The document provides information about the three major pre-Columbian civilizations in Latin America: the Aztecs, Incas and Maya. It discusses the capital cities, architecture, roles of men and women, art, religious ceremonies, death and burial practices of each civilization based on evidence from archaeological sites and artifacts. Sources include websites from educational institutions and museums documenting these ancient cultures.

1. AZTEC, INCA, MAYA The Three Great Civilizations of Historical Latin America

2. The Aztecs

3. Capital City Zuitzilopochtli (tribal god) gave the sign of an eagle posed in a cactus to show the Aztecs where to locate their great capital, Tenochtitlan. It was on an island (Texcoco) in what is now modern-day Mexico City.

4. Architecture This is a photo of an Aztec temple. Instead of tearing down old structures, they would just keep adding levels by building over the old temple. This temple was built over 6 times. At the top are two rooms for sacrifices.

5. Men’s Work The Aztec were very involved in agriculture. They used Chinampas (man-made floating islands) to grow crops of vegetables, flowers, grasses, and medicinal plants. They also hunted and fished.

6. Art The Aztecs had many types of art and artists, like stone-workers who carved statues; scribes, who painted pictograms; potters, who would make pots for various uses; and feather-workers, who would create beautiful head dresses, among other things

7. Religious Ceremonies The bath was an important part of daily life—not only to be clean, but also to be religiously purified. Most homes had a steam room attached to the living quarters. Other religious ceremonies included human sacrifices—usually children or prisoners-of-war. They felt that human hearts and blood strengthened the gods.

8. Women’s Work Aztec women spent the day taking care of the children, cooking, knitting and doing housework

9. Discipline I thought you might like this picture of an Aztec child being punished. Some punishments included making them inhale smoke, holding them over fire in which spicy peppers were thrown, and puncturing their skin with thorns.

10. Death and Burial The Aztec had 2 types of funerals—cremation and burial. All those who died of drowning or were killed by lightning or died of leprosy would be buried. Also women who died in labor were buried. All other bodies were cremated. Experts don’t know why certain types of death resulted in burial while other types of death resulted in cremation. The following slide shows a burial chamber, a burial mask and necklace, and a mummified skeleton. When a body was to be cremated, it was dressed in its best clothes, tied together in a squatting position, and wrapped around with cloth like a mummy. On top of that would be decorations of paper and a mask carved of stone. The ashes were collected, put into a jar, and buried in the house that the dead one used to live in.

11. Burial Chamber Mask & Necklace Skeleton

12. Inca

13. Capital City The jaguar was an important symbol to the Incans. Their capital city, Cusco, was built in the shape of a jaguar. Cusco is located in modern-day Peru.

14. Architecture Inca ruins are some of the most impressive architecture in the world. They were able to cut stone with such precision that each block fit exactly with its neighbor. No mortar was needed. The fit was so tight that even a knife wouldn’t fit in the cracks. On the right is the famous machu picchu ruins.

15. Men’s Work The Incas hunted (notice the lance) as well as farmed. They developed an advanced watering system. They also raised llama and alpaca (for wool).

16. Art The Inca were known for working metals like silver, copper and gold; however their most outstanding art was ceramics painted with real and mythological scenes

17. Religious Ceremonies The sun god, and other nature gods, were very important to the Incas. They also participated in human sacrifice. The left picture is the remains of a 500 year old human sacrifice. The middle one is the frozen remains of a child who was sacrificed. The picture on the right is of the priests carrying out a sacrifice.

18. Women’s Work For most Inca women, their role was simply that of house work and rearing children. They were also healers and midwives. The most beautiful and intelligent girls, when they were 8 or 9 years old, were selected to be “chosen women.” They were trained in special weaving, spinning, and culinary arts (cooking). Some of them were sacrificed by strangulation in order to appease the gods. The following slide has two pictures of modern Quechan (Inca) women.

19. These women are happy to have tourists take their pictures—for a price! They expect payment after the photo has been taken.

20. Death and Burial Many mummies such as this one have been discovered in the Andes. The body was placed in an upright position and wrapped with strings and then cloth. It was placed in a vertical position in the tomb with objects around it.

21. Quipu I thought you may like to see what a quipu looked like, since it was one of our vocabulary words. 

22. Maya

23. Capital City The Maya first came into existence about 1800 BC and collapsed about 1500 AD. There were many important cities, but not one single capital. Some of the most important cities were: Chichen Itza Tayasal Uxmal

24. Architecture Most Mayas lived in hay huts, but some lived in limestone buildings. Their best known buildings were their temples, built on tall pyramids. They were so tall that they could be used as landmarks. They were also a constant reminder that the gods were ever present. The first pyramid was built just before Christ’s birth . First Pyramid Notice how much taller than the trees it is

25. Men’s Work Agriculture was the main basis of the Mayan economy. Maize (corn) was the main crop, but cotton, beans, squash and cacao were also grown. They supplemented their diet by hunting deer, turkey, duck, armadillo, quail, monkeys and iguana. They used bow and arrows, spears, blowguns, darts and snares. They also did salt-water fishing. Slash and burn farming was the method used Dart Thrower

26. Art Most Maya art depicted politics, the calendar, or religion (including rituals, sacrifice and funerary vessels).

27. Religious Ceremonies Very early Mayan culture sacrificed animals, but later cultures turned to human sacrifice—usually prisoners, slaves, and orphans specially purchased for the occasion. Chacs (helpers) held the arms and legs of the victim while the priest opened up the chest. People also self-mutilated. For instance kings’ wives pulled a rope with thorns attached through their tongues. Bloodletting nourished the gods.

28. Women’s Work The women’s main role was to obey her husband and have and raise children. Nothing is documented about women in any text—archeologists can only infer women’s roles.

29. Death and Burial The Maya buried their dead under the floors of their homes or in the fields. Sometimes they cremated them or buried them in caves. Many children were buried in big urns (like this one).

30. Sources www.mayafiles.com www.mnsu.edu www.flickr.com www.discover.com www.library.thinkquest.org www.wernerforman-archi.com www.ancientsculpturegallery.com www.members.telering.at www.delargy.com www.wildland.com www.thinkquest.org www.mexique-voyage.com www.tibetan-mantra-art.com www.pbs.org www.exn.ca www.angelfire.com www.internet-at-work.com www.infinity.cos.edu www.agutie.homestead.com www.world-mysteries.com www.academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu www.fire-serpent.com www.cancuntravel.com