Back to Basics

Imagine what it would be like to live without the "ever essential" basic items of technology used in everyday life. Imagine life without television, computers, inside plumbing, or even automobiles. What would it be like to live without these basic "luxuries?" Many people do not realize that these items are fairly modern inventions. "Until about 200 years ago, human societies all across the world had developed a cultural infrastructure based on foraging, horticulture, agriculture, pastoralism, crafts, trade, or some combination of these" (Haviland, Prins, Walrath, and McBride 174). This changed drastically with the industrial revolution which brought about the invention of machines and tools. Before the industrial revolution, America was most likely a highly developed urban political society similar to the Aztec Empire. Although America and the Aztec Empire differ in their technologies, they are similar in their social orders and use of agriculture for subsistence.

First off, technologies used in America versus those once used by the Aztec Empire are quite different. In America, the electronic revolution placed importance on being able to communicate information. In his article titled A Digital Defense, David E. Nantais explains, "Digital tools are the primary means of social contact" (21). This can be easily observed just by walking around on campus. Many students, teachers, and other faculty can be seen talking, texting, or even surfing the World Wide Web with their cell phones. In America, digital technology, like the cell phone, allows information to travel fast yet keep people informed.

In contrast, people of the Aztec Empire used word-of-mouth as the primary means of spreading information. As one can imagine, information spread by word-of-mouth would be significantly slower than information spread by use of digital tools. Digital tools also enable people to communicate with individuals in different parts of the world. The Aztecs were only able to communicate with people within their empire.

Furthermore, in America, the industrial revolution brought about the use of machines and tools, like the train, the boat, the automobile, and the air plane, in replacement of human labor and hand tools (174). In his article titled Small airports benefit all, Craig T. Fuller shares that "people view general aviation as an important part of our national transportation system." Innovations like the airplane allow Americans to get where they need to quickly, whether their travels are for personal or business purposes.

For the Aztecs, their primary method of transportation on land was their own two feet while their primary method of transportation on water was the canoe. Haviland, Prins, Walrath, and McBride present the following in a description of Tenochtitlan:

Communication among different parts of the city was easy, and people could travel either by land or by water. A series of canals, with footpaths beside them ran throughout the city. Thousands of canoes plied the canals, carrying passengers and cargo (174).

Although the Aztecs were able to move about the city easily, travel between distant areas would have been much more difficult by foot or by canoe alone. Travel by foot and canoe takes more human labor.

American and Aztec technology differ in that American technology includes the innovations of many individuals throughout the industrial revolution and the electronic revolution that enable Americans to communicate and travel more quickly and efficiently. Technologies used in America and those once used by the Aztecs are contradistinct.

Although the technologies used in America and those once used by the Aztecs differ substantially, their social orders are very similar. In America, there are three social classes: a lower class, a middle-class, and an upper class. Those that are in the lower class are at a disadvantage economically, culturally, and/or politically. An example of someone in the lower class in America is a raggedy filthy beggar holding a sign that says, "Spare a dollar for food." On the opposite end of the spectrum, the upper class holds economic, cultural, and/or political power. An example of someone in the upper class in America is Barak Obama, the president of the United States. The middle-class contains those that are in between the extremes of the continuum.

Likewise, the Aztec Empire is categorized in three classes: nobles, commoners, and serfs (Haviland, Prins, Walrath, and McBride 174). Nobles of the Aztec Empire were equivalent to the upper class in America; commoners of the Aztec Empire were equivalent to the middle class in America; and serfs of the Aztec Empire were equivalent to the lower class in America.

Furthermore, specialization in various trades is prevalent in America. Consider the field of anthropology. A person can specialize in physical anthropology, linguistics, archaeology, or cultural anthropology. From there, a person that specializes in physical anthropology can further specialize in paleoanthropology, forensic anthropology, primatology, etc.

This specialization in various trades was also prevalent in the Aztec Empire. Consider the field of agriculture within the Aztec Empire. A person could be the seller, the plower, the harvester, the grower, the irrigation expert, etc. If you were the grower on an Aztec farm you could specialize in growing peppers, growing corn, growing squash, or growing beans, etc. The social order in America is comparable to the social order that once existed in the Aztec Empire.

In addition to similar social orders, the use of agriculture for subsistence in America is comparable to the use of agriculture for subsistence in Aztec society. According to Haviland, "agriculturists generally grow surplus crops - providing not only for their own needs but food for those of various full-time specialists and nonproducing consumers as well" (Haviland, Prins, Walrath, and McBride 167). In America, there are agriculturalists and specialists. The agriculturalists grow a surplus of food keeping some for their own use, and they sell the remainder to grocery stores where specialists can buy the food. The agriculturists provide subsistence for everybody else. Likewise, in the Aztec Empire, families cultivated crops and sold them in daily markets (Haviland, Prins, Walrath, and McBride 173).

Like agriculturists in America, they kept some of the food they grew and either traded or sold food for other commodities. Growing surplus food and sharing in such away allows for specialists in society. Having specialists allows for cultural advancements like those demonstrated by the industrial revolution and the electronic revolution. In America and in the Aztec Empire, the uses of agriculture for subsistence are very much alike.

Although America and the Aztec Empire differ in their technologies, they are similar in their social orders and use of agriculture for subsistence. The difference in American and Aztec technologies is based solely upon advancements made over time. American technology reflects advancements made by the industrial revolution and electronic revolution absent in the Aztec Empire. Their similarities in social order are brought about by the three social classes and the fact that each allowed for specialization in a variety of fields. And finally, their similarities in their use of agriculture for subsistence is brought about in order to adequately provide for everyone in the society and allows for specialization, thereby contributing to cultural change like the industrial and electronic revolution. Without the existence of such technologies, life in America would be similar to the Aztec Empire because each of the cultures have structured their societies in a similar manner-subsisting in a similar manner. Life without these technologies would be like living among the Aztecs.

Sources:
William A. Haviland, Harald E.L. Prins, and Dana Walrath. Cultural Anthropology: The Human Challenge.
Craig T. Fuller. "Small airports benefit all" EBSCOhost
David E. Nantais. "A digital defense" EBSCOhost