Investigate the importance of cloth production by women to Mayan, Aztec, and Incan society.(1point)
It kept the women busy so that they could not interfere in men’s affairs.
It was the largest industry, and cloth often served as money.
It was tightly controlled by the government, which distributed cloth to those who needed it.
It employed slave labor on a massive scale.
Cloth production by women was highly significant in Mayan, Aztec, and Incan societies, and among the choices given, the most accurate would likely be:
"It was the largest industry, and cloth often served as money."
Explanation:
In the context of Mesoamerican and Andean cultures, textile production was an important economic activity, often dominated by women. Textiles were not only used for practical purposes such as clothing and blankets but also held social, ritualistic, and economic value. Weaving was a skill passed down from generation to generation, and quality textiles were prized.
Among the Mayans, textiles were thought to be gifts from the moon goddess Ix Chel, and skilled weavers held a respected position. For the Aztecs, textiles were so valuable that they could be used as tribute and tax payment. The quality and quantity of cloth an individual owned were indicators of their social status. The Incan empire had a system called the "quipu," which was a system of knotted strings used for accounting, and some theorize it could have been used for recording narratives. However, the Inca also used textiles as a form of wealth and social differentiation. Moreover, textiles were integral to the mit'a system in the Inca Empire, where laborers provided service to the state, often in the form of weaving.
The government did indeed have some control over textile production and distribution, especially as it related to tribute and taxation; however, the statement that "It was tightly controlled by the government, which distributed cloth to those who needed it," misses the nuance that textiles were also part of a larger market economy and held a value beyond just utility and governmental control.
The other options provided are either factually incorrect or generalized statements that do not capture the intricacies of textile production in these societies. Women's role in cloth production was a core part of the economy and culture and was not merely about keeping women busy, nor can it be generalized that the practice "employed slave labor on a massive scale." While there may have been instances of enslaved individuals contributing to labor in various capacities, it would be inaccurate to depict the entirety of cloth production in these societies as based on slave labor.