlled sunrise and therefore if the universe would continue. The Aztec Sun god was Huitzilopochtli. Aztecs believed that gods could be kind, but that demons and ghosts prowled in the night and could appear as skulls or miniature dolls (Strange Histories, The Aztecs). The Incas had many gods including Mama Pacha, Cocha, and Quilla, Mother Earth, Mother of Water, and Mother of Storms, respectively. The Sun god, Inti, was most important, but unlike in Aztec culture, they had a separate creator, Viracocha. Aztecs and Incas, however, differed more in rituals than they did in gods. The Aztecs would sacrifice humans, cutting out their hearts with an obsidian dagger, then sacrificing their blood to the gods, and finally throwing them down the steps of the temple (Doc. I). The Incas had other rituals, for example, when an emperor was killed, all of his servants would be killed too, so they could accompany him into the afterlife. They would also mummify deceased rulers. They had many levels of priests, including a High Priest, ten lower priests that counseled the ten religious districts, and then ordinary priests in towns. Finally, Incas had Acllas, young girls who are taken from their homes at early ages to serve in shrines and
In the area of agriculture, there were similarities and differences in the techniques, environment, and crops. The Aztecs and Incas both could …show more content…
Both the Incas and Aztecs highly prized the Sun god, because in their world he controlled sunrise and therefore if the universe would continue. The Aztec Sun god was Huitzilopochtli. Aztecs believed that gods could be kind, but that demons and ghosts prowled in the night and could appear as skulls or miniature dolls (Strange Histories, The Aztecs). The Incas had many gods including Mama Pacha, Cocha, and Quilla, Mother Earth, Mother of Water, and Mother of Storms, respectively. The Sun god, Inti, was most important, but unlike in Aztec culture, they had a separate creator, Viracocha. Aztecs and Incas, however, differed more in rituals than they did in gods. The Aztecs would sacrifice humans, cutting out their hearts with an obsidian dagger, then sacrificing their blood to the gods, and finally throwing them down the steps of the temple (Doc. I). The Incas had other rituals, for example, when an emperor was killed, all of his servants would be killed too, so they could accompany him into the afterlife. They would also mummify deceased rulers. They had many levels of priests, including a High Priest, ten lower priests that counseled the ten religious districts, and then ordinary priests in towns. Finally, Incas had Acllas, young girls who are taken from their homes at early ages to serve in shrines and