Download Aztec and Inca reading

Aztec were an American Indian people who ruled a large and powerful empire in Mexico during the
1400's and early 1500's. The Aztec empire included many cities and towns. The largest city was the
capital, Tenochtitlan <<tay nohch TEE tlahn>> . This city had about 200,000 to 300,000 people. It stood
on an island in a lake. Mexico City was built on the site of Tenochtitlan. Raised dirt roads linked
Tenochtitlan to the mainland.
Aztec life
The leader of the Aztec was the emperor, who had great power. Many of the people were farmers. They
lived in simple houses made of clay bricks or branches plastered with clay.
The marketplace was a major center of Aztec life. The Aztec usually traded with one another. They also
used some things as money, such as cacao beans, which they made into a chocolate drink.
The Aztec spoke an Indian language called Nahuatl <<NAH wahtl>> . They also had a form of writing
that was mostly made up of small pictures. It was called pictograph writing. The Aztec used it mainly for
important records and for historical and religious writings.
Religion was important in Aztec life, and the people devoted much of their time to religious practices.
They worshiped hundreds of different gods and goddesses. They built towering temples and created large
sculptures of their gods. Today's most famous Aztec sculpture is the round Calendar Stone. The stone
measures about 12 feet (3.7 meters) around. It includes carvings of the sun god and other religious
symbols. It represents the Aztec universe.
Human sacrifice was part of the Aztec religion. The Aztec even fought wars just to get prisoners to
sacrifice to their gods.
History
According to Aztec legend, people founded Tenochtitlan in 1325. By the early 1400's, Tenochtitlan had
become an important city. It grew to become the capital of the Aztec empire. By 1502, the Aztec empire
was at the height of its power. Emperor Montezuma II ruled the Aztec when the Spanish explorer Hernán
Cortés landed in Mexico in 1519. By 1521, Cortés had conquered the great Aztec empire. The Spanish
then destroyed the city.
The Aztec left a lasting mark on Mexican culture. Today, thousands of people in Mexico who came from
Aztec families speak a modern form of Nahuatl. Many Mexican place names, including Acapulco and
Mexico, come from Nahuatl, as do the English words avocado, chocolate, and tomato. Foods of Aztec
origin, including chili, chocolate, and tacos, are popular in many countries today.
The Inca <<IHNG kuh>> were a South American Indian people. They ruled one of the largest and
richest empires in North and South America. The Inca took over the lands of their neighbors and
governed well. They built roads, bridges, and stone temples. They learned how to water desert land and
cut huge flat steps into hillsides to grow crops. Their empire lasted from about 1438 to the 1530's.
Spanish soldiers, who came in 1532, fought the Inca and destroyed their empire.
Daily life
Most Inca were farmers. They grew corn, cotton, and potatoes. They also grew and ate a root called oca
and a grain called quinoa. The Inca made clothing from wool and cotton. Men wore tunics, with a cloak
for cold weather. Women wore long dresses and shawls. Rich people wore fine clothing and jewelry.
Most people lived in mud and stone houses with straw roofs. Nobles, or rich and important people, lived
in large palaces and had fine pottery and gold objects. The palaces were built of huge stones fitted
together without cement.
The Inca had no writing and no money system. Instead, they traded and exchanged products. They sent
messages by runners. They also used fires and smoke signals. The Inca used knotted strings to keep
records. They had no wheels, so most people walked. Nobles were carried in a litter, a wooden frame with
a couch. Servants carried the litter on their shoulders. Llamas carried all the heavy loads.
Inca beliefs
Religion was important to the Inca. Their chief god was Viracocha. The emperor also prayed to the sun
god Inti. Inca people never made a decision without trying to find out the will of the gods.
Rise and fall of the Inca
The Inca homeland was around Cusco in what is now southern Peru. Around the year 1200, the Inca
began to spread out and rule over their neighbors.
The Inca empire began about 1438 when the ruler Pachacuti made Cusco the center of government. The
Inca empire grew to include parts of what are now Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and
Argentina.
Pachacuti's grandson, Huayna Capac, died about 1527. Two of his sons, Huáscar and Atahualpa, fought
one another over control of the empire. In 1532, Atahualpa won. But that same year a Spanish force of
167 men led by Francisco Pizarro marched into Peru. The Spaniards defeated the Inca and captured
Atahualpa. They demanded a room filled with gold and a room filled twice with silver for his freedom.
The Inca gave them this treasure, but the Spaniards killed Atahualpa anyway.
Huáscar was already dead. He had been killed on Atahualpa's orders. So now the Inca had no leader. The
Inca could not stop the Spaniards from taking over their empire. The Spaniards tried to wipe out all the
Inca customs, but they failed. Today, some Indians in Peru and some other countries still live much as the
Inca did. They speak Quechua, the Inca language. They weave cloth in the Inca style, and they practice
Inca healing ceremonies.