Maya Civilization
The geographical region where the Classic Maya built their cities around central public plazas and stone pyramid temples
Yucatán Peninsula and the rainforests of Guatemala.
The sacred omen seen on a swampy island in Lake Texcoco that told the nomadic Mexica where to found Tenochtitlan
An eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus eating a snake.
The central capital city of the Inca Empire located high in the Andes Mountains, and the fast relay runners who carried spoken messages along paved roads.
Cuzco and Chaskis
The agricultural technique of cutting flat stone steps into steep mountain slopes used by both the Maya and the Inca to protect soil
Terrace farming (which traps rainwater at crop roots and stops heavy rains from washing away topsoil)
The titles of the supreme rulers of the Aztec Empire ("Great Speaker") and the Inca Empire ("living god descended from the sun")
Huey Tlatoani (Aztec) and Sapa Inca (Inca)
The primary religious blood sacrifice performed by Maya divine kings, and the base-20 math system they created using dots, bars, and a shell for zero
Bloodletting and the Vigesimal system
The wide stone raised roads and man made water networks used for travel in Tenochtitlan, and the title of the supreme Aztec emperor at the top of society
Causeways and Canals
What special building technique allowed Incan stone walls at Machu Picchu to survive heavy earthquakes without collapsing?
Fitting stone blocks together perfectly without mortar.
The artificial garden beds built in Lake Texcoco by layering mud and plants inside wicker frames, and the native trees planted at corners to anchor them.
Chinampas, anchored by living trees.
What system did Aztec rulers use to demand regular payments of physical goods from conquered kings, compared to what the Incan government required under the mita?
The Aztec tribute system (collecting physical goods), while the Inca collected direct physical labor.
How did the Maya create the 52-year Calendar?
Combining the 365-day solar calendar and 260-day sacred calendar, and El Castillo.
The 1428 CE military alliance that created the Aztec Empire, and the social concept where men's and women's roles were different but equally valued.
The Triple Alliance (with Texcoco and Tlacopan) and Gender Complementarity (comparing childbirth to warfare).
Part 1: What device made of knotted, colored strings did Incan scribes use to keep official population and crop records?
Part 2: What is one example of extreme direct control the Incan government exercised over commoners' daily lives?
Part 1: Quipus.
Part 2: Controlling commoners' daily sleep hours
Part 1: What engineering method did Maya farmers use in wet, swampy lowlands to prevent crop roots from rotting?
Part 2: What were the small family farm plots cultivated directly next to Maya homes called?
Part 1: Raised fields.
Part 2: Kitchen gardens.
How did deep hatred from conquered groups help lead to the fall of both the Aztec and Incan empires when the Spanish arrived?
Native groups hated the Aztecs for forced tribute and human sacrifices, while local chiefs hated the Inca for forced relocation and strict control—so both groups eagerly allied with the Spanish (Cortés and Pizarro) to overthrow their empires.
What happened to most Maya codices during the Spanish conquests?
Part 2: What environmental crisis caused by overpopulation led to the collapse of Classic Maya cities by 900 CE?
Part 1: Spanish missionaries burned entire libraries of folding bark-paper books.
Part 2: Heavy deforestation caused severe soil erosion and long-lasting droughts.
Part 1: What major engineering structure did Moctezuma I build across Lake Texcoco?
Part 2: How did the Aztec tribute system lead neighboring cities like the Tlaxcalans to help Hernán Cortés in 1519?
Part 1: A 9-mile stone dike to separate salty brackish water from fresh agricultural water.
Part 2: High taxes and forced tribute caused deep anger among conquered cities, leading them to ally with Cortés to overthrow Aztec rule
How did commoners pay their taxes under the mita system?
Part 2: How did the Incan government practice reciprocity in return?
Part 1: Performing physical labor on state roads, mines, public farms, or military service.
Part 2: Distributing stored food and clothing from imperial storehouses during famines or crop failures.
Part 1: How did Incan engineers cross deep mountain canyons without steel cables or concrete?
Part 2: How did the Aztecs bring clean drinking water into Tenochtitlan from Chapultepec?
Part 1: Local communities hand-wove thick cables out of mountain grass ropes to build suspension bridges.
Part 2: Building a double masonry aqueduct.
Part 1: What deadly European disease swept through native cities, killing over half the population and key rulers before conquest?
Part 2: What major technology advantages did Spanish conquistadors use to defeat indigenous armies?
Part 1: Smallpox.
Part 2: Steel/metal weapons, metal armor, and firearms
Compare the political organization of the Classic Maya with the authority of the Incan Sapa Inca.
The Maya were decentralized into independent city-states ruled by separate hereditary noble families, whereas the Inca were highly centralized under one absolute emperor who controlled daily life.
Contrast the education and expectations for noble boys at the Calmecac with commoner boys at the Telpochcalli.
Noble boys at the Calmecac faced strict discipline to study high science, astronomy, government, and calendar reading for leadership, while commoner boys at the Telpochcalli received practical training in agriculture, civic duty, and military tactics.
Identify two internal problems that severely weakened the Inca Empire right before Francisco Pizarro invaded in 1532.
A smallpox epidemic that killed Emperor Huayna Capac and over half the population, and a brutal civil war of succession between his sons.
Describe the main farming methods engineered by the Maya, Aztecs, and Inca to adapt to their challenging environments and feed large populations.
The Maya built raised swamp fields and hillside terraces, the Aztecs constructed floating chinampas anchored by willow trees in Lake Texcoco, and the Inca carved stone terraces into steep mountain slopes to trap rainwater and prevent soil erosion.
Contrast the Aztec tribute system with the Incan mita labor system.
The Aztecs collected physical goods (like gold, cotton, and cacao) from conquered kings, while the Inca required commoners to do direct physical labor (like building roads, mining, and farming).