What we know about Aztecs, Mayas, and Incas

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What we know about Aztecs, Mayas, and Incas
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Goals for
social studies

• 5.2 Identify the three major pre-Columbian
  civilizations that existed in Central and South
  America (Maya, Aztec, and Inca) and their
  locations. Describe their political structures,
  religious practices, and use of slaves.
• 5.4 Explain why the Aztec and Inca civilizations
  declined in the 16th century.
• A. the encounters between Cortez and Montezuma
• B. the encounters between Pizarro and the Incas
• C. the goals of the Spanish conquistadors
• D. the effects of European diseases, particularly
  smallpox, throughout the Western hemisphere

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Aztecs
Aztecs

• The Aztecs were polytheistic which means that
  they believed in many gods for example a sun god,
  death god, and sky god.
• They also believed in human sacrifice so they
  sacrificed many people from other tribes
• The Aztecs lived in the valley of Mexico in the
  capital of Tenochitlan in the middle of a lake
  
  

reformation.org
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Incas

• The Incas were also polytheistic which means they
  believed in many gods
• The Incas had no written language but used knots
  as messages
• Even though they practiced animal sacrifice on
  special occasions they sacrificed children
• The Incas lived in South America in the Andes
  mountains in Peru and their capital Cuzco

jcsites.juniata.edu
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Maya

• The Mayas live on the Mexican coast in the
  Yucatan Peninsula
• It was much harder for the conquistadors to
  overthrow because it wasnt just one major city
• They also used slaves but who could sometimes
  gain their freedom

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Cortez

• Cortez was a pale skinned bearded Spanish
  conquistador who the Aztecs thought was their god
  Quetzalcoatl who promised he would return one
  day
• He traveled with 500 men and 16 horses from Cuba
  to the coast of Mexico
• Other native tribes helped him destroy the Aztecs
  because since the Aztecs sacrificed their people
• Cortez tricked the Aztecs by pretending to be one
  of their gods

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Pizarro

• Pizarro was a Spanish explorer and conquistador
• Pizarro traveled with 180 men and 27 horses
• He came to Peru to conquer the Inca civilization
• He came and conquered the Incas very easily
  because at the time they were fighting a civil
  war
• They kidnapped Atahualpa the king and held him
  for ransom they demanded that a room be full of
  gold and silver then he would be released but
  instead they executed him

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How did Cortez and Pizarro change central and
South America forever?
The conquistadors changed central and south
America because they destroyed The Aztecs and
Incas they forced them to join Christianity. Also
a lot of Aztec, Inca, And Maya traditions and
cultures have been lost forever and the majority
of central South America now speak Spanish. The
conquistadors Cortez and Pizarro have destroyed
the Inca and Aztec civilizations and now they are
gone forever!