Ancient Civilizations: Aztecs, Maya, Incas! , livre ebook

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CONTENTS
Timeline

Introduction Let’s Explore the Americas!

Chapter 1 Homes and Great Cities

Chapter 2 Food and Markets
Chapter 3 Clothing and Cloth
Chapter 4 Children and Learning
Chapter 5 Gods and Temples
Chapter 6 Technology and Engineering
Glossary * Metric Conversions Resources * Essential Questions * Index

Interested in primary sources? Look for this icon. Use a smartphone or tablet app to scan the QR code and explore more! Photos are also primary sources because a photograph takes a picture at the moment something happens.

You can find a list of URLs on the Resources page. If the QR code doesn’t work, try searching the internet with the Keyword Prompts to find other helpful sources.
AZTECS MAYA INCAS
TIMELINE

Archaeologists don’t always know the exact years the Maya, Incas, or Aztecs built or left their cities, so some years have the word circa, or its abbreviation c, in front of them. This word means “approximately.”

1800 BCE: The Maya civilization begins.

700 BCE: The Maya begin to create a writing system.

400 BCE: The Maya carve stone monuments that include dates.

300 CE: The Maya build the great city of Tikal. It was located in the rainforests of present-day Guatemala.

C. 900 CE: The Maya abandon their impressive cities.

C. 1100 CE: The Aztecs leave northern Mexico or the southwestern United States for land farther south.

C. 1200: Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire, is founded in what is now Peru.

1325: The Aztecs begin their rise to power and build their capital Tenochtitlan on an island in Lake Texcoco. The city is now under present-day Mexico City.

C. 1438: The Inca people establish the city of Machu Picchu in the Andes Mountains in Peru.

1502: Montezuma II becomes leader of the Aztec Empire.

C. 1510: The Incas abandon Machu Picchu.

1517: The first Spanish arrive in Mexico.

1521: Spanish forces, led by Hernán Cortés, destroy the Aztec capital at Tenochtitlan.

1533: Spanish forces, led by Francisco Pizarro, defeat the Incas.

1697: Spanish forces destroy the last Maya kingdom.

1790: Archaeologists discover the fifteenthcentury Aztec calendar stone under the central square of Mexico City.

1911: Hiram Bingham rediscovers Machu Picchu, which had been forgotten for centuries.

1973: Researchers make a breakthrough in understanding Maya hieroglyphs.

1981: David Stuart, a 15-yearold with an interest in the Maya, discovers that the Maya could write the same word in different ways.

1992: Rigoberta Menchú Tum, a Maya woman, wins the Nobel Peace Prize.

2017: More than 1.3 million people visit Machu Picchu.

2018: Archaeologists use lidar technology to discover new Maya ruins in Guatemala.

Many of the words and names in this book are hard to say, but you can hear them spoken online. Go to Merriam-Webster.com , search for the word, and press the symbol next to your word to hear it spoken.

MERRIAM-WEBSTER

INTRODUCTION
LET’S EXPLORE THE AMERICAS!
Imagine you are hiking to a city built by one of the greatest civilizations in South America. Ahead of you, thick green vines crisscross the trail like webs. You walk slowly, pushing aside the vines with your hands. You see flashes of blue and gold tanagers. Your heart beats faster each time a howler monkey shrieks.
After many hours, the forest opens onto a rocky path as narrow as a new moon. You pass by steep drops. You scramble up stone steps. At last, you reach the city gate where your guide is waiting.
“Over here,” your guide calls, pointing to a narrow stone doorway.
WORDS TO KNOW

civilization: a community of people that is advanced in art, science, and government.
WORDS TO KNOW

Machu Picchu: an ancient Inca city on a high mountain in Peru, the ruins of which can still be seen and visited today.
ancient: from an early time in history.
Mesoamerica: an area that includes Central America and modern-day Mexico in North America.
Before you lies a sea of stone walls, staircases, and temples almost touching the sky. What is this fantastic place? It is Machu Picchu , an important Inca city on a high mountain in Peru. It was a 400-yearold secret, but now it’s yours to explore! What will you discover on your journey?

DID YOU KNOW?
Want to learn more fascinating facts? Look for this symbol of the Aztec Sun Stone showing the Aztec sun god, Tonatiuh.
In this book, we’ll explore the ancient Maya, Inca, and Aztec peoples. Hundreds of years ago, these three powerful civilizations ruled large parts of Mesoamerica and South America.

