Civilizations For over 3,000 thousand years (1500 BC – 1530 AD) natives of the Americas developed independently from the rest of the world. Mayans Toltec Aztecs Incas

Mayans May date as early as 2000 BC, but flourished 300-900 AD Yucatan Peninsula Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, El Salvador Polytheistic Religious rituals revolved around agricultural seasons

Mayans System of Writing and Mathematics Used Bricks, Mortar, and Stucco Use of Zero Hieroglyphic Writings Accurate Calendar Elaborate Art Frescoes Great Cities Astronomical Observatories Movement of Planets

Toltec 750-900 AD Central Mexican Highlands Invaded Mayan territory Extensive Trading Network Copper bells and turquoise Massive buildings and pyramids Painted ceramics Metalwork in gold and copper

Aztecs Flourished late 1100’s, warlike (1200-1521 AD) Central and Southern Mexico Warrior group with rigid class structure and slaves Borrowed ideas from conquered people Forced conquered people to pay tribute, used prisoners as daily human sacrifices to gods

Aztecs Accomplishments Manuscripts Elaborate irrigation systems Hillside terracing for agriculture Metalwork in gold and silver Semiprecious stones as jewelry Artificial lakes, causeways, island cities – Tenochtitlan Astronomy and Mathematics Developed a calendar and counting system

Incas 200-1535 AD Peru, and parts of Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina Warlike and farming culture with a rigid class system Extensive Empire with twelve million inhabitants Animistic in Nature – sun god, rain god, etc.

Incas Accomplishments Extensive road network Quipu – system of measurement and record keeping, knotted string, no writing Hillside terracing for irrigation and agriculture Medical knowledge of surgery and diseases Elaborate building and engineering feats