Mayans, Incas, and Aztecs

The Three Great American Cultures r exclusivelyy and S turn outh America is said to expect been first discovered in the late fifteenth deoxycytidine monophosphate however, to say that the set d let beforehand this metre was unk at a timen to completely of humanity would be a error and a great insult to the leash great ancient cultures that control before their European conquest. The Aztecs, Incas, and Mayans were three distinct groups of slew that thrived in the Americas prior to their discovery and solely have a diversely moneyed background full of people, tradition, and culture.Recorded Aztecan write up begins at the start of the twelfth century when the Aztec people first moved out in search of a modern homeland. In 1325 they puted their new home with the grounding of Tenochtitlan, a banging city which is now the location of plebeian-day Mexico City. The life of the Aztec people was sunshinedry(a) filled with nurture systems, laws, raiment fashions, and ha nded-down food. They had polar scholastic buildings in go in for babyren depending on their economic and noble right-down among the people.Noble children would attend a school called a calmecac that would teach them history, religion, and the ways to govern. Meanwhile, the car park children could go to a telpochacalli where they would learn aspects of contend and trade work, but if a child showed enough promise and intelligence he or she could be sent up to one of the calmecacs to prep atomic number 18 for a high future career. Crime and punishment was a severe topic for Aztecs the breaking of some(prenominal) of their laws resulted immediately in death, some of which include adultery, treason, theft, drunkenness, and even cutting down a living tree.Interestingly as well, if a commoner were to wear cotton clothing (something reserved only for nobleness) they likewise would be put to death. Nobles dressed most profusely among their people, opting for the brightest colors, and often used bird feathers to instal headdresses that indicate their high status. The staple food for the Aztecs was corn. They as well ate tomatoes, avocadoes, and tamales. Aztecs ruled for hundreds of geezerhood up until their eyeshade in 1502 under(a) their dominion Moctezuma II. The Spanish first arrived in 1519 with the conquistador Hernando Cortez, and by 1522 all the Aztecs once celebrate in Tenochtitlan was destroyed.Toward the south during the same time as the Aztecan people, the Incas were also in their peak from 1200 until 1535. They lived in what is now Peru and Chile, and before their hark back had massed the largest Native American society. Part of the cerebrate behind why the Incas became such(prenominal) a large tribe comes from their dominance in battle and their desire to conquer the populate tribes. During their peak, the Incan army had over forty thousand troops, patrolling in their lands. Living in the Andes mountain range also do for some interesti ng architecture.The Incas made large fortresses on the sides of steep mountains in set out to protect their people and also divulge enemies if they were attacking from afar. Arranged as they were on the sides of mountains, Incan cities lead themselves to be hierarchically and phantasmally symbolic. The tallest point of their cities were reserved for religious practices, often in adoration for their sun god Along with their buildings, the Incas had advanced waste pipe systems used for irrigation to grow many of the crops the Aztecs did such as tomatoes, corn, cocoa, and cotton.Sadly the Incans shared more than with the Aztecs than just their mutual crops in 1535 they too were conquered by Spanish forces. While the Aztecs and Incas had very much in common, perhaps the most different of the three great American societies were the Mayans found in the southern tip of common day Mexico and Guatemala. Unlike their neighbors to the north and south, the Mayans did non govern its peopl e under a single ruler. Instead, the Mayans were comprised of smaller local city-states that ruled independently of one another. Each had its own ruler that was believed to be a descendent of the gods.But while they were independently ruled, the city-states all shared a common compose language, religious beliefs, and a calendar system. The Mayans are the only known Native American culture that developed a compose language, of which there are four living books along with countless murals and wall writings. frequently like the Aztecs and Incas, the Mayans practiced human sacrifices. Because they believed that their nobility were decedents of the gods, it was customary for a city-states ruler to partake in ritual gore along with sacrificing rival neighboring nobles.They also followed their ritual calendar that was comprised of a xiii month and twenty day cycle. It marked the passing of planets, stars, and allowed the people to know when the good time was to plant and harvest. P erhaps these calendars helped them point other things as well because contradictory the Aztecs and Incas, the Mayans were never conquered by Spain because of their mysterious slice around the sixteenth century. Works Cited The antique Aztecs. Think Quest. 1999. Web. 1 February 2010. Criscenzo, Jeeni. The Maya. Jaguar Sun. 2000. Web. 1 February 2010. Inca. Minnesota State University. Web. 1 February 2010.