Early Civilizations of Middle
America*, Unit 2, Quiz 1 Review
Mayan Empire
Incan Empire
Aztec Empire
*Middle America – a term used to mean Mexico and the 7 countries of Central America,
(Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and El Salvador)
The Incas:
People of the
Sun!
During the reign of Topa Inca,
the Incan Empire grew to over
2,500 miles with 12 million
people under his rule.
During the reign of Topa Inca, the Incan Empire traveled
south, from Ecuador to Argentina, along the coast of the
Pacific Ocean.
Aqueduct
A combination of bridges and
tunnels, using stone pipes which
would bring water from rivers to
people a few hundred miles away.
The Inca built great aqueducts (bridges and
tunnels to transport water) in order to bring
water into their villages from the
mountaintops.
A Census is an official count of all
people living in an area. Quipas was a
knotted string used by the Incas as a
method of keeping records
_____
3,643
Census
Official count or total
number of people in
an area.
The Inca kept excellent census records (population
count and collecting taxes) with their quipus, but
most were destroyed during their conquest.
Conqueror, defeater
A wave of Spanish conquistadors (conquerors) in the
early 1500s disrupted and destroyed many nations
native to the Americas.
Francisco Pizarro was a Spanish
conquistador who sailed to
South America, in 1531.
Civil War
A war fought between two groups within the
same nation/civilization
The Inca were fighting a civil war (a war within a
nation) in the 1520s, which allowed the Spanish to
easily defeat them.
Introduction to the Aztec Empire
Main Idea: The
Aztec built their
empire in
Mexico during
the 1400s, with
their capital in
Tenochtitlan.
Its importance is the Aztec transformed a lake into
their capital city and ruled a huge empire.
Image found on
the flag of Mexico
The Aztec looked to their king
and gods for guidance. Below is
the story of how the Aztec found
the right spot for their city
The Sun God, Huitzilopochtli (Wi–tsilo–pok– tly)
told the Aztec leader to settle his people where
he finds an eagle perched on a cactus, eating a
snake in the middle of a lake.
The Aztec Civilization
began in the Valley of
Mexico. They settled on
an island in Lake Texcoco,
in 1325. It took time to
develop, but lasted
through the early 1500s.
The Aztec people
were able to change
a swampy lake into a
great city, which was
called Tenochtitlan
which was its capitol
city.
The floating island Tenochtitlan
and the Aztecs are remembered
for great farming.
The illustration
above shows an
Aztec farmer
sowing the
seeds.
The illustration
below shows an
Aztec farmer
reaping what he
sows.
Anchored to a lake, Tenochtitlan had an
endless supply of water.
Farming
Main Idea: Most Aztec were farmers, and
they built floating gardens (chinampas).
 Then
And
Now 
Its importance is even if there’s no rain, the crops still
have water. There will have water to drink and food to eat.
Building an Empire
Main Idea: The Aztec conquered other
people and forced them to pay tribute (or
become a slave).
Its importance is this allowed the Aztec Empire to
expand and become rich with resources.
Later, these conquered tribes joined forces
(formed alliances) with the Spanish
Conquistadors to conquer the Aztec
Alliances
Agreement in which people cooperate for a
common reason
Some nations or people form alliances in which
they have an agreement or truce to look out for and
protect each other.
In the case of the Aztec neighboring tribes, they formed alliances with the Spanish to defeat the
Aztec nation. The Aztec were not kind to their neighbors forcing many into slavery or human
sacrifice.
Moctezuma was the leader of the Aztec Empire
when the Spanish arrived in the New World. He
demanded much from his people. He also made
enemies with tribes near the Aztec Empire,
meaning very little peace with neighboring
tribes...
When Cortes arrived in Mexico, he found
many of the Aztecs were willing to assist
him overtake Moctezuma. The Spanish and
Aztec enemies formed alliances.
By 1521,
the Aztec
people
were
defeated by
Cortes
Exploit
To take advantage of someone
Hernan Cortez exploited (took advantage of) the
natives that helped his own needs of waging war
against the Aztec. Afterwards, he enslaved them.
Aztec Culture and
Religion
Main Idea: Aztec culture was active with a strict
guidance to their religion which included human
sacrifice, to please their gods.
Aztec doctors were able to
make over a thousand types of
medicine from using plants.
However,
they could
not
develop…
Immunity
Resistance to diseases
It’s too bad the Native Americans did not have
immunity (defenses) to European diseases; it would
have made for a much fairer fight.
It only took 15 years for the Spanish to
defeat 2 powerful empires in America
(Aztec and Incan Empires).
The Spanish brought disease to America, which
the Native Americans had never experienced,
nor the immunity to protect them.
The Fall of the Aztec Empire
A combination of factors led to the fall of the Aztec Empire.
Their limited protection and weapons were no match to superior guns,
cannons and armor.
The Spanish fought on horses as well!
Cortes persuaded the local tribes to fight with the Spanish against the
Aztec.
But probably the biggest reason of all was small pox.
The Aztec had no immunity against the disease and tens of thousands
died within years of the Spanish arrival.
Empire
Different groups of people ruled by
one leader or government
Much like ancient Rome, the Aztec built an empire
(expanding nation) in which they conquered other Natives
Americans and took their land and resources.
The Aztecs are remembered for
developing hieroglyphics, medicine,
designing jewelry, fine crafts and
predicting eclipses.
The Aztec and Mayan form of writing
was known as hieroglyphics.
This is a form of graphic writing,
using signs and symbols instead of
letters, as we do.
The Mayan Civilization
lasted from A.D. 250 – 900.
The Mayan
Empire was
the earliest
of the three
empires and
was located
in Central
America and
Mexico.
Although the Mayan farmer grew
a variety of crops, corn, known
as maize was its most important
crop.
The Mayans are
remembered for
being astronomers
and developing an
accurate calendar.
They had an
alphabet. They,
built pyramids and
temples. They
introduced the
value of zero, in
math.
The Fall of the Mayan Empire
One theory about the fall of the Mayans has them relying heavily on their king.
As time went on, things started to go wrong.
There were wars and there was crop failure from drought and soil erosion.
The people turned to their king to save the day.
The king would respond with more human sacrifice.
These sacrifices did nothing but deplete the population and cause frustration among the people.
In turn, the people lost faith in the king.
Eventually, the people abandoned, left the cities to live on their own.
Thank you
To review the histories of
For taking time
The Aztec, Incan and Mayan Empires