Maya, Inca, and Aztecs

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Maya, Inca, and Aztecs

• By
• Maya Gaines-Smith

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The Mayans
The Mayans
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Mayan Geography

• The Maya lived in what is now the Northern Part
  of Guatemala. They cleared areas of the rain
  forest to plant crops like maize, or corn. The
  forest environment provided deer, monkeys, and
  rabbits shelter, and these animals were crucial.
  They also grew cocao.
• They used trees to make wooden poles and vines
  along with mud to build their houses.

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Religion

• The Mayans were Polytheistic.
• They built large temples that were shaped like
  mountains. The Mayans considered mountains to be
  sacred because they allowed people to approach
  the gods.
• They made human sacrifices on special holidays.

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Social Structure

• The king held the highest position in Mayan
  society because he was believed to be related to
  the gods.
• Priests, merchants, and noble warriors were also
  a part of the upper class. They held all the
  power in Mayan society.
• The lower class Mayas were mostly farming
  families, where the women cared for the
  children, cooked, made yarn, and wove cloth. The
  men farmed, hunted, and crafted tools.
• Slaves were the lowest class. They carried goods
  along trade routes or worked as servants or
  farmers for upper class Maya.

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Achievements

• They built observatories so their priests could
  watch the stars and plan religious festivals.
• They developed a calendar with 365 days for
  planting and another 260 day calendar for
  religious events.
• They Mayans created a a number system that helped
  them tell time.
• They created huge temple pyramids and wheeled
  vehicles.

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Decline

• We dont know why the Mayan civilization ended,
  but historians think that it was because the
  people didnt want to work for the kings and they
  rebelled.
• Another theory is that cities started competing
  for farmland and the battles ruined the crops and
  led to food shortages. Scientists also think that
  it could have been a drought that brought the
  decline.

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Key words

• Maize- corn
• Observatories- Buildings from which people could
  study the sky.
• Cocao- beans which are used in making chocolate.

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The Aztecs
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Rise to Power

• The first Aztecs settled on a swampy island in
  the middle of the lake Texcoco.
• The Mayans capitol was Tenochtitlan.
• The Aztecs got from city to city by building
  causeways and canals that were also used for
  trade.
• They farmed on chinampas

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Social Structure

• The Emperor was the most important person in
  society, followed by the nobles, priests,
  merchants and artisans, farmers and laborers, and
  slaves.
• Farmers and laborers made up most of the
  population.

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Religion

• The Aztecs were polytheistic like the Mayans, but
  they made more sacrifices then them. The victims
  were usually captives or slaves.
• They sacrificed as many as 10,000 people a year.

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Achievements

• Artists and architects created fine stone
  pyramids and statues. They also wove colorful
  cloths.
• They had a calendar like the Mayans. They kept
  detailed written records for history. They also
  passed on history orally.

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Decline

• The Aztec civilization fell because of the
  conquistadors.
• Hernan Cortez came to the Americas to convert the
  natives to Catholicism, get gold, and for
  adventure and to be remembered.
• The Europeans brought diseases such as smallpox
  that weakened and killed thousands of native
  people, and brought the empire to an end.

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Key Words

• Causeways- Raised roads across water or wet
  ground.
• Chinampas- floating gardens made on large rafts
  that had been piled with soil and anchored to
  trees.
• Conquistadors- Spanish conquerors.

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The Incas
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Central Rule and Economy

• The ruler Pachacuti started the policy of
  removing local leaders and replacing them with
  trusted officials.
• The Incas used the language Quechua to do all
  official business.
• The government told each house hold what work to
  do. People paid taxes in work instead of in
  money. This was called the mita.
• There were no merchants or markets because the
  government distributed goods collected through
  the mita. If people couldnt care for themselves,
  the government gave them supplies.

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Social Structure

• The emperor, priests, and government officials
  made up the upper class. They lived comfortable
  lives and didnt have to pay the labor tax. They
  could relax in places like Machu Picchu.
• The lower class was made up of farmers, artisans,
  and servants. There were no slaves.

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Religion

• They believed that their rulers were related to
  the sun god, so they never truly died.
• They also held sacrifices, but they sacrificed
  llamas, cloth, or food, but rarely humans.

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Achievements

• The Incas were masters at masonry. They also
  built a network of roads that ran the length of
  the empire.
• Artisans made pottery and gold and silver
  jewelry.
• They had no writing system, but they kept records
  with knotted cords that were color coded for
  different topics.
• They passed down their history orally, and they
  had official memorizers who learned poems and
  legends about Incan history.

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Decline

• When Francisco Pizarro came to the Incan empire,
  him and the other conquistadors attacked and
  killed thousands of Inca soldiers and captured
  their leader. Pizarro defeated the last of the
  Incas in 1537, and Spain took over the region for
  the next 300 years.

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Key Terms

• Quechua- an official Incan language
• Mita- the labor tax system used instead of money.
• Machu Picchu- a royal retreat that was in the
  Andes where emperors and nobles could relax.
• Masonry- stonework

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Review

1. Why did the Mayan civilization decline?
2. Where did the Aztecs settle? How did they live
   there?
3. What conquistador conquered the Aztecs? What
   disease did he bring with him?
4. Who was the most powerful in Incan society? Why?
5. How were taxes paid in Incan Society? How were
   people fed?