Maya
What happened to the Maya Civilization?
We don't know
What sign was the leader of the Aztec Empire looking for to know where to build their main city?
An eagle eating a snake sitting on a cactus
Both the Maya and the Aztec were in Mexico and Central America. Where were the Inca?
South America- they started in Peru
There was a ball game that was played in both Maya and Aztec cultures. What were some of the rules of this game?
1. You cannot touch the ball with your hands or your feet.
2. If the ball goes through the hoop, it ends the game.
3. Prisoners might play against each other to see who would be sacrificed.
Which disease weakened both the Aztec and the Inca empires?
Smallpox
This means that every city had their own king
What is special about where Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital city, was built?
It was built in the middle of a lake!
What did the Inca believe about gold and silver?
They believed that they were gifts from the sun and moon god- gold from the sun, silver from the moon.
How were Maya and Aztec sacrifices similar?
They both believed that blood strengthened the gods, they both did sacrifices in the middle of the cities, they both sacrificed people from other cities/ empires, not their own.
Cortes did not come with many people. How did he build an army to fight against the Aztecs?
He became friends with cities that the Aztecs had conquered and places the Aztecs had taken sacrifices from. He promised them revenge against the Aztecs.
Maya wrote using hieroglyphs. What are hieroglyphs?
Using pictures to represent certain words or phrases.
What were the jaguar and eagle warriors in Aztec culture?
They were the strongest warriors in the Aztec Empire
What are the differences between Inca sacrifices and Aztec sacrifices?
1. Inca sacrificed people MUCH less than the Aztecs.
2. There were never knives involved in the sacrificing process for the Inca
3. When the Inca did sacrifice people, it was usually children and in the mountains. The Aztecs sacrificed people from other cities and did it in the middle of the cities.
Which two groups did we learn about that are famous for the large pyramid-shaped buildings in the middle of their cities?
The Maya and the Aztecs.
Why had the Inca army been fighting against itself before the Spaniards came?
The Sapa Inca had died and Atahualpa had to fight his brother from the throne. They each took part of the army.
What did Maya children wear throughout their childhood? They would be given these when they were 5.
Boys would wear a white feather. Girls would get a red shell bracelet.
It was the first school system that had free school for everyone- boys and girls, rich and poor.
Name two inventions that the Inca had:
1. Terrace farms (they look like steps on the side of a mountain)
2. Brain Surgery
3. Suspension Bridges that are still used today
4. Quipu
5. A road/ runner system that allowed messages to travel 150 miles in a single day
5. Perfect stone walls that need nothing else to hold them together
Which two civilizations have left ruins in the country of Mexico?
The Aztec and the Maya
How did the Inca try to convince the Spanish to let Atahualpa, king of the Inca, go free?
They filled a room with gold to trade for him. Pizzaro ordered him killed but took the gold anyway.
What would parents do for their babies to make them grow up beautiful (at least to the Maya)?
They would dangle beads in front of the baby's eyes to make them cross-eyed
They would also use a board to gradually, over time, flatten the baby's forehead.
How many times did the Aztecs believe that the world had already ended?
Aztecs believed that the world had already ended 4 times- one because of jaguars, one because of wind, one because of volcanoes, one because of flood. They believed ours was the 5th and it would end with earthquakes.
What were quipu and why can't we read them now?
Quipu were a system of knots and strings that worked like a code to send messages. Only a few people could read them and those people died before they were able to pass on their knowledge. We can't read them now.
Which two civilizations were conquered by the Spaniards?
The Aztec and the Inca
What tools did the Spanish have that gave them an advantage over the Aztecs and the Inca?
1. Guns and cannons
2. Horses
3. Immunity to smallpox