An overview of the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas

1. Amerindian CivilizationsAmerindian Civilizations
in Latin Americain Latin America
AP World History
West Hills High School

3. • 100s of different
culture groups
each speaking
their own
language, living
by own customs
• Nonsedentary,
semisedentary,
and fully
sedentary (Aztec,
Maya, and Inca
Empires) peoples

4. Aztec Empire (1200-1521)
• Last in a series of cultures to develop in the
Valley of Mexico (Tenochtitlan)
• Nahuatl-speaking group known as the
Mexica (where word “Mexico” originated)
• Complex system of agriculture based on
irrigation (chinampas)

5. Aztec Empire (1200-1521)
• Collected tribute from surrounding city-states
(food, clothing, weapons, precious metals
and gems, slaves, sacrificial victims)
• Hierarchical society: (King, priests &
nobility, peasants, slaves)
• Empire based on fear and human sacrifice
• 1521 conquered by Hernando Cortez and his
men

6. Tenochtitlan
View of Pyramid of the Moon and Sun, Tenochtitlan

9. Green = hope, fertility of the soil
White = purity
Red = blood shed during independence

10. Mayan Empire (400 BC-900 AD)
• Occupied lower Mesoamerica (“People of
the Corn”)
• Fierce warriors, ritualistic bloodletting and
human sacrifice
• Sudden collapse in 900 CE
– Military defeats
– Crop failure
– Overpopulation

11. Tikal

15. “Every culture looks different from the inside than it does from the outside.”

16. Inca Empire (1000-1532 AD)
• Ruled over people from 100s of different tribes
• Maintained control through:
– Large army
– Advanced agriculture, building & engineering
methods (especially roads and bridges)
– Common language (Quechua)
• Conquered by Francisco Pizarro in 1532

17. Similarities?
• Rigid class system (stratified)
• Polytheistic
• Extensive trade networks
• Human sacrifice
• Tribute & constant warfare
• Advanced mathematics, calendars, and
astronomy - why?