MESOAMERICA:
MAYA, AZTEC, INCA
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
What are the
similarities and
differences between the
three Mesoamerican
civilizations?
GEOGRAPHY *PG. 385*
-North America and South America make up the Americas region
-North America:
-mountains, deserts, plains, forests
-north is cold and icy
-south is warmer
-Mesoamerica:
-southern part of modern Mexico and northern countries of
Central America
-rain forests
-volcanoes (create fertile soil)
-farming is good
-South America:
-Andes Mountains on western shore
-Amazon rain forest east of Andes (largest rain forest in
the world-35% of South America-estimated producer of
50% of world’s oxygen!)
-Amazon River (west to east-2nd longest river in the
world)
MAYA
-Mesoamerica
around 1000
BC
-Lower part of
Modern Mexico
-thick forests
(hard to farm,
but lots of
animals and
resources)
AZTEC
*PG. 411*
-farmers from
northern Mexico
who migrated
south in the
1100s
-all good
farmland was
taken, so they
hired
themselves out
as skilled
fighters
INCA
*PG. 423*
-based
civilization on
advances from
earlier people
(terrace
farming in
highlands and
irrigation
farming along
coast)
Mayan City
TRADE & ECONOMY
-first settlers in Americas were
nomadic (hunter-gatherers)
-small villages formed
and people started
growing maize, beans,
squash, potatoes
(South America)
TRADE & ECONOMY cont’d.
MAYA
*PG. 391*
AZTEC
INCA
*PG. 423*
-Trade grew and
population grew
-lowlands: cotton,
rubber trees, cacao
beans (chocolate was
known as food of the
gods)
-highlands: jade and
obsidian
-big cities by 200 AD
-Aztec economy was
based on tributes
conquered tribes were
required to pay
(cotton, gold, food)
-built causeways
(raised roads above
water) to help with
trade
-people had to pay
the government in
labor (no taxes…)
-raised llamas for
meat and wool
-no merchants or
markets in the Inca
Empire (the
government would
distribute goods —
only got two sets of
clothes-one formal
and one casual and
would wear until they
literally fell apart)
Aztec city of Tenochtitlan
Incan Road System through Andes
POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
MAYA
*PGS. 392-393*
-Classic Age: 250-900
-cities had pyramids,
temples, and palaces
-paved plazas for
gatherings, canals, ball
courts (more on this in
Society & Culture)
-each city ruled
independently (no
central government)
-Pacal became king at
12 in Palenque and
focused on community
events and building his
grand temple
AZTEC
*PG. 412*
-grew most powerful
by 1500s (had
merchant spies to
quell rebellion)
-capital city was
Tenochtitlan
-water undrinkable—
built aqueducts
-farming difficult—
built chinampas
(floating rafts with
soil, attached to trees
in the water)
INCA
*PG. 423*
-Pachacuti led Incas in
1400s
-rebuilt capital
at Cuzco
-expanded empire
(made leaders of conquered
areas move out and then
brought in their own loyal
leaders—sent children to
learn Inca ways and then
they returned to rule as an
Inca)
-established an official
language—Quechua only
spoken, not written
-people had to pay the
government in labor (no
taxes…)
POLITICS & GOVERNMENT:SOCIAL CLASSES
MAYA
AZTEC
INCA
*PGS. 416-418*
-Upper Class controlled
all elements of society:
king (feather headdresses,
cotton capes, jaguar skins),
priests, warriors, merchants
(upper class did allow lower
class to participate in daily
religious ceremonies)
-Lower Classes: farming
families (had to pay their
rulers with cloth and salt—
had to serve in battle—had
to build temples)
-Slaves: orphans,
slaves’ children, and
people who owed money
became slaves
-divided into calpulli
-king (lived in a palace
with a zoo, aviary…)
-nobles (tax collectors and
judges who helped king)
-priests and warriors
(priests kept calendars,
passed down history,
performed ceremonies and
warriors were respected for
wealth they brought)
-merchants and artisans
(merchants became rich
through controlling trade
and artisans through
making goods for the king
and nobles)
-farmers and slaves
(farmers did not own land
and slaves could be
sacrificed to gods if
disobeyed)
-Upper Class (Incas
from Cuzco-kings,
priests, officials)—did
not have to pay the
labor tax— men could
have multiple wives
-Lower Class (farmers,
artisans, servants)—
most kids did not go to
school, but some girls
were sent to trade
schools and then sent to
serve the king—men
could only have one wife
-No Slaves
RELIGION
MAYA
-worshipped several
elemental gods (mostly
the creator)
-believed gods needed
blood to keep from
causing disasters or
ending the world, so
they pierced their
tongues and skin (on
special occasions, extra
blood was needed—
human sacrifices—
usually slaves or
prisoners)
AZTEC
*PG. 419*
-many gods based on
elements
-sacrifices were required
to keep gods strong
-some think priests
sacrificed as many as
10,000 people a year in
religious ceremonies
INCA
*PG. 423*
-many different gods
(conquered people had to
worship Inca gods, but could
worship their own gods, too)
-sun god very important
(ceremony at Machu Picchu
*PGS. 428-429*)
-mummified kings were
revered and often
brought to ceremonies
-sacrifices (not as many
brutal human—llamas, cloth,
food, children [left to die in
cold-not heart ripped outprobably peasant from
conquered people –‘fattened
up’ for up to a year before])
Society & Culture

