•  Teotihuacán
•  Sihyaj K’ahk’
•  Tikal
La Sufricaya site, Maya palace
Guatemala, ca. 379 AD
Noble Savage or
“Buen Salvaje”
Archangel St Michael with
Portrait of Indigenous Donor,
Church of San Pedro,
Lima, Peru, c. 1630s
Concentrated-sedentary
(Aztec and Inca empires,
some of the Maya)
Segmented-sedentary
(Muiscas, most of the
Maya, among others).
Semisedentary (Guarani,
Taino, Tupi, and others)
Non-Sedentary (mostly in
temperate North and
South America)
Tenochtitlan and Cuzco, imperial centers for the Aztec and Inca realms
Cuzco
Map of Tenochtitlan and the Gulf Coast
from Hernán Cortes 1524
Korikancha Temple
(base, under convent)
•  By 1246 emerged a mix of Old Toltec culture and
new northern invaders (Chichimecs). Chichimecs
settled in Chapultepec and were mercenaries hired
by the more complex city-states of the Central Valley
•  1325. Part of these northerners moved to
Tenochtitlan, an island in the Lake Texcoco (today’s
Mexico City) and became tributary of the city-state
(Altepetl) of Azcapotzalco. They named themselves
Mexica.
•  Acamapichtli, first king of the Mexica (1376-1396)
allied the cities of Texcoco and Tlacopan, becaming
Triple Alliance later identified as the Aztec Empire
•  Under Moctezuma I (1440-1458) the Mexica ruled
over allies and conquered today’s Central Mexico
•  Calpulli: socieconomic unit of Aztec life below
Altepetl, governed by council of elders, collectively
owned land, ruled over justice and local matters.
Ceramic model of a Temple,
Puebla, Aztec, c. 1500
Model of the Templo Mayor, Tenochtitlan
(Mexico City)
Coyolxauhqui Mask, Mexico,
possibly Tenochtitlan c. 1500
Ceramic Vessel featuring
Tlaloc, Aztec, mid 15th C
Huitzilopochti
Coyolxauhqui: Coiolshaqui
•  Celebration of Coatepec (Snake
Mountain)
•  Atzlan
Words of an Aztec dignitary who warned a
newly installed Aztec ruler. Bernardino de
Sahagún, Florentine Codex, vol. 6, 50.
“In thy time there will be disunity, quarreling in thy
city… truly it is said, uneasy is the rulership, the
government… [for] those of the city remain
grumbling, howling.”
•  Cycles of Cities to Empires, and from Empires
to Cities. Chavín Culture (Common Era), Nazca
Culture (Nazca figures), Tiuanaku, and Incas.
•  13th C., Incas just one among many groups.
Inca king Pachacuti (1438-1471) led expansion.
By the time of Huayna Capac (1493-1525) the
Inca empire, or Tawantinsuyu, ranged from
Southern Ecuador to Northern Argentina
•  Inca greater ability of organizing people for
labor and armies.
•  Allyu: socioeconomic center of Andean life,
control land and resources.
•  Vertical archipelago: Adaptation of Allyus to
maximize agriculture and pasture in different
geographical zones.
Cuzco and Korikancha
Tawantinsuyu:“land of the four quarters”
Quechua language
Quipu
Long-Haired Llama Peru (Titicaca) mid 15th C and
Male Votive Figurine silver, gold and precious stones,
same period.
Maize Stalk with Cobs, Peru, Inca, 1450-1540
Dressed Miniature Female
Votive Figurine, Chile, Inca,
early 16th C.
Found in a site of a childmommy. Capachoca sacrifice
From Huaman Poma,
“Nueva Corónica y Buen Gobierno (1615) [Peru]
Royal Tocapu Uncu [Tunic},
Peru, Inca, early 16th C
Mask,
Aztec-Mixtec,
15th-16th C
Ear Ornaments, Peru,
North Coast, 14th-15th C.