Unit 2: Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas

Primary Source Document

A first-hand account, record, or evidence about a person, place object, or an event

Secondary Source Document

An account that was created later by someone who did not experience first-hand or participate in the events.

social hierarchy

the level of importance of each member of a group

job specialization

to focus on one job

ancient

belonging to the very distant past and no longer in existence.

characteristics

a feature or quality belonging typically to a person, place, or thing and serving to identify it.

Government

the system of rules and the people who make and administer them

Civilization

the society, culture, and way of life of a particular area

Polytheistic

believing in many gods

Technology

any tool used for carrying out a task

What are three similarities of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas?

1.) They all farmed

2.) They all believed in many gods

3.) They built cities with stone

4.) They were all defeated by the Spanish

5.) They all lived in the Western Hemisphere

What makes the Mayans different from the Aztecs/Incas?

1.) They did not have a central ruler

2.) They had 3 different types of calendars

3.) They had a base 20 number system

4.) They spoke Yucatec

What makes the Aztecs different from the Mayans/Incas?

1.) They created floating gardens (chinampas) to grow crops.

2.) They formed a Triple Alliance

3.) They spoke Nahuatl

4.) They lived in the Valley of Mexico on an island in the middle of a lake.

What makes the Incas different from the Mayans/Aztecs?

1.) They had an emperor called the Sapa Inca

2.) They had thousands of kilometers of roads/bridges

3.) They lived in the Andes Mountains

4.) They spoke Quechua

Where did the Mayans live?

Central America: Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Belize, Guatemala.

The PINK region.

Where did the Aztecs live?

Central America: Mexico

The RED region.

Where did the Incas live?

Andes Mountains of South America

The PURPLE region

What civilization was Tikal a part of?

The Mayans

What civilization was the Tenochtitlan a part of?

The Aztecs

Which civilization was the biggest?

The Incas

How do you describe the Aztec government?

They had a centrally controlled government, with one central ruler.

Which civilization spoke Nahuatl?

The Aztecs

Which civilization was the first to develop a 365 day calendar?

The Mayans

Which civilization used precise stonework where the stone fit perfectly together?

The Incas

Which civilization, of the three we studied, came first?

The Mayans

Francisco Pizarro was a Spanish conquistador who took over which empire?

The Incas

Which civilizations created terraces in order to farm?

The Incas and Mayans

Not studied (27)

You haven't studied these terms yet!