A civilization is defined as an advanced culture.

What does that mean?

1: Building of cities2: A well organized government3. A system of social classes4. Specialized jobs5: A complex religion6: Some method of keeping records

The Maya lived on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and present day Guatemala and Belize.

Mayan Cities

Structure of the Mayan Cities

• Each one had its own ruler

• Traded peacefully with each other

• Linked together by roads

• Stone pyramids towered over each city

• On top of each city sat a temple

Mayan Society

King

Priests & Nobles

Merchants & Traders

Commoners and Farmers

Slaves

They had a complex System ofSocialclasses

Mayan Government

• Each city-stated ruled by a King

• Kings had both political and religious authority

Mayan Religious Beliefs

They believed in many gods and held religious ceremonies to worship them and give thanks for their kindness. This is a dance by nobles to thank the rain god for watering the crops.

Mayan Advances in Learning

• Had a written language which used glyphs or pictures to represent words

• Had highly developed system of numbers which included the concept of zero

Child House Sky

Mayan Hieroglyphics

The Aztecs lived in what is today Mexico City, Mexico

Right Here

Technochitlan• The Aztec capital city—over 30,000 people lived here• Built on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco • Built causeways or raised roads to connect the islands to the

mainland

The Aztecs made the swampy, shallow lake into chinampas(islands.) The islands were made by piling mud from the lake bottom. They farmed on these islands

Aztec Religion

• Religion was extremely important in Aztec life.• They worshipped hundreds of gods and

goddesses.• The Aztecs thought that the power of the gods

should be acknowledged and thanks given to them.

• They built large temples to worship them• Also offered sacrifices, including humans, to

keep gods happy

War and Sun God

The Aztec System of Writing

• Like the Maya they used a series of glyphs that represented words

Aztec Society

The Aztecs were consideredgreat warriors. They often hadto defend their boundaries or raidother people to survive and flourish.This is why warriors had a high status

They had a complex andStrict system of classes

The Incas livedalong the West Coastof South America,in the Andes Mountains

Inca city of Machu Pichu

Inca Society—Also complex

Emperor

Nobles and High Priests

Government Officials—memory experts,

messengers

Common People—Farmers, HerdersAnd soldiers

Incan Accomplishments

• Built more than 19,000 miles of roads in some of the most mountainous areas on the Earth

• Built canals and aqueducts to carry water to dry areas—helped grow many crops

• Build long rope bridges over deep canyons• Advances in medicine—surgery and

anesthesia

Incan Quipus

The Incas did not have a system of writing….butgovernment officials and traders recordedinformation about births,death, taxes and money on knotted stringscalled quipus

Incan Religion

• They too worshipped many gods

• Main god was the sun god—Inti

• All Incas were descendents of Inti

• Believed in a life after death, they embalmed the dead and placed them in a tomb

The End