THE INCA CITY OF MACHU PICCHU IN PERU IS A WORLD HERITAGE SITE AND ONE OF THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD.
CREDIT: LEANDER.CANARIS (CC BY 2.0)
WORDS TO KNOW

culture: the beliefs and way of life of a group of people.
economics: having to do with the resources and wealth of a country.
BCE: put after a date, BCE stands for Before Common Era and counts down to zero. CE stands for Common Era and counts up from zero. These non-religious terms correspond to BC and AD. This book was printed in 2019 CE.
city-state: an independent city that governs itself and the towns and land around it.
Each civilization had its own culture , customs, and beliefs. You might wonder why we should care about people and civilizations that existed long ago. But guess what? There are plenty of reasons to learn about ancient history!
First, learning about ancient civilizations helps us understand how we’re all connected as humans. By studying communities that came before us, we can learn about how important things such as politics and religion and economics got started. We can also learn from the mistakes of the past. Finally, learning about ancient civilizations is fun!
THE ANCIENT MAYA
Around 1800 BCE , the first ancient Maya lived in small communities. From 250 CE to 900 CE, these small communities grew into many powerful city-states . The city-states spread from what is today’s southern Mexico across Guatemala and parts of Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. City-states each had their own king and officials.

EMPIRES OF THE MAYA, INCAS, AND AZTECS
WORDS TO KNOW

archaeologist: a scientist who studies ancient people through the objects they left behind.
jade: a hard, shiny stone that is usually green. Used for jewelry and sculpture.

DID YOU KNOW?
Have you ever heard the expression, “Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it?” This is a way of saying that people can learn from events and avoid making some of the same mistakes of the past.
The city-state of Palenque was ruled for 68 years by a king now known as Pakal the Great (603–683 CE). He ruled longer than any other Maya ruler. Archaeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier (1906–1979) discovered Pakal’s tomb in 1948. Within Pakal’s stone coffin was a spectacular jade mask of the king’s face. In 2018, archaeologists found another mask of the king, made of stucco, a type of plaster.
From 900 CE, the Maya people began leaving their great cities. Why they left is still a mystery. Some researchers believe the Maya moved because there was not enough food or water. But the Maya did not disappear completely.
There are more than 8 million Maya people living now. In 1992, a Maya woman named Rigoberta Menchú Tum (1959– ) won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work on human rights in Guatemala.
THEN & NOW

THEN: The city of Tikal was the center of the Maya world.

NOW: The ruins of Tikal lie deep in the rainforests of Guatemala.
WORDS TO KNOW

empire: a group of countries, states, or lands that are ruled by one ruler.
Sapa Inca: the ruler of the Inca people.
artisan: a skilled worker who makes things by hand.
stelae: tall stone slabs carved with details of a king’s rule. Singular is stela.
headdress: an elaborate covering for the head.
THE INCAS
Around 1200 CE, the Incas built their kingdom in the Sacred Valley in the Andes Mountains. The city of Cusco, in today’s Peru, became their capital.
In the center of the city was the Main Plaza. Four great roads branched out from the plaza. They ran to the four regions of the Inca’s great empire .
One leader, called the Sapa Inca , ruled the Inca Empire at a time. The most famous Sapa Inca was Pachacuti (1438–1471). His name means “w.” He built many temples, palaces, and cities. Pachacuti used his great military skills to expand the Inca Empire.

A STATUE OF PACHACUTI IN CUSCO, PERU
CREDIT: BOBISTRAVELING (CC BY 2.0)

STELAE
Maya artisans carved huge stone slabs into stelae , or stone trees. Some stone trees honored Maya rulers. The carvings told of important events from a king’s rule. The king’s image might have a magnificent headdress to show his position. Can you think of other ways different cultures have recorded the history of their kings and people?
WORDS TO KNOW

conquistadors: explorers and soldiers from Spain who came to the Americas in search of gold and other riches.
alliance: an agreement between two groups to help each other.
tribute: a payment made by one government to another as a price for peace or security.
cacao: beans containing seeds that are used to make cocoa, cocoa butter, and chocolate.
For nearly 100 years, the Incas controlled much of the west coast of South America. The empire beg