Social Structure in the Unkown worlds
Mexica (Aztec) Social Structure
- Was rigidly hierarchical, with public honors and rewards going mostly to the military elite
- Looked upon all males as potential warriors, and individuals of common birth could distinguish themselves on the battlefield and improve their social standing
- However, the military elite mostly came from the Mexica aristocracy
- Men of noble birth received the most careful instruction and intense training in military affairs, and they enjoyed the best opportunities to display their talents on the battlefield
- The most successful warriors formed a council whose members selected the ruler, discussed public issues, and filled government positions
- The military elite also got land grants, tribute from commoners for their support, best foods such as turkey, pheasant, duck, etc. and most of the luxury items that came into Mexica society by way of trade or tribute
- They enjoyed the right to don brightly colored capes and adorn themselves with lipplugs and eagle feathers after they captured enemies on the battlefield and brought them back home to their capitol, Tenochtitlan
- Had almost no public role in a society so dominated by military values
- But, they had influence within their families and enjoyed high honor as mothers of warriors
- They did not inherit property or hold official positions, and the law subjected them to the strict authority of their fathers and husbands
- But, they were prominent in the marketplaces, as well as in embroidery and needlework
- Yet Mexica society prodded them toward motherhood and homemaking
- With the exception of a few who dedicated themselves to the service of a temple, all Mexica women married
- Mexica values taught them that their principal purpose was to bear children, especially males who might become distinguished warriors
- Society recognized the bearing of children as equal to a warrior's capture of an enemy in battle
- Women who died in childbirth won the same fame as warriors who died valiantly on the battlefield
- Even among the aristocratic classes, Mexica women had the responsibilities of raising young children and preparing for their families
- A priestly class also ranked among the Mexica elite (Warrior Class)
- They received a special education in calendrical and ritual lore, and they presided over religious ceremonies that the Mexica viewed as crucial to the continuation of the world
- They read omens and explained the forces that drove the world, resulting in them having a considerable influence as advisers to Mexica rulers
- On a few occasions, priests even became supreme rulers of the Aztec empire. Ex. Motecuzoma Ⅱ was a priest of the most popular Mexica cult
Cultivator and Slave Class
- The bulk of the Mexica population lived in hamlets and cultivated chinampas (see left) and fields allocated to their clans
- They also worked on lands awarded to aristocrats and prominent warriors and contributed labor services to public works projects involving the construction of palaces, temples, roads, and irrigation systems
- Cultivators delivered periodic tribute payments to state agents, who distributed a portion of what they collected to the elite classes and stored the remainder in state granaries and warehouses
- In addition to these cultivators typically of common birth, Mexica society included a large number of slaves who usually worked as domestic (related to housework) servants
- Most of the slaves were Mexica
- Families sometimes sold younger members into servitude out of financial distress while other Mexica were forced into slavery because of criminal behavior
- They were forced to wear coarse, burlap like garments made of henequen
- Skilled craftsmen, particularly those who worked with gold, silver, cotton textiles, tropical bird feathers, and other items destined for consumption by the elite, enjoyed considerable prestige
- Merchants who specialized in long distance trade occupied an important but somewhat more weak position
- Merchants supplied the exotic products such as gems, animal skins, and tropical bird feathers consumed by the elites and provided political and military intelligence about the lands they visited
- But, they often fell under suspicion as greedy profiteers and aristocratic warriors frequently took wealth and goods from merchants who lacked powerful patrons or protectors
Analysis:
The heavy influence on the military probably led to the warrior class being kept in high regard. Even the priests were supposed to perform ceremonies most likely to promote victory against other invaders or lands. The Cultivators, Slaves, Craftsmen and Merchants all worked to support the military. The military also got to hold important leadership positions. Like the Mongolian empire, their social structure is similar in the regard of the military being the highest but different probably due to population and isolation from other religions to promote Shamanism.
The heavy influence on the military probably led to the warrior class being kept in high regard. Even the priests were supposed to perform ceremonies most likely to promote victory against other invaders or lands. The Cultivators, Slaves, Craftsmen and Merchants all worked to support the military. The military also got to hold important leadership positions. Like the Mongolian empire, their social structure is similar in the regard of the military being the highest but different probably due to population and isolation from other religions to promote Shamanism.
The Mexica (Aztec) Calendar that Priests learned and taught
Incan Social Structure
- The main classes in Inca society were the rulers, aristocrats, priests, and peasant cultivators from common birth
- They considered their king a deity descended from the sun
- This god-king owned all land, livestock, and property in the Incan kingdom, which he governed as an absolute and infallible (incapable of making mistakes) ruler
- Their descendants even mummified royal remains and even thought that the dead gods were equal to god
- Sometimes the ruler would porpously not fallow the state policy when it came to the royal mummies as it could benefit their counsel
- Their bureaucracy was mostly composed of aristocrats
- Incan gods would give land to their subjects so would cultivate it for the state and so much for themselves
- The rulers were called quipu.
- The aristocrats and the priests had very privileged lives
- The aristocrats often had very expensive and fine food and also wore embroidered cloths that were made by the common subjects
- The aristocrats also wore large ear spools that stretched their lobes a lot
- The priests often came from very educated and wealthy family and commonly came from aristocratic families
- They were celibate and ascetic lives and are very deeply influenced by the Inca society
- This was because their education being a major part
- The major temples supported hundreds of priests, along with attendants and virgin women devoted to divine service who prepared ceremonial meals and wove fine ritual garments fort the priestly staff.
- The cultivators were mostly peasants of common birth who worked the lands allocated to them and delivered substantial portions of their production to the bureaucrats.
- Much of this surplus production went to support the ruling, aristocratic, and priestly classes.
- The rest went into state storehouses for public relief in times of famine and for the support of widows, orphans, and others unable to cultivate land for themselves.
- Apart from a portion of their agricultural production, commoners also owed compulsory labor services to the Inca state.
- Men provided the heavy labor required for the construction, maintenance, and repair of roads, buildings, and irrigation systems.
- Women delivered tribute in the form of textiles, pottery, and jewelry. With the aid of quipu, Inca bureaucrats kept track of the labor service and tribute owed by local communities.
- Administration of the Inca empire rested with a large class of bureaucrats. In the absence of a script, bureaucrats relied on a mnemonic aid known as quipu to keep track of their responsibilities.
- Quipu consisted of an array of small cords of various colors and lengths, all suspended from one large, thick cord. Experts tied a series of knots in the small cords, which sometimes numbered a hundred or more, to help them remember certain kinds of information. Most quipu recorded statistical information having to do with population, state property, taxes, and labor services that communities owed to the central government.
- Occasionally, though, quipu also helped experts to remember historical information having to do with the establishment of the Inca empire, the Inca rulers, and their deeds. Although much more unwieldy and less flexible than writing, quipu enabled Inca bureaucrats to keep track of information well enough to run an orderly empire.
Oceania
- Beginning about the thirteenth century C.E., expanding populations prompted Pacific islanders to develop increasingly complex social and political structures.
- Especially on the larger islands, workers became more specialized: some concentrated on cultivating certain crops while others devoted their efforts to fishing, producing axes, or constructing large, sea-going canoes.
- Distinct classes emerged as aristocratic and ruling elites decided the course of public affairs in their societies and extracted surplus agricultural production from those of common birth.
- The islands of Tonga, Tahiti, and Hawaii had especially stratified societies with sharp distinctions between various classes of high chiefs, lesser chiefs and commoners.
- Hawaiian society also recognized distinct classes of priests and skilled craftsmen, such as adze markers and canoe builders, ranking between the chiefly and common classes.