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The Americas, 900 B.C.E.
- 1600 C.E.
The Maya
The Maya
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In 900 C.E., A Native American civilization, known as the Maya, developed in present-day
Mexico.
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Mayan civilization reached its peak between 300-900 C.E.
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Geography/Topography:
o The Maya settled an area of land known as the Yucatan Peninsula.The Yucatan
Peninsula had a diverse topography, including:
 Highlands
 Lowlands
 Coastal Plains
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The Maya had to adapt to the diverse topography of the Yucatan Peninsula, and did so by
developing different farming practices, languages, and governments.
The Maya
The Maya
● Mayan Government:
o Because of the harsh topography of the Yucatan Peninsula, the Maya were
not able to unify into one empire, but instead developed independent
kingdoms and city-states, which were linked by culture, political ties, and
trade.
o Mayan Kings: Mayan kings were both political and religious leaders.
 Politically, the Mayan kings were responsible for governing their people;
providing them with safety and protection; overseeing trade; and
creating laws.
The Maya
● Mayan Religion:
 Religiously, the Mayan kings were responsible for teaching their people
about the Otherworld, a spiritual world made up of gods, the souls of
ancestors, and supernatural creatures.

The Mayan kings performed rituals and ceremonies to satisfy the gods.
●
Human Sacrifice: The Maya would kill people to honor their gods.

The Mayan kings constructed plazas, temples, and huge pyramids (for
religious festivals and ceremonies).
The Maya
The Maya
● Mayan Accomplishments: Science
o The Maya developed a system of mathematics.
o The Maya developed accurate calendars:
 A 260-Day sacred calendar
 A 365-day solar calendar
o The Maya used the calendars to predict eclipses, schedule religious
ceremonies, and determine times to plant and harvest their crops.
The Maya
The Maya
● Mayan Accomplishments: The Mayan Economy
o The Maya developed an economy based on agriculture and trade.
o Maya farmers grew:
 maize, beans, squash, pumpkins, chili peppers, and tomatoes.
o How did they farm? The Mayans had to adapt to the topography of the
Yucatan Peninsula, they did so by developing two methods of farming:
 Slash-and-Burn Farming: The Maya would chop down and burn all plant
life, leaving behind fertile soil.
 Canal Farming: The Maya would create raised farming plots surrounded
by canals.
The Maya
The Maya
● Mayan Accomplishments: The Mayan Economy (continued)
o Maya farmers traded their crops in the cities for cotton cloth, jade
ornaments, pottery, fish, deer meat, and salt.
o Maya merchants established long-distance trade routes throughout Mexico
and Central America.
● Mayan Accomplishments: Mayan Writing
o The Maya were one of the first Native American civilizations to develop a
writing system.
o The Maya wrote books about the genealogy of their kings, Mayan mythology,
history, ritual practices and trade.
The Maya
The Maya
● The End of Maya Civilization:
o Around 900 C.E., the once great Maya civilization disappeared.
o To this day, historians are still unsure about what happened to the Maya.
 Possible Theories:
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Warfare
●
Agricultural breakdown
Summary
● Who: ____________________________________________________________
● What: ____________________________________________________________
● When: ____________________________________________________________
● Where: ____________________________________________________________
● Why/How: __________________________________________________________
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The Aztec Empire
The Aztec Empire
● During the 1200s C.E., a group of hunters and warriors moved from the North to
Central Mexico.
● Geography of the Aztec Civilization:
o In 1325 C.E., the Aztecs founded the capital city of their empire Tenochtitlan, present day Mexico-City.
o Tenochtitlan was an island in the center of Lake Texcoco.
● Topography of the Aztec civilization:
o Good land for farming in the capital city was scarce. Therefore, the Aztecs
developed chinampas, tiny artificial islands that floated in Lake Texcoco.
 The chinampas were “floating gardens,” in which Aztec farmers grew
corn and beans.
