Alexander Hammond - Aztec Group Interactive Notebook Slideshow - 2048875

A Look at the
Mississippian, Maya,

Aztec and Inca
Civilizations

By:
Alex



Multiple-tier timelines use two or more rows of events. While each row represents
a different subject, the time period is the same.

Multiple-tier timelines can be used to help us look at cause and effect relationships
or patterns and themes among events in a specific period of time.

We will be using a multi-tier timeline to show the rise and fall of four early
civilizations in the Americas: The Mississippian, Inca, Maya, and Aztec and look for
RELATIONSHIPS between the dates.

The
Mississippians

https://tinyurl.com/q2bke3p

https://tinyurl.com/y7zcmsx4 https://tinyurl.com/yb5wjzlh https://tinyurl.com/y8aofb9e

https://tinyurl.com/muug4fb

The Mississippian had an important religion, society, and mounds. To begin, their
religion was very powerful. They built temples to worship the gods. One of their gods is
the sun god. Also, their society is organized into three classes. The classes are 1.
Sun/Leaders 2. Elites 3. Commoners. Commoners worked for the higher the classes.
Another one is mounds they are used in many different ways. They made mounds to
worship the gods. They buried people or artifacts in the mounds. In conclusion, the
Mississippians religion, society, and mounds are very important in many different ways.

In addition to developing an organized society, demonstrating a strong fathin their
gods, and creating art and a system of trading, the Mississippian people also were
tremendously impacted by where they lived. While Mississippian tribes lived throughout
much of the present-day United States, they originated in the area we currently know as
central Georgia. This area provided warm temperatures and a long growing
season.They grew communal food such as corn, beans, squash, and pumpkins. The
area was also heavily forested. They were able to use the wood to create the walls of
their homes as well as fences around their community to protect the people. They used
the long grasses which grew on the land to create thatched roofs to shelter the families.
A final way that the Mississippian people used their environment for survival was through
hunting. A wide variety of animals lived in the area and the people were able to easily
hunt for deer, elk, and geese for food and clothing. There were also many rivers and
lakes around the Mississippian settlements which led to fishing as another means to get
food for the people. Clearly, the location of the early Mississippian people had a
significant impact on their lives. The people had both a powerful and purposeful
relationship with their environment.

Where in the World…
Were the Mississippian Located?

What is the approximate latitude
and longitude of the location you
colored?
What might the weather be like in
this location based on the latitude
and longitude?

What is the relative and approximate absolute location of the center of the South Appalachian
Mississippian culture? The center is around present day Atlanta, Georgia. The relative location is
west of south carolina. It is east of alabama. The absolute location is approximately 33°N 84°W.
What might the climate be like in this location based on the latitude and longitude? It is warmer
than most of North America and it is humid.
How would this affect the way people live in this area? People would need to dress for warm
weather and may need more water to stay hydrated. They would also need shaded structures to
stay cool.

Brainpop Graphic Organizer

The Mississippian
Social Structure

Chief:
-Leader
-Some Mississippian tribes believed
their chief was a descendent of sun
god.
-They thought the chief could
influence the gods

● Elites:
● higher status than others.
● They were believed to be the children or descendants

of the gods.
● Had large houses, better clothes, and an easier life

Commoners:
● Grew food for all
● Made crafts
● Served as warriors and the workers of the tribe
● Ranked lower than the elites

Settlements:
● There were 2 mounds. One for the house of the chief and one for

the ceremonies.
● The rest of the population’s houses organized in rows around the

plaza (a place where the people gathered).
● Several homes shared common spaces for closer gatherings

Read the Khan Academy article posted in your
Schoology course: Fort Ancient Culture: Great
Serpent Mound. After you read, complete the
page below with your team.

The people who made the Serpent The people had a powerful Danielle Knight GO Interactive, 2015
mound were the Fort Ancient culture. relationships with the serpent they
That culture was part of the think the serpent is like a god and it
mississippian tribe. will help them by the supernatural
powers. This shows that relationships
are powerful. Also, the things that are
in the mounds are things that relate to
their culture.

Explore the Mississippian links in the Symbaloo posted in your
Schoology course as well as in the books and other resources available
in class to complete this organizer.

What was the government like?
Did powerful relationships exist

between the people and their
leaders?

