Aztecs Maya
Aztec, Maya, Inca Comparison Chart
Aztec
Location Central America, Mexico
Time Periods 1200 to 1521
Capital Tenochtitlan
Farming (corn, beans, tomatoes,
Economy squash) - chinampas
Many gods, sun god most
Religion important, human sacrifice
Different classes of people,
Social System warriors have high social status
Very powerful king, highly
Government centralized, war was for captives
and tribute
Built monumental architecture,
Technology chinampas, calendar
Cortes and the Spanish kill the
End of Civilization king, the empire ended
Corn, calendar, architecture
Contributions
“People will judge you on what you will build, not what you can destroy” – Barak Obama
Maya
Central America
400BC-1517AD
Height: 200-900AD
Tikal, Chichen Itza, Copan, Palenque,
Mayapan
Farming (corn, beans, squash)
Trade
Many gods, king’s blood is sacred,
sacrificed animals and some humans
Different classes of people
Well organized city states each with a
king, war was for tribute
Writing, math, monumental
architecture, calendar
Abandoned cities, disappeared
Calendar, corn, writing, math,
architecture
Inca
Inca
South America, along the Andes
1200-1572AD
Cuzco
Farming (corn, cotton, potatoes) -
Terraces
Many gods, some human sacrifice
Different classes of people
King at the center of empire,
War is for conquest
Terraces, irrigation, medicine,
monumental architecture, roads
Civil war and Spanish invasion
Medicine, irrigation, terraces