The Aztec Empire
The Aztec Empire
The Aztec Empire
The Aztec Empire
● Government:
o By the 1500s C.E., the Aztecs had created an empire that stretched from
north-central Mexico to the border of Guatemala, from the Pacific Ocean to
the Atlantic Ocean.
o The Aztec Empire existed from 1325-1521 C.E.
o All people conquered by the Aztecs were forced to pay tribute to the Aztec
Empire; in the form of food, clothing, raw materials, or prisoners for human
sacrifice.
The Aztec Empire
● Aztec Society:
o The Aztec Empire developed a structured social hierarchy.
o The Aztec Empire was divided into four different social classes:
 Nobility (the wealthy)
 commoners (priests, merchants, artisans, and farmers)
 serfs (farmers tied to noble lands)
 slaves (criminals, debtors, female and child prisoners of war)
The Aztec Empire
● Aztec Religion:
o The Aztecs borrowed many religious ideas from the Mayans.
 They built tall pyramids for religious festivals and ceremonies.
 The Aztecs also practiced human sacrifice, they believed it was
necessary to keep the gods happy and prevent droughts, floods, and
other natural disasters.
 The chief Aztec god was named Huitzilopochtli (sun god).
The Aztec Empire
The Aztec Empire
● Aztec Arts:
o Like the Mayans, the Aztecs created two different calendars:
 They created a 360-day religious calendar (for farming & going to war).
 They created a 365-day solar calendar.
o The Aztecs decorated their temples and pyramids with scenes of their gods
and warfare.
● The Collapse of the Aztec Empire:
o In 1521 C.E., the Aztec Empire was ended by the invasion of the Spanish
conquistadors.
The Aztec Empire
Summary
● Who: ____________________________________________________________
● What: ____________________________________________________________
● When: ____________________________________________________________
● Where: ____________________________________________________________
● Why/How: __________________________________________________________
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The Inca Empire
The Inca Empire
● The Geography of the Inca Empire:
o The Inca Empire was located in western South America.
● The Topography of the Inca Empire:
o The Inca Empire was located in the Andes mountains range, a topographic
feature that made trade and communication difficult.
o The topography of the empire included coastal deserts, dry highlands, fertile
river valleys, and rainforests.
The Inca Empire
The Inca Empire
● The Inca Government:
o The capital of the Inca Empire was named Cuzco.
o The Inca conquered many other tribes, and created a vast empire
throughout western South America.
 The Inca Empire included present-day Peru, Chile, and parts of Ecuador,
Bolivia, and Argentina.
o The most famous Inca ruler was Emperor Pachacuti.
 Under his leadership, the Incas created a complex system of tribute
collections, courts, military posts, trade inspections, and local work
regulations.
The Inca Empire
The Inca Empire
● The Inca Economy:
o The Inca emperor owned all of the land in his empire.
o Therefore, the emperor was responsible for the growing and distribution of
foods, including potatoes and quinoa.
o Due to the topography of western South America, the Incas had to adapt to
their environment in order to produce enough food to sustain their growing
population.
 Terrace Farming: The Incas developed a farming technique known as
terrace farming to adapt to their environment. In Terrace Farming,
the Inca farmers cut step terraces into hillsides to produce farmable
land.
 In the dry coastal plains, the Incas built irrigation systems to produce
arable land for growing crops.
The Inca Empire
The Inca Empire
The Inca Empire
● The Inca Economy (continued):
o Due to the challenging topography of the Andes mountains range, the Inca
government built roads and suspension bridges throughout the mountains that
would link the empire as one.
● Inca Religion:
o Like the Mayans and Aztecs, the Incas were a polytheistic people.
o The Incas also believed in using human sacrifice to please their gods.
● Inca Writing:
o The Incas did not develop a formal writing system. Instead, they kept
records by using quipu, a rope with knotted cords of different lengths and
colors.
The Inca Empire
The Inca Empire
● The Fall of the Inca Empire:
o Like the Aztecs in central America, the Inca were conquered by the Spanish
conquistadors in 1531 C.E..
Summary
● Who: ____________________________________________________________
● What: ____________________________________________________________
● When: ____________________________________________________________
● Where: ____________________________________________________________
● Why/How: __________________________________________________________
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