Reference no: EM133491388

Returning to the Americas, we are now looking at the late empire civilizations of the Toltec and Mexica Azteca (Aztec) of the Mexican Plateau of southern North America, and the Tiwanaku, Wari, and Inca of Andean South America. Drawing from knowledge and cultural patterns developed by ancient indigenous-American agricultural city-states, these great civilizations excelled at social organization and statecraft, efficiency in specialized crafts production, trade and diplomacy, military prowess and empire-building. These skills they employed towards establishing truly remarkable civilizations that, in the case of the Aztecs and Incas, had yet to reach the peak of their growth at the time of the early 16th-century conquests.

1. Explain how the Toltec army was armed and organized, and how that reflected the Toltecs as a militarized culture.

2. The late Maya kingdoms ended c. 900 largely due to agricultural problems; describe these problems and how they led to the collapse of the Maya.

3. Compare and contrast the Aztec and Inca foundation myths. What do they reveal about the commonalities and differences between the two empires?

4. Compare and contrast the Aztec and Inca empires, their respective weaponry, state organization and operation, and how each civilization used their urban spaces.

5. How did the Aztecs use Tenochtitlan to maintain control over, and connections to, the local elites and commoners outside the imperial core of the city itself? Regarding the island city of Tenochtitlan itself, describe its complex systems for managing its water supply.