Nick Nystrom
P.7 12/11/14
AP World History
Compare and Contrast Essay: Aztec vs. Inca Empires While changes arose between the Aztec and Inca empires such as, documentation and communication one thing that remained the same was some of their ways of life. One difference that was shown in between both empires was how they sent information across both empires through documentation and communication. Another difference between the two empires was how vast their land was. Despite these two major differences two things that remained the same in both empires was what their economies depended on and their participation in human sacrificial rituals. Initially, when both the Aztec and Inca empires were created they developed their own forms of documentation. The Aztec empire had the codex, while the Inca Empire used the quipu. Both tools helped each empire get information across their empires quickly and made this process easier. To start, the Aztec Empire had the codex, which was a used form of writing that consisted of pictorial representations painted on bark, paper, and animal hides. The three main types of codex were historical accounts, ritual almanacs, and tribute records. On the other hand, we have the quipu that was a group of wool and cotton strings tied together and was a tool used by the Inca Empire to communicate some kinds of information throughout the empire. Both of these tools helped the empires communicate important pieces of information, usually to their elites and they notified them of what was going on within their empire. The Inca Empire’s method of communication was a little bit more advanced than that of the Aztecs because the Incas came up with a specialized profession that was known as “road running.” Inca roadrunners carried mail, news, and orders all across the empire on horseback. This was a very important and stressful profession within the empire because if any of the messages were found to be wrong or inaccurate there were severe consequences. All in all, both empires integrated new ways of documentation and communication that kept their empires running smoothly until they were taken out of power by Spain. Both the Aztec and Inca empires originated somewhat in the same region but under drastically different circumstances. For example, the Aztec Empire resided in the Mexico Valley, while the Inca Empire controlled and lived in the Andes Mountains. This created the advantage of the Inca’s empire being more far vaster than the empire of the Aztecs. This is why the Inca’s government and trading ways were more centralized than that of