The hunter held both ends of the sling, with a stone supported in a cradle at its center, and whirled it around his head. Their weapons included blowguns, bows and arrows, spears flung with a spear-thrower for greater distance, and slings made of braided yarn. In addition to farming, the Incas and Aztecs depended on hunting and fishing for their food supply. Corn was an important crop in this region as well as in Mesoamerica. Using these techniques, Andean farmers cultivated potatoes, another important New World contribution to the European diet. They also employed sophisticated irrigation methods. This greatly increased the amount of land that was available for cultivation, and helped prevent the soil from running off due to wind and rain. They practiced terraced farming, carving flat plots out of the hillside in a stairstep pattern. The Incas farmed the highlands, where special care had to be taken to prevent soil erosion on the hillsides. Corn was a staple of their diet, and it was the Aztecs who first introduced it to Europeans. In the center they grew crops such as corn, beans, squash, tomatoes and avocado, flowers, and medicinal herbs. The extensive root systems of the willows helped to keep the soil from washing away. Around the edges of the chinampas they planted willow trees. The result was an extremely fertile soil that, coupled with the warm climate of the region, could support up to seven harvests per year. The Aztecs built up plots of land called chinampas in the middle of marshy lakes by piling up layers of aquatic vegetation and rich mud from the lake bottom, along with animal and human manure. Without animals, the farmers of the Americas found other ways to increase their productivity. The main tool was the wooden digging stick, used for turning the soil and planting seed. Human labor was marshaled to do all the agricultural work required to feed the population. Although wheeled toys and decorations have been found at Mesoamerican sites, the wheel was never put to practical use. There were no wheeled carts, or even wheelbarrows. In Mesoamerica, there were no pack animals at all. Llamas were native to the Andes, but they could only carry small loads. Both the Aztecs and the Incas were excellent farmers, despite having no animals suitable for pulling plows or carrying heavy loads. Impactįarming was very important for the civilizations of the Americas. Much of their culture was assimilated and became the foundation for the Inca civilization in the mid-1400s a.d. Complex societies were formed in the Andes and the coastal valleys beginning about 1800 b.c. These included the Nazca, Moche, Huari, Chimu and Tiahuanaco peoples. In South America, the Incas also built upon the accomplishments of their predecessors and their neighbors. Captured enemy warriors supplied many of their human sacrifice victims, although women and children were sacrificed as well. The Aztec Empire grew by conquest, and the Aztecs prospered by demanding tribute from the subjugated peoples. The Aztecs began as a nomadic tribe, until they settled in a swampy area of Mexico and began building their city of Tenochtitlan in the fourteenth century. 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. 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. The Aztecs were part of a highly developed cultural tradition in Mesoamerica, today's Mexico and Central America. 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. These civilizations never developed the wheel or used animals for hauling, and the Incas had no system of writing. Miles along the western coast of South America and up into the Andean highlands. The Incas, from their capital at Cuzco, ruled a territory that stretched 4,000 The Aztec Empire covered much of central Mexico, and had its capital at Tenochtitlan, the site of modern Mexico City. When Spanish conquistadors arrived in the Americas in the 1500s, among the native civilizations they encountered were two great empires. The Technology of the Incas and Aztecs Overview
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