...The Incan civilization function as a highly independent, multi-ethnic empire. They developed great farming techniques and storage that was able to efficiently provide food to their huge empire even through droughts. For instance, they created a farming ground that consisted of three huge impressions that was supported by different layers of rocks that kept the soil cool and well furnished. The Inca did not use money, so instead they relied of exchange like food for protection which benefited both the people and the estate. Cuzco served as their capital city and created a huge road system that connected all their city-states together. However, the Inca’s was ruled by one ruler who was known as the unique lord. He was the military leader, political...
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...The potato was very important in the history of food. They were first believed to have grown in the wild 13,000 thousand years ago, but they were also cultivated only 7,000 years ago. Because of their characteristics, they are thought to have grown near the mountains in the south of Peru and Bolivia, and eventually the Spanish conquistadors were introduced to them by the Incan Empire. The Incan Empire dehydrated the crops to store for later use, and mashed them to make chuñu. This food, chuñu, could be stored for up to 10 years. When harvest was not bountiful, this would be of use. They also used it for childbirth and treating wounds. Eventually, the conquistadors came and took over the Incan Empire. While looking for gold they saw civilians...
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...The war against the Spanish and the Incas was won by the Spanish. They won because of the advantages the Spaniards had, things like better weapons, and animals. The things they had came with a benefit, like the weapons being steel they lasted longer and the animals being horses to make their travels easier and also a distraction to the Incas. Pizarro the Spanish governor was able to defeat the Incas by capturing the Incan emperor. Also by having superior weapons to fight with, and using different objects to scare the Incas. Kidnapping is one bad way that people try to solve problems. Pizarro kidnapped the Incan emperor Atahualpa, for many reasons. One was to receive a high payment for the emperor’s return. Jared Diamond says “Pizarro proceeded to hold his prisoner for eight months, while extracting history’s largest ransom..(68)” Pizarro is looking for a large payment before he releases the emperor. Another reason that Pizarro captured Atahualpa was for an easier victory. Jared also states “..the capture made the conquest quicker and infinitely easier.(68)” t the Incans were willing to give the payment...
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...Pizarro, who led the conquest of the Incan Empire. Pizarro was born in 1478 and spent most of his life as a child in poverty. He initially was a pig farmer in Spain, until he also heard the stories of the “New World,” and decided to travel to what is now the West Indies, present day Haiti. Later in 1513, Pizarro decided to settle and explore modern day Panama with Vasco Balboa, and during this time became Mayor of Panama City. Between 1513 and 1523, Pizarro also made two expeditions on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, going as far as Colombia. During these expeditions, Pizarro heard many rumors of the mysterious Incas, primarily interested in their wealth. After this, Pizarro went back to Spain to negotiate the support of the Spanish, bringing a large amount of gold with him to King Carlos V. After gaining the support from the Spanish in his conquests, Pizarro returned to the South American coast. Once he returned and had his first ever face off with the Incan Empire, which ended in an all-out defeat for the Spaniards. Despite the large defeat, Pizarro did not give up, but instead regathered supplies and soldiers. When Pizarro returned to the Incan Empire, he converted Atahualpa, the Incan emperor, to Christianity. There was a large misunderstanding, which led Atahualpa to throw away the Bible, which led to Pizarro and the Spaniards declaring war on the Incans. The Spanish military had fewer troops, but had much more modern technology the Incans didn’t possess, as well as the diseases...
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...Gold, intellect, and mystery describe only a tiny morsel of the Incan civilization. The Incas are a civilization that got wiped off the face of the earth and became an enigma. Because I am fascinated by the Incas, I wish they had never disappeared, but then they would be put next to the other ancient civilizations that grew in the 1800’s. How did the Incas come about, what is their history, and most importantly, how did they disappear? According to legend, Wiraqoca Pacayacaciq, the Incan creator, created a race of giants on the island Titicaca, located in Bolivia. After creating this race, he discovered that they were too large for his purpose, so he replaced them with humans, similar to the ones who inhabit the earth now. After turning some...
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...Rhetoric and Ethics Assignment "The Ethic of Expediency" by Steven B. Katz discusses the ethical problems of technical writing. The author suggest that the ethic of expediency enables deliberative rhetoric and gives impulse to most of our actions in technological capitalism. Katz explains that the problem with deliberative rhetoric and technical communication is epistemology and ethics. He uses a Nazi memo as a technical writing sample, which embodies the rhetoric and ethos of the Nazi Party but fails to take any account for ethics. He also uses Aristotle's Politic and Rhetoric to make the connection between rhetoric, ethics, technology, and expediency. Katz concludes that the deliberative orators aim is utility, to determine means to ends- a question of expediency. Aristotle believed that practical wisdom must be accompanied by moral virtue to supply the right end. Hitler used Aristotle’s work to form the ethos in Nazi Germany. However, with Hitler, there was no distinction between "practical wisdom" and "moral virtue", between expediency and the good as long as rhetoric serves its end, that is, the State. His belief in the efficacy of science and technology as the basis of ethics and politics resulted in mass extermination. Based on the ethic of expediency, rhetoric for Hitler was pure technique, designed not to encourage debate, but rather to indoctrinate. Hitler created an ethos of expediency to carry out his program for the “greater good” of Germany. Katz believes that to...
