Name ______________________
Name _____________ Pd ______
World History
INCA, MAYA, AZTEC CIVILIZATIONS
Directions: Research each of the ancient American civilizations. For each civilization, identify 3 cultural
achievements and create 3 symbols that reflect achievements of these great civilizations.
Aztecs
Incas
Mayas
Name _____________
Date ________ Pd ___
World History
AZTEC, MAYA OR INCA EMPIRE—A COMPARISON
Use your textbook or other resource books to complete this worksheet. Beside each statement, write the name
of the empire it applies to – Aztec, Maya or Inca.
_________ 1.
They were the “people of the sun” who honored many gods, especially the sun god.
_________ 2.
They had a strong absolute emperor who was known as the “Great Speaker".
_________ 3.
Their army was divided into ranks, each rank could be identified by the elaborate clothing or
feathers they wore.
_________ 4.
They built spectacular cities such as Tikal and Palenque.
_________ 5.
Their main food crop was potatoes.
_________ 6.
The priests invented a calendar that used a 365-day year.
_________ 7.
Their capital city was built on an island in Lake Texcoco; they also built floating gardens.
_________ 8.
They made use of domesticated animals such as the llama.
_________ 9.
Their empire was organized into groups of ten with the emperor being at the top of the
organization.
_________ 10.
They had an advanced system of writing using pictographs and later glyphs.
_________ 11.
Montezuma II was crowned emperor when their empire began to decline.
_________ 12.
Messages were carried by runners who memorized the messages; they used a rope of knotted
strings to help remember numbers and amounts.
_________ 13.
They used a symbol for zero; counting and measuring time were very important to their religion.
_________ 14.
By the time the Spaniards arrived, their civilization had ended.
_________ 15.
Manchu Picchu was one of their most famous cities.
_________16.
They placed their mummies in aboveground tombs called chullpas.
_________17.
Ball games held deeply religious significance to their civilization.
_________18.
_________19.
The Temple of the Sun is the most sacred of their shrines. It was heavily decorated in god and
referred to as the “sweat of the sun”.
Human sacrifice practiced for religious offerings.
_________20.
Some of their highest-ranking leaders were eagle warriors.
Aztec, Maya or Inca Empire
__Aztec_ 1.
They were the “people of the sun” who honored many gods, especially the sun god.
_Aztec__ 2.
They had a strong absolute emperor who was known as the “Great Speaker".
_Aztec_
3.
Their army was divided into ranks, each rank could be identified by the elaborate
clothing or feathers they wore.
_Maya_
4.
They built spectacular cities such as Tikal and Palenque.
_Inca____ 5.
Their main food crop was potatoes.
__Maya__ 6.
The priests invented a calendar that used a 365-day year.
_Aztec___ 7.
Their capital city was built on an island in Lake Texcoco; they also built floating
gardens.
___Inca__ 8.
They made use of domesticated animals such as the llama.
__Inca___ 9.
Their empire was organized into groups of ten with the emperor being at the top of
the organization.
__Maya___10. They had an advanced system of writing using pictographs and later glyphs.
___Aztec_ 11. Montezuma II was crowned emperor when their empire began to decline.
__Inca___ 12.
Messages were carried by runners who memorized the messages; they used a rope
of knotted strings to help remember numbers and amounts.
__Maya___13. They used a symbol for zero; counting and measuring time were very important to
their religion.
__Maya__ 14. By the time the Spaniards arrived, their civilization had ended.
__Inca___ 15.
Manchu Picchu was one of their most famous cities.
__Inca___16.
They placed their mummies in aboveground tombs called chullpas.
___Maya_17.
Ball games held deeply religious significance to their civilization.
__Inca___18.
__Aztec__19.
The Temple of the Sun is the most sacred of their shrines. It was heavily decorated
in god and referred to as the “sweat of the sun”.
Human sacrifice practiced for religious offerings.
___Aztec_20.
Some of their highest-ranking leaders were eagle warriors.