The Technology of the Incas and Aztecs
Overview
When Spanish conquistadors arrived in the Americas in the 1500s, among the native civilizations they encountered were two great empires. The Aztec Empire covered much of central Mexico, and had its capital at Tenochtitlan, the site of modern Mexico City. The Incas, from their capital at Cuzco, ruled a territory that stretched 4,000miles along the western coast of South America and up into the Andean highlands. These civilizations never developed the wheel or used animals for hauling, and the Incas had no system of writing. Nevertheless, they built great cities with highly developed religious, political and economic structures, and were accomplished in the arts, creating fine jewelry, textiles and pottery.
Background
The Aztecs were part of a highly developed cultural tradition in Mesoamerica, today's Mexico and Central America. Among the peoples of the region were the Olmecs, whose civilization flourished as early as 1200 B.C., the Teotihuacan people, who built the greatest ancient city in the Americas, the Toltecs, and the Mayans. Common features of Mesoamerican culture included pyramids and temples in which human sacrifice was practiced, polytheism, a calendar, hieroglyphic writing, large commercial markets, and a ball game laden with religious symbolism.