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...factor in the cultivation in the lives of these early peoples because of a geographical environment that consisted mainly of three types of terrain: snow-covered mountain peaks and valleys; arid, coastal lowlands; and tropical rainforests. Each terrain had it’s own set of unique natural resources for the people to use to their advantage, as well as providing them with many hardships to overcome. (Soomo, 2013). The Incan Empire gives us many examples of how these ancient peoples were able to overcome some of the hardships of the harsh mountain terrain. Creating stone terraces on the mountainsides enabled soil to be held in place for use in planting food sources such as potatoes, and prevent erosion. They also were able to manipulate mountain rivers by diverting them to help irrigate the lower, more drier dessert areas, so that crops such as maize and chili peppers could thrive. They cut into the mountainous rock to create channels for streams that would provide water to the cities, such as their capital of Cuzco. An example of how the Incans used the natural resources of the Andes Mountains is in their use of the indigenous animals such as the llama, the deep and Peruvian sheep. The wool from the llama and sheep was woven into cloth that provided clothing and...
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...Ecuador hosted many civilizations. These included the Valdivia and Machalilla Cultures on the coast and the Quitus and Canari cultures in the mountains. The cultures were unique in their art and religious interests but were consolidated under the Shyris confederation for the benefit of trade and barter. The Shyris confederation was ruled by the Duchicela blood line before the Inca invasion. The confederation fought the Incans for many years before being conquered and falling loosely into the Incan Empire in 1463. I found this really cool story about... well I’ll just tell you the story! When the Spanish conquistadors arrived, the Incan Empire was ruled by Huayna Capac with his sons Atahualpa and Huascar. With Huayna Capac's death in 1525, the empire was divided in two: Atahualpa got the north, with his capital in Quito; Huascar got the south, with its capital in Cusco. In 1530, Atahualpa defeated his own brother, Huascar, and claimed control over the entire empire. Atahualpa's victory was short-lived as he was soon captured by the Spanish conquistadors in Cajamarca, and later killed. Disease plagued the native population during the first decades of Spanish rule, a time when the natives also were forced into the encomienda labor system for the Spanish. In 1563, Quito became the seat of an administrative district of Spain and part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, and later the Viceroyalty of New Granada. After nearly 300 years of Spanish colonization, Quito was still a small city...
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...The literary composure of the section of Invaders when the Spaniards prepare for what they assume to be their last battle, against the Incas who significantly outnumber them. Pizarro interjects the soldier’s conversation and displays his inner hubris by stating, “Have they ever felt steel” (656)? This quote relates to the weapons that the Spanish have brandished since the dawn of metal working and their superiority to the Incas primitive equipment. Pizarro’s rhetorical question, If the Incans have ever “felt steel” conveys a gruesome image of steel piercing through flesh and further enforces the fact that superior technology will give the edge on the battlefield against the Incans. Pizarro goes on to say, “When you fired the harquebus on the...
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...The influence the Mayan, Aztec and Incan empire have on societies in both the past and present is massive. The three civilizations have impacted the societies in the present and past; they created calendars similar to the ones we use today, the social systems similar to the one we have today and last but not least they had technologies that helped them with the development of their societies. It may seem as if calendars, writing and mathematics have come about in the last couple of years but the Mayans, and Aztecs were using these tools as well. According to the source “Mayan Civilization”, the Mayans used a complex writing system, known as hieroglyphic, that recorded historical and religious events that occurred. According to the source”...
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...The Effects of Clashing Cultures Our world today is populated with distinctive cultures and their unique languages, communication, beliefs, etc. that make our universe exquisitely diverse. As human beings, we tend to adapt to our own culture quite fast and we become used to perceiving our group of people as the only thing that is "good." We fear wanting to assimilate or broaden our knowledge to other cultures, for it is our natural instinct to shut out anything unfamiliar to us. In her essay, "Arts of the Contact Zone," Mary Louise Pratt argues for importance of understanding the point where two cultures clash, the contact zone, and that it can be powerful to engage in one's culture by expanding our grasp of knowledge and wisdom in the diversity we live in today. Pratt introduces three major concepts in her argument that exemplify the objective of her essay: the contact zone, autoethnographic texts, and transculturation. Upon viewing two other pieces by Richard Rodriguez, “The Achievement of Desire” and Gloria Anzaldua’s “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” Rodriguez and Anzaldua demonstrate Pratt's argument by supporting her concepts about the influence of contact zones between two juxtaposing cultures. In her argument, "Arts of the Contact Zone," Pratt introduces the theme of her argument, the contact zones: the point where cultures clash and come together in unison. Where one culture has a lot more power than the other. A contact zone is the root of how...
