Mayans
Where was the Mayan civilization located?
Mesoamerica
Where was the Inca civilization located?
South America
Where was the Aztec civilization located?
Mesoamerica
What is the name of a sudden, widespread illness
epidemic
True or false: myths get passed down from one generation to the next?
True
What group of people were considered to be in the highest social class?
The lords; well-educated priests were among the noble, or highest, classes as well
What was the capital of the Inca civilization called?
Cuzco
Tenochtitlan
Name TWO key characteristics of a civilization.
development of farming and cities, a writing system, government and laws, art and architecture, religion and beliefs
What did all three civilizations create myths about?
How the Earth and people were created
How did the Maya adapt to their environment?
creating step terraces, using slash and burn techniques
How did the Inca adapt to their environment?
creating step terraces and building aquaducts
What surrounded the Aztec capital city?
water; specifically, a salt lake
The Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations are called pre-Columbian civilizations. What does "pre-columbian" mean?
They developed before Christopher Columbus's first voyage to the Americas in 1492.
Which civilization created the myth where men, women, boys, and girls were all created at the same time?
Inca
From the top to the bottom, name the social classes of the Inca society
1. Kings and priests
2. Nobles
3. Craftsmen
4. Farmers
How did the Inca farm the land in the Andes Mountains?
by using terrace farming on hillsides
What are TWO things people sold in the Aztec markets?
food, precious stones, shells, feathers, medicines, wood, coal, sleeping mats, clothing, or pottery
What is a word to describe things that are produced, living, or existing naturally in a particular area?
indigenous
What are the three characteristics of a myth?
1. Explains how and why things happen
2. Makes sense of predictable and unpredictable events
3. Passed on from generation to generation
Where did each social class in the Maya civilization live?
1. Kings and Priests - palaces near city center
2. Nobles - Largest houses
3. Craftsmen - Smaller houses
4. Farmers - next to the fields
From the top to the bottom, name the social classes of the Inca society
1. priests, judges, army officers, tax collectors
2. four governors who ruled over the empire's four quarters
3. Sapa Inca
4. commoners
Tenochtitlan was built on a lake surrounded by water. Why was it necessary to have aquaducts?
What word describes a piece of land almost entirely surrounded by water that is attached to a larger land area?
peninsula
According to a myth passed down among the Aztec, one of their gods told them that they would know that they had found the perfect place to settle when they saw:
an eagle sitting on a cactus, holding a snake