IE Sheet #2: Conquistadores, the Aztecs and Inca Civilizations

1. Write a short note on Aztec Empire.

o The Aztec Empire was located in what is now central Mexico. The capital city of the Aztec
Empire was Tenochtitlan. The entire had large pyramids as temples to their gods. The
empire had a population of about 200,00 people.
o By 1521 the Spanish had conquered the Aztecs. They tore down the old city and built their
own new city on that area called Mexico City.

2. Write a short note on Maya civilization.

o The Maya were located in Central America in a region
o They built hundreds of cities filled with large stone structures.
o The Maya are perhaps best known today for their many pyramids.
o The Maya were the only American civilization to develop an advanced written language.
They were also good in mathematics, art, architecture, and astronomy.

3. Write a short note on Inca civilization.

o This empire did not have the wheel, iron tools, or a writing system but its complex
government and system of roads created a society where everyone had a job, a home, and
food to eat. The Inca were conquered by the Spanish and at that time, the empire was
already weakened by civil war and diseases such as smallpox when the spanish arrived.

4. Out the the three empires, Aztec , Maya and Inca, which empire do you think was the most
successful? Give your reasons.


5. Who were the ‘Spanish Conquistadors’?

o The Spanish Conquistadors were some of the first men to travel to the new world. They got
their name from being both conquerors and explorers. They were mostly in search of gold
and treasure.
Names of some Spanish conquistadors: Hernan Cortes, Francisco Pizarro, Vasco Nunez de
Balboa.
Worksheet #2

Fill the comparison chart with appropriate information

Comparison Aztec Inca

s

Location North America South America

Country Mexico Peru

Today

Religion They worshiped many gods They had multiple

gods

Culture & o Aztec believed and worshiped o They had a complex

Civilization many gods. They built large government and
pyramids as system of roads
temples to their gods and went created a society
to war to capture people they where everyone had a
could sacrifice to their gods. job, a home, and
o They likely had a population of something to eat.
200,000 people.

Technology They used stones and copper The empire did not
for making weapons have the wheel, iron
tools, or a writing
system,

Writing They did not have a fully They did not have a
developed written language writing system.

Conquered The Spanish conquistador The Spanish

by Hernan conquistador
Cortes Francisco Pizarro
Contribution They made various They contributed
to human contributions to the world of some knowledge on
knowledge medicine. agriculture.