How was their society set up?
What were the types of jobs
people had? Were the jobs people
did purposeful for the civilization?

Describe their religion. Did the
relationship the people had with
their gods and religious leaders

follow rules?

did the people invent, create,
or trade that allowed them to
exchange ideas or values with
others they had relationships
with?

What was the agriculture like?
What food did they eat? How

did they grow it? What
relationships did the people
have with their environment?

Mississippian
Concept Map

The Aztec

https://tinyurl.com/y7ek4ncb

https://tinyurl.com/y99waayk

https://tinyurl.com/yayybcow

The Aztec had an important religion, society, and art. To begin
with, for their religion they liked to worship many different gods like
Huitzilopochtli, Tlaloc, Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca, and Chicomecoatl.
Also, their society was organized into five classes the highest class
Tecuhtli was right below the emperor. The second class below the
Tecuhtli class was Pipiltin class which was also called the noble
class. The third class below the Pipiltin was Pochteca class. This
was a special class, the class was treated like the nobility in the
society because their jobs were very important to the Aztecs. Their
job was to bring back luxury goods. The fourth class below the
Pochteca was the Macehualtin class which was also called the
commoners. They had jobs like farmers, warriors, and craftsmen.
The last class below all the other classes was the slaves. The Aztec
people can sell themselves to become slaves to pay for their
punishment for crimes. Also, the Aztecs had many types of art like
Poetry, Music, Sculpture, and Pottery. One of their highest forms of
art is poetry. They wrote lots of poems about the gods and
mythology.

The Aztecs’ beliefs influence their actions because the Aztec
thought they had to sacrifice their people to keep the gods happy.
We think over 20,000 people were sacrificed. This tremendously
impacted the Aztec actions by sacrificing both their people and
captives caught in wars that the Aztecs battled in.

Where in the World…
Were the Aztec Located?

What is the relative and approximate
absolute location of the center of the
Aztec Empire? The relative location
of the Aztecs would be the south of
Mexico. The absolute location of the
Aztecs is approximately 15°N 90°W.

What might the climate be like in this
location based on the latitude and
longitude? The climate would be
tropical because it’s close to the
equator 0°.

How would this affect the way people
live in this area? It would affect the
people by making them wear less
clothes because it is hot.

Map from ducksters.com

Brainpop Activity

Aztec
Society

The Aztec Family and City-States: Tenochtitlan
Calpulli: A small tribe is also know as Ascalpulli

a Calpulli King/

Emperor was called

the Huey Tlatoani and he
was very powerful

Tecuhtli: Just
below the emperor,

ruled city and
states

Pipiltin: Also known as Social Classes
The Noble class they can
They could wear cloths with
Jewelry like feather and gold

Pochteca: They were treated like the
Nobility because their jobs were

very important

Macehualtin: Also known as commoners they had
Jobs like farmers, warrior and craftsman

Slaves: The people became slaves by selling their self to
Pay for things they did and also slaves were mistreated

Art and Religion
of the Aztec

Write a description here of the Aztec religion. Art was an very
important part of Aztec life. They had different forms of art such as
music, poetry, and sculpture to honor and praise their gods. Also there
were other forms of art such as jewelry and feather-work that was worn
by the Aztec nobility to set them apart from the commoners.

Describe how your art depicts an element of the Aztec religion here.
This art that I made is a sculpture I think this sculpture is to honor the
gods because it looks like someone meditating or praying to the gods.

Aztec Writing and Technology

Aztec Aztec
Language Calendar

and
Writing

↑

This picture shows the sun
stone/calendar

Aztec Aztec
Agriculture Aqueducts

Explore the Aztec links in the Symbaloo posted in your Schoology
course as well as in the books and other resources available in class to
complete this organizer.

What was the government like?
Did powerful relationships exist

between the people and their
leaders?

How was their society set up?
What were the types of jobs
people had? Were the jobs people
did purposeful for the civilization?

Describe their religion. Did the
relationship the people had with
their gods and religious leaders

follow rules?

did the people invent, create,
or trade that allowed them to
exchange ideas or values with
others they had relationships
with?

What was the agriculture like?
What food did they eat? How

did they grow it? What
relationships did the people
have with their environment?

Aztec
Concept Map