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...Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures Kelly Holliday University of Phoenix HUM/105 Cecelia Weber November 5, 2013 Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures The Inca and Navajo myths represent a world on earth. On earth the elements of sun, moon, water, fire, trees, and animals are all represented within the Inca and Navajo worlds. The creator for the Navajo world is the sun as were the Incan world creator is a derivative of the sun. Each creator provides a world for its people. This is the main concept for each creator, but this process is done in very different ways. The creators are perceived to be male in both worlds. It does not appear women play an important role unless given leadership from the creator. The Incan creator, named Pachacamac, created humans as to where the Navajo creation myth already had the first beings in the world. The Navajo world consisted of the first beings, which they named the first men, first women, salt women, fire god, coyote, and Begochiddy. Navajo’s Begochiddy, who is also the Child of the Sun, is the creator of all elements and other worlds for the first beings. Pachacamac, the creator for the Incas, was lonely at night so he created stars, planets, and the moon. Pachacamac created such a beautiful moon, he then falls in love and marries his moon. The significance of gender is the ability to the produce life to other beings and elements. He goes on to create mankind out of stone. The mankind he creates is pitiful and unable to care for...
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...It celebrates the harvesting of the grapes and has a strong religious connection by asking for divine blessing on the fruit at the start of the festival. The halfway through the year, the Inti Raymi, the most important Incan event, is celebrated in Mexico. Its name translates to Festival of the Sun and is a religious ceremony focusing around the god Inti. Once it was celebrated by the ancient Incan Empire, now long gone the ceremonies have been held every year since 1535, by the Spanish Conquistadors and the Catholic Church.Later on in the year, the Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia (The Grape Harvest Festival) is celebrated in Mendoza, Argentina. The festival celebrates the harvesting of the grapes and has a strong religious connection, asking for divine blessing on the fruit at the start of the...
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...However, the majority of people were peasants or slaves. The Aztec social class consisted of nobles, peasants, and slaves. The civilization was organized into clans, or capulli. Women in the Incan civilization at times died in childbirth. They were honored similarly to men dying in battle. The women also had a talent for weaving that was also honored. They were politically subordinate. Women could also inherit property and will it to heirs. In the Incan society, women were seen as wives and domestic servants. Peasant women were usually weavers, farmers, and child bearers.In a cultural aspect the Mayans were pyramid builders. Chichen Itza was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people. The mayans wrote using hieroglphyics. In the Mayan religion, their cosmos were divided into 3 parts. The humans were in the middle level. They were in between the heavens and the underworld. It was thought that gods created humans out of maize. All three civilizations worshiped many of the same gods. Supposedly gods maintained agricultural cycle for honors through sacrifices and bloodletting rituals. For the Mayans, warfare has religious significance. During the Golden Age, the Mayans produced numerous great works of scholarship. In the Aztec religion they built great pyramids as temples. The Incan method of communication was through thousands of miles of roadways. The Incas had a high level of situation without developing written language. Their financial records were kept through series...
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...Francisco Pizarro Francisco Pizarro was killed in the year 1541 in Lima, Peru by a rival group of conquistadors fighting over spoils from the land. Pizarro was a man that helped change South America to what it is today. From his bastard pedigree, Pizarro was able to accomplish much in his lifetime, ultimately leading to his conquest of the Incan people. Pizarro was born as an illegitimate son to a Spanish nobleman named Gonzalo Pizarro Rodríguez de Aguilar. As in most places, bastards did not have many options available to them, which ultimately led him to joining the military. Pizarro fought in Italy for a few years before hearing of the riches to be found in the Americas. In 1502, Pizarro joined a colonization group heading to the Americas led by Nicolás de Ovando(“Who was Francisco Pizarro”). Little is known of what Pizarro did on this expedition, most just saying various Spanish duties. Pizarro went on to various other settlements and assignments until 1524. Pizarro reached an agreement with Priest Hernando de Luque and fellow soldier Diego de Almagro to explore and conquer the lands to the south of Panama. On September 13, 1524, the first expedition left Panama with eighty men. The expedition was full of hardships and failure, which included Almagro losing an eye to an arrow shot. Fearing further failures, Pizarro chose to return to Panama and end his first expedition. In August of 1526, his group set sail again with double the men. They made it much farther down...
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