The document summarizes three major pre-Columbian civilizations in Latin America: the Maya, Inca, and Aztec. The Maya flourished from 300-900 AD in Mesoamerica. The Inca settled in Peru around 1200 AD and built the capital Cuzco. Under the leader Pachacuti in 1438, the Inca expanded their empire. The Aztecs settled Tenochtitlan in 1325 on an island in Lake Texcoco and built a sophisticated city connected by canals and causeways. By the 1400s, the Aztec empire spanned much of central Mexico.