A civilization is defined as an advanced culture.
What does that mean?
1: Building of cities2: A well organized government3. A system of social classes4. Specialized jobs5: A complex religion6: Some method of keeping records
The Maya lived on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and present day Guatemala and Belize.
Mayan Cities
Structure of the Mayan Cities
• Each one had its own ruler
• Traded peacefully with each other
• Linked together by roads
• Stone pyramids towered over each city
• On top of each city sat a temple
Mayan Society
King
Priests & Nobles
Merchants & Traders
Commoners and Farmers
Slaves
They had a complex System ofSocialclasses
Mayan Government
• Each city-stated ruled by a King
• Kings had both political and religious authority
Mayan Religious Beliefs
They believed in many gods and held religious ceremonies to worship them and give thanks for their kindness. This is a dance by nobles to thank the rain god for watering the crops.
Mayan Advances in Learning
• Had a written language which used glyphs or pictures to represent words
• Had highly developed system of numbers which included the concept of zero
Child House Sky
Mayan Hieroglyphics
The Aztecs lived in what is today Mexico City, Mexico
Right Here
Technochitlan• The Aztec capital city—over 30,000 people lived here• Built on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco • Built causeways or raised roads to connect the islands to the
mainland
The Aztecs made the swampy, shallow lake into chinampas(islands.) The islands were made by piling mud from the lake bottom. They farmed on these islands
Aztec Religion
• Religion was extremely important in Aztec life.• They worshipped hundreds of gods and
goddesses.• The Aztecs thought that the power of the gods
should be acknowledged and thanks given to them.
• They built large temples to worship them• Also offered sacrifices, including humans, to
keep gods happy
War and Sun God
The Aztec System of Writing
• Like the Maya they used a series of glyphs that represented words
Aztec Society
The Aztecs were consideredgreat warriors. They often hadto defend their boundaries or raidother people to survive and flourish.This is why warriors had a high status
They had a complex andStrict system of classes
The Incas livedalong the West Coastof South America,in the Andes Mountains
Inca city of Machu Pichu
Inca Society—Also complex
Emperor
Nobles and High Priests
Government Officials—memory experts,
messengers
Common People—Farmers, HerdersAnd soldiers
Incan Accomplishments
• Built more than 19,000 miles of roads in some of the most mountainous areas on the Earth
• Built canals and aqueducts to carry water to dry areas—helped grow many crops
• Build long rope bridges over deep canyons• Advances in medicine—surgery and
anesthesia
Incan Quipus
The Incas did not have a system of writing….butgovernment officials and traders recordedinformation about births,death, taxes and money on knotted stringscalled quipus
Incan Religion
• They too worshipped many gods
• Main god was the sun god—Inti
• All Incas were descendents of Inti
• Believed in a life after death, they embalmed the dead and placed them in a tomb
The End