Example Of Essay On The Incas And The Aztec

According to the Inca religion, they believed in reincarnation, whereby death acted as a passage to the next world, which is similar to heaven that the Euro-Americans believed in them with snow capped mountains and green flower covered fields. Before the Spanish colonization, their myths were oral tradition, however, the Spanish helped in recording this oral tradition. They offered human sacrifices, and killed many of their servants, concubines, and court officials. Child sacrifice was also a common practice in the Inca religion, especially after important events. The Aztec believed in complex interactions between dates, gods and colors. They feared the nature and the end of the world
Determining the exact size of the population of the Inca society has been difficult because the knowledge of reading their quipu - which was a collection of knotted strings - has been lost. Additionally, it is assumed that the Spanish destroyed some records in their invasion. They did not have written language, but generally spoke Quechua, which had different slangs in different regions of the empire. Technologically, the Incas practiced architecture, with motifs reflected on textile. They used human body parts such as fingers, and palm to take measurements. They also used polychrome technique to portray motifs that were popular in their culture. They also discovered successful skull surgeries that ensured up to 90% survival rate. The Incas made weapons from iron, steel, bronze, bones, wood, silver, stones, and copper and their weapons were stronger than those use by their enemies.
The Aztec and the Incas never welcomed strangers into their empires. However, the Spaniards managed to enter into their cities and later the conquistadors overcame the vast empires. According to their religious beliefs, the Aztecs and Incas feared for the end of time and had hoped that god would punish them. Therefore, when the Spaniards arrived in their land, they believed that Quetzalcoatl had kept his promise and had returned, and they treated the Spaniards as their gods. The Spaniards initially came into these empires seeking to transform the religious beliefs of the later into Catholic, which they succeeded. The success of the Spaniards is however evident after they were allowed to leave the cities alive and later returned to face the fierce empires. They returned with better weapons such as guns. They had initially been thrown out of the cities after they had started acting in a manner that the natives considered were against the actions of the gods. They started avoiding rituals and offering ceremonies that were offered to them. The natives became tired of the Spaniards, but decided to desist from rejecting the latter, in case they were indeed gods. Their dogs and horses were instrumental to their success. Additionally, they returned with diseases like measles to children, which were unfamiliar with the natives. The neighboring communities that were in conflict with the Incas and Aztecs also assisted the Spanish in overpowering the former. Narvaez & Cabeza de Vaca's (Cow Head) voyage was an exception to the rule because during that time, the natives treated them with reverence and considered them as gods.