hey there! i hope this will help you!!
Explanation:
Compare the cultures of the Early American Civilizations:
The Mayas
•The Mayas were a great civilization that settled in Central America, whose beginning dates from 2000 BC until its peak between 200 and 900 AD and its decline in the conquest of America during the 15th century.
•They were polytheists, that is, they believed in several gods and related them to nature.
•They developed great knowledge in math, astrology, writing and more.
•They built great pyramids as temples of veneration for their gods and social centers.
•As for political organization, the Maya formed city-states with some independence, their own governments and political leaders with divine and hereditary positions. The Halach Uinic leader of each city-state was also the main warrior leader of his community.
•The economy of the Maya was based on agriculture, where corn, beans and some tubers, such as beans and sweet potatoes, were mainly produced.
•They developed the famous civil calendar 365 days a year, like the one we use today. They also created other complex calendars such as a 260-day religious calendar.
The Incas
•The Incas were a civilization that flourished from the 13th century A.D., for approximately 3 centuries, until the arrival of Francisco Pizarro leading the Spanish colonizers in 1532 A.D.
•It had its main settlement in Cusco, spreading over a large territory in South America. It reached 10 million inhabitants and its own language: Quechua.
•Throughout their history they developed one of the great civilizations worldwide with their own characteristics in terms of social organization, politics, language, religion, art, architecture and economy.
•Its economy was based mainly on agriculture, although they also developed livestock.
•They had a large and strong army, with weapons, strategies and advanced technologies for the time.
•They had extensive artistic practice. They practiced architecture, sculpture, ceramics, painting, gold and silverware, textiles, music, dance, literature.
Political organization
The Inca was the ruler of the entire empire, had an authoritarian figure and his position was decisively hereditary. This fulfilled a divine function for the people.
Inca: Supreme monarch, was considered a being with divine powers. He controlled all the decisions of the people.
Inca culture religion
Religion was polytheistic, that is, they believed in several gods. The belief in the sun god called Inti predominated, but they also had other gods such as the goddess of the earth who was Pachamama, the god of lightning Illapa, among others. The ultimate god or creator was called Viracocha.
The head of religion was the high priest, called Willaq-Uma, presiding over the ceremonies, advising the Inca and taking care of the religious functions of civilization.
The Aztec
The Aztec Empire was the last of the great Mesoamerican cultures. Between A.D. 1345 and 1521, the Aztecs forged an empire over much of the central Mexican highlands.
•The city established by the Aztecs, Tenochtitlan, grew to become the capital of their empire.
Religion of the Aztec Empire
• Aztec stone carvings remain to give us a glimpse into the worldview of this supreme Mesoamerican culture. These masterpieces were discovered in Mexico City in the buried ruins of the former Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan and its grand pyramid, Templo Mayor.
•Coatlicue was the Aztec’s earth mother goddess, although a fearsome one. Goddess of the earth, childbirth, fertility and agriculture, she represented the feminine power of both creation and destruction.
•The Stone of Tizoc is a carved disk showing the victory of the emperor Tizoc over the Matlatzinca tribe.
•Religion permeated every aspect of Aztec life, no matter what one’s station, from the highest born emperor to the lowliest slave. The Aztecs worshipped hundreds of gods and honored them all in a variety of rituals and ceremonies, some featuring human sacrifice.
•Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent—Creator, Wind and Storm)
Agriculture, along with trade and tribute, formed the basis of the Aztec Empire. As such, growing enough food to feed the urban populations of the Aztec cities was of major importance. Many inhabitants of all of the Aztec cities were involved in planting, cultivating and harvesting the empire’s food.
