Inca Warehouses and Quipu (Khipu)
Tenochtitlan
Inca and Aztec Institutions Compared
(Prof. R. Alan Covey, 6 September 2005)
INCA INSTITUTIONS
INCA ECONOMIC INSTITUTIONS
Labor-based system, served in rotations (mita)
Marketplace (qhata) not an important means of organizing exchanges
Decimal administration imposed in some (but not all) provincial regions
Staple goods were collected at provincial centers, while exotic or valuable goods (cloth, metal) were taken to Cusco
INCA POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS
The emperor was known as sapa inca, or "Peerless Lord"
Elite factions descended from earlier rulers (panaka) dominated the Cusco region
Many provincial areas had a decimal hierarchy where Inca officials oversaw local authorities (kuraka)
Local rulers were left in place in some provinces, with Inca officials installed as a parallel administration
The army provided a means of (re)establishing imperial control, as did resettlement practices
INCA RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS
Promotion of emperor as child of Sun
Local religion based on propitiation of natural forces (mountains, lightning)
Veneration of the dead as a principle of social organization
State Sun temples used to promote religious ideology
High elevation sacrifices used to link Inca state to local waka
INCA SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS
The basic kin unit was the ayllu, which was a form of extended family
Communities tended to have exogamous moieties (the upper [hanan] group did not intermarry with the lower [hurin])
Education for elite boys was provided in Cusco at the yachawasi, and for girls at the aqllawasi
A retainer class (yanakuna) was established to serve the Inca elite on estates in the Cusco region
THE AZTECS
AZTEC ECONOMIC INSTITUTIONS
Commoners provided service (tequitl) to the nobility.
Goods were bartered, or purchased with cacao beans or cotton capes (quatchli)
Markets (tianquiz) were central to running the Aztec economy, but not strongly under state control
Merchants (tlanecuilo and pochteca) organized the acquisition and distribution of goods
Provinces provided a range of wealth items as tribute
AZTEC POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS
The Aztec empire was made up of a number of city-states (altepetl), each ruled by a king (tlatoani)
The capital was dominated by Mexica who would replace uncooperative leaders with state officials
The military was organized hierarchically and provided a means of conquering new territory and acquiring victims for state sacrifices.
AZTEC RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS
Cyclical notion of time, expectation of end of universe
Blood was needed to feed the Sun
The Aztec pantheon contained gods to represent different natural forces (teotl), and gods were patrons of different groups
Household rituals focus on family organization and fertility
AZTEC SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS
Aztec society was stratified, consisting of commoners (macehualli), lower nobles (pilli), upper nobles (tecuhtli), and the king (tlatoani)
Nuclear families were organized into residential groups or wards (calpolli)
Education took place at a telpochalli for commoners, and the calmecac for elites and exceptional commoners
Slavery existed in Aztec society but was not hereditary
