2/28 Aim: How were the Mayans and Aztecs Similar? Different?

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2/28 Aim How were the Mayans and Aztecs Similar?
Different?

• HW ½ page compare/ contrast Aztec and Mayan
  achievements

The Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza, Mexico. Temple
to the god Kukulkan.
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Mayan Architecture
Temple at Chichen Itza
Temple at Tikal
Illustration of Tikal before the civilization
fell
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Aztec Architecture
Aztec temples near Mexico City
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Mayan Written Language
The Mayan language is called Nahuatl Which is a
system of pictograms
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Aztec Written Language

• Aztec language was also based on Nuhatl which is
  still spoken in some parts of Mexico and Central
  America today

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Adapting to their EnvironmentMayan Farming
Techniques

• In order to support a large population, the
  Mayans had to adapt to their tropical
  environment. Rain forests were cleared, then
  raised fields that caught and held rainwater were
  built. They also built channels that could be
  opened to drain off excess water.

Most Mayans were farmers. They grew corn, beans,
and squash the basic food crops of Middle
America. Men usually cultivated the crops, while
women turned them into food
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Adapting to their EnvironmentAztec Farming
Techniques
As the Aztecs population grew, they found an
ingenious way to create more farmland. They
built Chinampas, or artificial islands Made of
earth piled on reed mats that were Anchored to
the shallow lake bed where they grew corn, beans,
and squash
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Mayan Religious Beliefs

• The Maya worshipped a pantheon of nature gods,
  each of which had both a benevolent side and a
  malevolent side. The most important deity was the
  supreme god Itzamná, the creator god, the god of
  the fire and god of the hearth.
• Another important Mayan god was Kukulcán, the
  Feathered Serpent, who appears on many temples
  and was later adopted by the Toltecs and Aztecs
  as Quetzalcoatl. Also important was Chac, a
  hooked-nose god of rain and lightning.

Mayan priests would perform Rituals of human
sacrifice to the Gods
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Aztec Religious Beliefs

• The Aztec priests were a class apart. They
  performed the rituals needed to please the many
  Aztec gods and prevent droughts, floods, or other
  disasters. The chief Aztec god was
  Huitzilopochtli, the sun god. His giant
  pyramid-temple towered above central
  Tenochtitlan.
• Huitzilopochtli, the Aztecs believed battled the
  forces of darkness each night and was reborn each
  morning. To give the sun strength to rise each
  day, the Aztecs offered human sacrifices.

Priests offered the hearts of tens of thousands
of victims to Huitzilopochtli and other Aztec
gods. Most of the victims were prisoners of war,
but sometimes a noble family gave up one of its
own members to appease the gods.
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Mayan and Aztec Achievements Astronomical
Calculations
Both the Mayans and Aztecs created accurate
365-day solar calendars mainly for religious
purposes. Mayan priests needed to measure time
accurately in order to hold ceremonies at the
correct moment. As a result, priests became
expert mathematicians and astronomers. Some used
their knowledge of astronomy and mathematics to
foretell the future
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Decline of the Mayas

• About 900 A.D, the Mayas abandoned their cities,
  leaving their great stone palaces and temples to
  be swallowed up by the jungle.
• No one knows for sure why Mayan civilization
  declined. Possibly, frequent warfare forced the
  Mayas to abandon their traditional agricultural
  methods. Or, overpopulation may have led to over
  farming, which in turn exhausted the soil.
• Heavy taxes to finance wars and temple building
  may have sparked peasant revolts.

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Decline of the Aztecs

• At the height of Aztec power in 1519, word
  reached Tenochtitlan that pale-skinned, bearded
  men, had landed on the east coast. Montezuma,
  king of the Aztecs, possibly believing that
  Hernando Cortes, was the god-king returning from
  the east, invited Cortes into his capital.

Later, Relations between the Aztecs and
Spaniards soon grew strained, and the
Aztecs Drove the Spanish from the city.
Montezuma was killed in the fighting. By 1521
however, Cortes and his Indian allies captured
and demolished Tenochtitlan. The Aztecs had been
conquered
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Architecture 1. Study the examples of Mayan and Aztec Architecture and illustrations of the city. Describe 3 ways they are similar 1. 2. 3. Written Language Study the examples of Mayan and Aztec written language. Describe 2 ways they are similar. 1. 2. How is it similar to other ancient civilizations? Adaption to Environment Farming Techniques Provide examples as to how the Mayans adapted to their tropical environment How did the Aztecs adapt to their environment?
Religious Beliefs Explain 2 ways the religious beliefs of the Mayans and Aztecs were similar. 1. 2. Explain one way they were different Mayan and Aztec Achievements Astronomical Calculations 1. Which achievement was accomplished by both the Mayas and Aztecs? 2. Why was this achievement useful? Decline Explain 2 possible theories as to why the Mayas civilization declined. 1. 2. How did the decline of the Aztecs differ from the decline of the Maya?
The Mayas and the Aztecs
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