Lesson - American Civilizations - Study Island

3/8/22, 11:07 PM Lesson - American Civilizations - Study Island
American Civilizations
Aztec Civilization
The Aztec civilization was located in central Mexico. Their capital city,
Tenochtitlan, was on the site of present-day Mexico City. They rose to
power by conquering nearby cities. The Aztecs were skilled farmers, but
they also traded for many goods. Warfare was a very important part of
Aztec culture. Their civilization fell to the Spanish conquistadors in 1521.
Aztec People
The emperor was the head of government, chosen by the elders, and he consulted with
priests and the elders before making decisions.
Montezuma I ruled the Aztec Empire in the 1400s. During his reign, the empire became
more organized and expanded as it conquered neighboring territories.
Aztec society was divided into classes including nobility, priests, warriors, merchants and
artisans, serfs, and slaves. Membership in the nobility class was originally based on ability
and strength, but it eventually became hereditary—the child of a noble was more likely to
become a noble than a commoner's child was.
Before the Aztec Empire arose in central Mexico, the city of Teotihuacan existed near what
would become Tenochtitlan. At its height, Teotihuacan probably housed between 125,000
and 200,000 people. The city's largest building was the Pyramid of the Sun, which was built
around 100 CE. The city's culture had a great influence on the Aztecs.
Tenochtitlan, the capital city, was the center of Aztec culture and religion and was located
on an island in Lake Texcoco.
Religion was polytheistic focused mainly on the sun and war gods and beliefs centered
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Religion was polytheistic, focused mainly on the sun and war gods, and beliefs centered
on myths about the gods.
Pyramids with temples at the top were built to worship the gods.
Human sacrifice was practiced throughout the empire, mostly at the main temple in
Tenochtitlan.
The humans sacrificed were prisoners of war and were killed after battle.
Slavery was common, though it was different than the slavery practiced by Europeans.
Many Aztec slaves were prisoners of war, and others were people who were unable to pay
their debts. Slaves had hard lives, but they could own some property (including other
slaves), and in some cases, they were able to buy their freedom. Slavery was not inherited;
the child of a slave was considered free.
Crops such as squash, tomatoes, corn, and beans were grown in chinampas, which were
rectangular plots of land surrounded by water.
Cultural Achievements
Art: Poetry and song were very highly regarded; Aztec warriors were poets in times of
peace. Aztecs made masks decorated with stone, tiles, wood, and shells to use in cultural
celebrations and when they worshiped their gods.
Education: Education was mandatory for all children, no matter what class or gender. It
involved military or technological lessons for boys and crafts and child-raising lessons for
girls
Mathematics: The Aztecs used a 365-day calendar cycle (known as the Sun Stone) and
260-day ritual cycle, combined to form a 52-year "century" cycle
The video below is an overview of an Aztec exhibit on display at the Royal

Academy of Arts in London. The exhibit is a collection of Aztec artifacts
that illustrate the culture of Aztecs.
0:00 / 1:48
Clip provided by Education Clip Library with permission from ITN Source
Fall of the Aztecs

The Aztec Empire was at its height when the Spanish conquistadors arrived in 1519.
Some believe that Hernán Cortés, the leader of the conquistadors, was mistaken for the
Aztec god Quetzalcoatl. According to Aztec prophecies, Quetzalcoatl was supposed to
return one day to serve as the ruler of the Aztecs. The Aztec emperor Montezuma II
therefore invited Cortés into Tenochtitlan. Cortés used this to his advantage, capturing
Montezuma and making demands to the Aztec people. Fighting soon began and
Montezuma was killed, which forced the Spanish to leave Tenochtitlan. Cortés soon
returned, however, to conquer the city.
Though Cortés only commanded 500 soldiers, many of the surrounding kingdoms were
enemies of the Aztecs, and they agreed to help the Spanish attack Tenochtitlan. A long
siege then occurred, during which much of the Aztec population died of smallpox and
starvation in Tenochtitlan. Disease and starvation killed more people than the fighting
itself, which allowed the Spaniards to easily conquer the surviving Aztecs.
American Civilizations
The Inca Empire was located in the Andes Mountains in South America.
As a society, they were peaceful farmers and traders. They had large
resources of gold and silver, and they made many contributions to
medicine, mathematics, and architecture. They were conquered by the
Spanish conquistadors in 1533.
Inca Civilization
The Inca Empire was mostly located in present-day Peru and nearby areas of South
America. It thrived from 1000 A.D. to 1500 A.D. Art and architecture were very important in
their society, and the Inca created many works of art with the huge supply of gold and
silver they had.
The Inca and other early civilizations in the Andes Mountains were able to develop
varied sources of food. This is because the differing ecological zones of the regions in
which they lived allowed them to engage in different types of farming. The Inca had an
agricultural economy, relying mostly on potatoes, tomatoes, maize, peanuts, and similar
crops for food. They also raised llamas for meat and wool and had a road system that
allowed food to be distributed throughout the empire.
Inca People
The Inca government was run by an emperor, who was chosen out of the original Inca tribe
descendants.
Cuzco was the capital of the Inca Empire.
There were four provinces in the empire, and governors oversaw local officials in the
provinces.
The Inca people had separate chains of command for military and religion.
Descendants of the original Inca tribe were similar to nobility, and some even became
royalty.
Those not in the original Inca tribe had their intelligence tested at a young age to determine
Those not in the original Inca tribe had their intelligence tested at a young age to determine
if they would learn a trade or would go to school to become administrators, who were
included in the nobility.
Inca religion was polytheistic, meaning they worshiped many gods, including Inti, the sun
god. The emperor of the Incas was believed to be a descendant of the sun god and
therefore had the divine right to rule the empire.
The Inca sacrificed llamas to the gods on many important occasions, and they sacrificed
humans in times of natural disaster and times of distress.
The Inca believed in the afterlife, and they mummified members of the nobility. They
believed that people who were good went to the sun after dying, while those who were evil
stayed on the Earth.
The Inca expanded their empire by conquering nearby civilizations and peacefully
assimilating other cultures into Incan culture.
Cultural Achievements
Art: ceramics, wood carvings, and metalwork with simple geometric forms and stylized
animal representation
Architecture: stone temples built by stoneworkers; Machu Picchu was one of the Inca's
most famous and important sites. The city was built in the Andes Mountains as a retreat for
the nobility.
Transportation: built an extensive network of paved roads and woven fiber bridges
throughout the empire and used trained runners to deliver messages
Mathematics: used a system of counting knots, called quipu, but had no writing system
Oral tradition: relied on orally passing down history, events, and culture
Farming: used terraced fields to grow crops on the sides of mountains
Fall of the Inca Empire

In 1532, Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro invaded the Inca Empire with about
200 men. The Spanish captured the Inca emperor Atahualpa, put him in prison, and
demanded a large ransom of silver and gold. The Spanish also ordered the emperor to
convert to Christianity. The Inca paid the ransom, but Atahualpa refused to convert, and
the Spanish killed him.
The Inca population as a whole weakened from being exposed to European diseases.
Because many Inca were sick or had died, it was easier for the Spanish to conquer them.
It was not long before the Spanish had taken over the entire Inca Empire.
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3/8/22, 11:07 PM Lesson - American Civilizations - Study Island

The video below is an overview of an Aztec exhibit on display at the Royal

Fall of the Aztecs

Cuzco was the capital of the Inca Empire.

Farming: used terraced fields to grow crops on the sides of mountains

Fall of the Inca Empire

© 2022 Edmentum - All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy

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