September 6, 8

This image is of the Sillustani archaeological site around Lake Titicaca, Peru.  These huge structures are funery towers which presumably held the buried remains of local Colla lords.  The Colla ethnic group of the area was one of the strongest and most independent local groups before the rise of the Inca Empire, and its leaders held a relatively privileged role in local leadership during the years of Inca rule.

Outline:

A. The Rise of the Inca Empire
B. Huamanga: A Window into Andean Peoples
 1. Social Structure
 2. Political Structure
 3. Religious Structure

Key Terms:
 

Ayllu  Kuraka Inca

Reciprocity  Hierarchy dimensionality

Illapa Pachamama Saramama

Mitmac Huaca  Viracocha

Pachacuti  Cusco

 

Click here to go to link to information about pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations.

Reading Assignments:

Steve Stearn, Peru's Indian Peoples and the Challenge of Spanish Conquest: Huamanga to 1640, pp. 3-26
B & J CLA pp. 23-32

Optional Additional Readings:

Irene Silverblatt, Chapters I and V Sun Moon and Witches: Gender Ideologies in Inca and
  Spanish Peru (1987), pp. 1-14; 81-108.

Inga Clendinnen, Chapter 2, "Local Perspectives" in Aztecs:  An Interpretation (1993),
 (pp 45-83) (This is a highly difficult piece. Leave yourself a lot of time to read it and look up  words.)

Questions for Consideration:

1.  What were the primary "social markers," or differences that determined people's status, in Aztec and Inca societies?  Were they mostly or mainly economic, political, regional, or cultural?

2.  How did religion play a role in imperial domination by these groups?

3.  What were women's statuses in warfare, religion and the economy of Andean and Inca societies?  Were there any differences between Aztec and Inca views on gender?
 

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