The INCA and AZTECS

The INCA & AZTECS

Evidence shows that the Inca performed brain surgeries.

The Inca called their capital city, Cusco, the "belly button of the world."

Machu Picchu means “old peak” in the Quechua language.

A system of relay runners carried messages up to 150 miles a day along the Inca roads.

When Inca people became young adults, they received new names that described their personality, like Jaguar or Star.

The Inca cut the stones of their buildings to fit together without any binding material. That way, when an earthquake struck, the stones could bounce around before settling back into place.

Aztec people used cocoa beans as money.

The Aztec believed that the gods sent them a sign—an eagle devouring a snake while standing on a cactus—to settle in Tenochtitlan. The symbol is still used today on Mexico’s flag.

These people played ullamaliztli, a game made with a 16-pound rubber ball in which players had to pass the heavy ball using only their torso–no hands or feet allowed.

The busiest market days in Tenochtitlan drew 50,000 people. (Compare that to the size of your grocery store!)