Americas: The Early Civilizations
By Dimitrie Pyatt
Aztec Empire
Namesake city:Tenochtitlan
Mayan Empire
Namesake city: Chichén Itzá
Inca Empire
Namesake city: Machu Picchu
Mayan Achievements
This stele is a stone sculpture that the Maya used to record important events. It would likely have been erected in a city plaza. About A.D. 800.
Aztec Achievements
Aztec writing consisted of small pictures called pictographs. This page from an Aztec book shows Xipe Totec, left, the god of spring, and the god Quetzalcoatl, who appears as a snake, right.
Inca Achivements
Gold objects, such as this one of a llama, were used by the families of Inca nobles. Gold figures were placed in many Inca graves.
Comparing and Contrasting The 3 Civilizations
All 3 of the civilizations were polytheistic, but they did not all believe in the same gods. The economy of both the Incan and Aztec civilization were based on agriculture where as the Mayan civilization was based on both agriculture and trade. The Incan and Aztec civilizations were both led by an emperor of each, but the only civilization that had a King to rule it was the Mayan. Though they were all polytheistic the Aztec civilization was the only who's religion was based on warfare.