Ancient Cultures of Central and

South America:
The Maya, Aztec, and Inca
Mayan Map
 The Mayans
• The culture's beginnings have been traced
back to 1500 BC.
• The Height of Mayan civilization was
between 600 and 900 AD.
 Mayan Government
• Lived in independent city-states with
farming communities and cities
• Ruler considered “God-King”
– Male, highly educated, had advisors
• Priests and nobles served as officials
– Literate
– Nobles led armies, gathered taxes
– Priests advised, led rituals/religious ceremonies
 Mayan Writing
• devised a complex
style of hieroglyphic
writing that has yet to
be fully deciphered.
• Maya words are
formed from various
combinations of
nearly 800 signs.
 Maya Technology
• The Maya, for example,
were so advanced in
mathematics and astronomy
that their calendar was the
world's most accurate until
this century. They could
also predict solar and lunar
eclipses. The pyramid was used as a calendar:
four stairways, each with 91 steps and a
platform at the top, making a total of 365,
• The Maya calendar was equivalent to the number of days in a
adopted by the other calendar year.
Mesoamerican nations,
such as the Aztecs and the
Toltec.
 Agriculture
• The basis of the culture was farming,
which included not only the cultivation of
maize, beans, squash, and chili peppers,
but also "cash crops" of cotton and cacao.
• Agricultural techniques used:
– Slash and Burn
– Terraces
– Raised Earth Platforms
 Mayan Economy
• The Maya participated in long distance trade with many of the
Mesoamerican cultures, including Teotihuacan, the Zapotec,
and other groups in central and gulf-coast México, the
Caribbean islands and down up to Colombia, as well as inter-
site commerce.
• Maya farmers transported their cocoa beans to market by
canoe or in large baskets strapped to their backs, Wealthy
merchants traveled further, employing porters, as there were no
horses, pack animals or wheeled carts in Central America at
that time (They are introduced with the Columbian Exchange).
• Merchants and those surrounding trade become a middle class.
 Religion
• The most revered deities (Gods) were
Itzamna and Ix Chel, father and mother of
all other gods, and the rain god Chac.
Kukulcan was the Mayan name for the
feathered serpent, god of the ruling caste.
 Downfall
• Insufficient food supply, earthquakes,
pestilence, invasion by outsiders, internal
rebellion or a combination of these factors
have all been suggested as possible
causes for the fall of the Mayan eminence.
What appears certain is that by 900 AD
the Maya's numerous ceremonial centers
had been abandoned.
Aztec map
 Aztec
• Prior to the 15th century, the Aztecs were
a marginal tribe living on the edge of Lake
Texcoco, the site of present day Mexico
City
• Leading a highly codified government was
an all-powerful emperor who exacted
taxes from the conquered and distributed
land to his people, especially the warriors.
 Aztec Government
• Although the Aztecs has established laws
and a emperor. They were not a
conventional empire, because they
allowed conquered people to maintain a
level of independence. They just needed
to pay their taxes (Tribute) to the Aztecs.
 Tenochtitlan
• By 1473, after subjugating neighboring
tribes, they ruled the largest empire
Mexico had ever seen. Their capital of
Tenochtitlan, set in the lake, was a
picturesque city of pyramids, mile-long
floating roads, aqueducts, animated
marketplaces, and one hundred thousand
residents.
Tenochtitlan
 Economy
Use Of Money In Aztec Economy

The Aztecs were definitely an advanced people since they knew

about the value of money. Several kinds of money were used by the
Aztecs and the cacao bean was one of the regular money used by
the Aztecs. For example, a small rabbit would cost a person around
thirty cacao beans
There are many other markets in Tenochtitlan but the one called
Tlatelco (which is the main marketplace for the Aztec people) was
where almost everyone went because of the large selection. Many
farmers, merchants, potters and so on came to this market to sell
their produce or their products.
 Aztec Calendar
-The Aztecs used a Calendar similar to
The Mayans. It had a 365 day a year
Calendar.

-In the mythology of the Aztecs, the

first age of mankind ended with the
animals devouring humans. The
second age was finished by wind, the
third by fire, and the fourth by water.
The present fifth epoch is called
Nahui-Olin (Sun of Earthquake), which
began in 3113 BC and will end on
December 24, 2011. It will be the last
destruction of human existence on Earth.
 Aztec Writing
• The Aztec Language
was based on
symbols representing
writing.
• They would combine
symbols to create
sentences.
 Mythology
• According to an Aztec
myth, the white-faced
Quetzacuatl - their
most important god.
• He is the god of
intelligence and the
god of creation.
Inca Map
 Inca
• Between 1200 and 1535 AD, the Inca
population lived in the part of South
America extending from the Equator to the
Pacific coast of Chile.
 Incan Government
• The Inca society was arranged by a strict hierarchical
structure.
• The Highest Level the Sapa, high priest or ruler, and the
army commander at the top.
• The temple priests, architects and regional army
commanders were next.
• The two lowest classes consisted of artisans, army
captains, farmers, and herders.
• Farmers provided most of the food for the rest of the
population. They had to pay tax in the form of gold,
which were distributed to the higher classes.
 Inca Economy
• The main resources available to the Inca Empire were agricultural
land and labor, mines (producing precious and prestigious metals
such as gold, silver or copper), and fresh water, abundant
everywhere except along the desert coast. With careful
manipulation of these resources, the Incas managed to keep things
moving the way they wanted. Tribute in the form of service (mita)
played a crucial role in maintaining the empire and pressurizing its
subjects into ambitious building and irrigation projects.
 Inca Technology
• The Incas had an incredible system of roads.
One road ran almost the entire length of the
South American Pacific coast.
• Since the Incas lived in the Andes Mountains,
the roads took great engineering and
architectural skill to build.
• On the coast, the roads were not surfaced.
• The Incas paved their highland roads with flat
stones and built stone walls to prevent travelers
from falling off cliffs.