Early American Civilizations: Maya, Aztec, Inca

Stele

• A group of states or territories controlled by one ruler
• A carved stone slab used to mark graves or to commemorate historical events.
• a city that with its surrounding territory forms an independent state.

Mayan Calendar

• Former lake in central Mexico; home of Aztec civilization
• solar calendar of 365.242 days (17 seconds off of today), religious calendar of 260 days
• -Conquered all of the Empire of the Aztecs (very rich)

terrace farming

• A system of knotted cords of different sizes and colors used by the Incas for keeping records
• Although it had a rich and sophisticated civilization, this American empire did not have a written language.
• a farming system that is in the form of steps going up a mountain

Mayan Zero Concept

• Mayans were one of the first civilizations to use a zero in their number system
• solar calendar of 365.242 days (17 seconds off of today), religious calendar of 260 days
• -Conquered all of the Empire of the Aztecs (very rich)

step pyramids

• large temples built by the Mayans to study the stars
• A volcano that has not erupted for a long time, but may erupt again one day.
• A group of states or territories controlled by one ruler

Maya

• chocolate that the Aztecs drank (very bitter/no sugar)
• -Conquered all of the Empire of the Aztecs (very rich)
• Mesoamerican civilization concentrated in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and in Guatemala and Honduras but never unified into a single empire. Major contributions were in mathematics, astronomy, and development of the calendar.

Aztec

• (1200-1521) 1300, they settled in the valley of Mexico. Grew corn. Engaged in frequent warfare to conquer others of the region.
• Education: mandatory education system
• symbols carved by the Nazca people into the land that were believed to communicate with their gods

polytheistic religion

• the belief in or worship of more than one god.
• An early form of corn grown by Native Americans
• -Founded New Spain (Mexico), with Mexico City as the capital

Tenochtitlan

• Capital of the Aztec Empire, located on an island in Lake Texcoco.
• A system of knotted cords of different sizes and colors used by the Incas for keeping records
• large temples built by the Mayans to study the stars

city-state

• the most important Maya political center between the 4th-9th centuries. It was a city that had temples, pyramids, palaces, and public buildings.
• The capital city of the Incan Empire, Located in present-day Peru
• a city that with its surrounding territory forms an independent state.