American Empires assignment
15.1
1. The Spanish viceroy would have requested a history of the Aztecs to have a better understanding of the people him and his soldiers would be interacting with. 2. The purpose founding myths is to give the origin of that society, and to give a reason behind why the place exsisted.
15.2
1. Like the Aztecs some societies practiced the cannibalism and human sacrifice for religion, believing that their gods needed the human blood to survive and continue to be pleased with the people of their land. After the heart and blood was sacrificed they saw the body as holy so to them it is understandable why they would want to eat the left over body. But other societies practiced it because it was a source of food, or because when a tribe won a war against another they would eat the flesh of a powerful warrior (of the opposing tribe) thinking that they would gain the skills of the dead warrior. 2. The fact that the source comes from after the Spanish conquest does not particularly change how I approach it mainly because there is other proof of their sacrifices other than the Spanish reports. 3. A way you can tell that the person who drew the picture had never been the Americas is because the Aztecs did not have buildings that had characteristics of roman buildings!
15.3
1. One technological achievement is they had to have drainage systems for high altitude and it being in the mountains they were bound to get some wet weather! Also since it was on such a rocky mountain they probably had to be able to make a stable foundation! They may not have had any fancy weapons or armor but they sure could build! 2. I think that it’s placement is symbolic because the Inca’s were a powerful empire that having such a high leading city would be like them watching over their empire. 3. Machu Picchu’s isolation contributed to its longevity because it was hidden away in the mountains and wasn’t disturbed as much as the lower lands were, but because of that when the Spanish made their way there they would not have had the backup they had before and no pre-exposure to the diseases the Spaniards carried.
15.4
1. The Inca’s storehouses are similar to food stamps and welfare that people can receive today, because it helped the poor and those who were unable to work. But the difference is that it was only for those who were unable to work, those who could work did not receive anything from the store house, unlike food stamps and things that are given to people who may even be working. 2. The storehouses function both as a political and military institution by supplying food and other necessary items to the military in times of war and during peaceful times the supplies were given to the poor and widowed. 3. The Inca’s wanted to know how many people were in each province so they would know how many people would need provisions from the storehouses and how many men were able bodied and could be called on for war. 4. I believe Cieza de Leon speaks favorably of the Inca system because really it is a good idea keeping track of those who can be in your army and being able to rely on your own supplies versus having to use other allies supplies.