Aztec Vs Inca Comparison Essay

The Aztec and the Inca Empires were both extremely powerful civilizations. At the height of the Aztec Empire it reached from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico, from Central Mexico all the way to Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. The Inca Empire spread along South America's western coast and throughout the Andes Mountains.

There were many similarities and some differences in aspects such as government, economics, society, and religion.

In the late 1300s, the Inca would attack neighboring villages and then establish military posts to control the conquered areas. To prevent resistance from the people they conquered, they relocated thousands of people throughout the new empire. The Sapa Inca, Pachacuti, collected taxes, divided his empire
The Incas believed that most gods represented natural forces such as sunlight and water. For example, they “...held the sun to be the highest deity and considered the Inca to be the sun's representative on earth (Inca).” In their religion, there was an afterlife that rewarded good deeds and punished evil ones. They participated in public rituals that honored their gods, leaders, and ancestors. In these rituals, they would sacrifice crops and animals except during crises or emergencies. Some of the many gods the Aztecs worshipped also represented important natural processes. The Aztecs believed these gods required sacrifices to, for example, cause the rain to fall or the wind to blow. Gods were identified with different planets and stars, and priests made predictions based on astronomy. The movements of planets and stars also allowed the Aztecs to develop accurate calendars that told them when to plant and harvest their crops. The Aztecs relied on astronomy to help plan and construct cities in order to ensure the best views of sacred planets and stars in the sky. The Inca made many calculations based of off calendars and also kept records. They observed the sun, stars, and planets and developed a system for accurately tracking their