Early civilizations:

Olmec
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
Mesoamerica in 1200 BC
First complex civilization in the
Americas
Statues of leaders’ heads and gods
Maybe had writing and a calendar
Traded with nearby villages and
along the Pacific coast
Ended around 400 BC
Chavin (chah-VEEN)
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First civilization in South America
Lasted from 900-200 BC
Woven textiles, stone monuments,
pottery
Society & Culture
MAYA
*PG. 392-393*
•Cities
had pyramids,
temples and palaces.
•Paved plazas for
gatherings, canals, ball
courts.
•Games – players used
their heads, shoulders
and hips to bounce a
rubber ball through a
hoop above their heads
– the winners received
jewels and clothing – the
losers were sometimes
killed.
•Marriage – men at 10,
women by age 14.
Marriages determined by
village matchmaker.
AZTEC
*PG. 412 *
•Oral
tradition
•Tenochtitlan – capital
city
Canals = transportation
Aqueducts for water
Warrior culture, rankings
in military (jaguar
warrior)
INCA
*PG.423 *
•Based
on advances from
earlier people – terrace
farming in highlands and
irrigation farming along
the coast.
•Quechua – official
language. Only spoken,
not written.
•No merchants or
markets in the Inca
Empire.
•Only two sets of clothes
– one formal and one
casual and they were
worn until they fell
apart.
Society & Culture

Mayan Ball Game
Society & Culture: Social Classes
MAYA
•Remember:
•Upper
class
•Lower class
•Slaves
AZTEC
Remember:
•Divided into Calpullis
•King and Nobles
•Priests and warriors
Merchants and artisans
•Farmers and slaves
•Sounds
a lot like?
INCA
Remember:
•Upper class
•Lower class
Science & Technology
MAYA
*PG. 398-399*
•Architecture
– did not use
metal tools. Did not have
wheeled vehicles – they cut
stone with obsidian and
rolled it on logs and lifted it
with ropes.
•Observatories
•365 days in a year
•Moon cycles
•Calendars – one for
religious ceremonies and
one for agriculture
•Created a symbol for zero
•Writing system similar to
hieroglyphics.
•Popol Vuh – book where
Maya legend and history
were written.
AZTEC
INCA
*PG. 420-421* *PG. 430-433 *
•Knew
plants as medicine
•Stone bridges and
canals – causeways and
aqueducts
•Pyramid-shaped stone
temples
•Chinampas – floating
rafts of soil attached to
trees in the water.
•Codex books made of
bark or animal skins,
Aztec history and
Civilization
•Buildings
and forts made of
stone
•Their stonework was so
precise that no cement was
needed to hold the stone
blocks together and several
buildings are still being
USED TODAY!
•System of roads
•Two highways connected
the entire empire.
•Gold and silver jewelry
•A life size field of corn made
out of gold and silver in a
temple courtyard!
•Textiles
The Aztecs
Collapse
MAYA
AZTEC
*PG. 413 *
INCA
*PG.425 *
civilization
disappears.
•Nobody knows exactly
Why…..
•Increased warfare
•Too many people to feed
(people eventually fled
cities and moved back to
farming countryside)
•Kings made too many
harsh demands on the
people
•Drought
•Most likely a
combination of these
•Collapse by 900s.
Europeans arrive in the late
1400s
•Cortes comes from Spain
1519 in search of gold.
Moctezuma thinks Cortes is
a god who was said to
return in 1519.
•Moctezuma sends Cortes
gifts. In response,
Moctezuma is taken
prisoner.
•Aztecs revolt and drive out
the Spanish
•Spanish unknowingly
expose natives to diseases
•Spanish come back in 1521
with Indian allies and kill
Moctezuma.
•The Aztecs are conquered!
After the Inca ruler dies, his
two sons fight for power.
Atahualpa wins, but the
empire is weakened.
•Atahualpa was on his way
to be crowned and got word
that the Spanish arrive (led
by Pizarro)
•Atahualpa agrees to meet
with Pizarro.
•Pizarro tells Atahualpa to
convert to Christianity –
Atahualpa says NO. ‘
•Pizarro attacked and
captured Atahualpa.
•Incas try to buy the Spanish
off with gold, but they kill
Atahualpa anyway.
•The Incas are captured!
•Mayan
Collapse
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How did the Spanish defeat the powerful Aztecs?
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Alliances (American Indians – Malintzin – pg. 415
Weapons (Spanish had armor, cannons, swords, and horses –
which the Aztecs had never seen before)
Geography (Spanish blocked causewyas, bridges, and
waterways to cut off Tenochtitlan’s drinking water and
supplies – Aztecs died of starvation)
Disease (Spanish brought smallpox)
How did the Spanish defeat the Incas?




Internal conflict
Atahualpa is captured
Weapons (Spanish had armor, cannons, swords, and horses)
Disease (Spanish brought smallpox)