Copy of Last_First-_Final_Ancient_Civilizations_Interactive_Notebook_1 (1)

A Look at the
Mississippian, Maya,

Aztec and Inca
Civilizations

Ancient Civilizations
of the WBy: estern
HemBisyp:here

Aditi

Manjunath

Learning About Time

Watch the “Commonly Asked Questions about Dates” video on
Schoology to learn about the abbreviations/key words listed
below. As you watch, pause the video and write in your own
words what each of these means.

What does B.C. stand It means Before Christ was born.
for when looking at After Christ was born.

dates?

What does A.D. stand
for when looking at

dates?

What does B.C.E. stand Before Common Era
for when looking at Common Era
dates?

What does C.E. stand
for when looking at

dates?

What do c. and ca. Circa or about
stand for when looking

at dates?

Multiple-tier Timelines

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

The 3 pictures that I chose represent who the mississippians were and all about
how they lived and what they did. It shows how different their lifestyle was than ours. All
of the things they ate, what types of mounds they built and even what types of houses
they stayed in. I think that these pictures are very important in describing the lifestyle of
the mississippians with which little info that we have.

The first picture I chose was a picture of a Mississippian village. I chose ths picture
because I think that their homes and the way that they lived in a really big part of
mississippian culture. Compared to the houses that we have now days, the mississippian
houses are really different and made out of a lot of diverse materials. For example, they
used straw, tree bark,and grass. In the picture I selected there are also a lot of pyramid
mounds in the background. These were made from the earth. Ancient mississippians
really valued a lot of the materials that I mentioned before. They had to build and store all
these materials. The shelters that they lived in show how the very ancient lifestyle of the
mississippians. It in important to treasure these pictures because they show us the very
little information of what we knew about this culture.

The next picture I chose was a picture of a mound. I chose this picture because
mound building was not only a mississippian thing but a lot of other native american
tribes also built mounds. This was a picture of the great serpent mound in ohio. I chose
this specific mound because this mound really represented the mississippians as a
unique tribe. The mississippians honored serpects and thought to be very sacred. This
mound shows what the mississippians left behind on their behalf. To this day the great
serpent mound in there and it shows a big part of the mississippian culture and who they
were.

The final picture I chose to represent the mississippians was a picture of beans,
corn and squash. I chose this picture because it shows what the mississippians used to
eat and that in big part of their culture. Their food made them unique because it showed
their lifestyle and how that affected their culture. It shows how they farmed and part of
their agriculture. The mississippians had food that today would be called unique and
different while for them it is simply part of their daily basis.

In conclusion, the three pictures that I chose represent what the mississippians
lived in, what they did and represented and what what type of food they ate. Each of
these pictures represent 1 thing that represented the mississippians from each aspects
of their daily life. I think it in important to learn about the mississippians because it shows
us how it used to be for te people that came before us and even compare our lifestyle to
theirs.

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 approximate latitude and longitude of the location you colored?

N, 90,0715 W , 29.9511 N

What might the climate be like in this location based on the latitude and longitude?

Hurricanes in New Orleans Warm and Sunny

How would this affect the way people live in this area?

They must have had strong structures to withhold the Natural disasters

What’s This?

Study this picture and then answer the questions
on the next page.

What’s This?

Use the picture on the previous page to answer the following
questions. *Note these answers are all based on your
observations at this point!

This is the great serpent What is
this?
mound located in Ohio

It could either be an enlarged What is the
eye or a hollow egg or a frog circle on the
getten eaten left side of the

It varys from cerimonial centers, burial drawing?
moundsand focus points of villages
where sun temoles and chief houses Why do you
think it was
he Great Serpent represented a made? What was
malevolent creature whereas the it used for?
Horned Serpent and Feathered
Serpent, were generally viewed as a Why do you
think they
benevolent, although fearful, chose this
creature
shape?
Soil, clay or stones were
carried in basket and dumped How do you
think they
on the mount made this?

The Mounds

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.

Describe the physical attributes What do archeologists believe
of the Serpent Mound in your might be the reason the mounds

own words: are shaped like a serpent?

Text goes here:The serpent : Many native cultures
mound in 1300 feet long. It associated snakes and
ranges from 1 to 3 feet in height. reptiles with
The head points east and the tail supernatural powers in
points west.It has seven winding their spiritual practices.
coils

The two believed They were Danielle Knight GO Interactive, 2015
cultures to have Refined for their
Built the mound are the Time period and had
Fort Ancient Culture or an ancient culture
Missisipian culture.

Who is believed to have created What relationship generalization
it? can you make between the
mounds and the people who
built them?

Research the Relationships

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? The government in the mississippian period
Did powerful relationships exist
was called a chiefdoms. A chiefdom was a
between the people and their organization based on leadership. Their leader
leaders? was a chief and he looked over crops and made
sure people’s land was maintained. The people
How was their society set up? often respected their leader and prayed to him.
What were the types of jobs
people had? Were the jobs people The society was divided by chiefdoms and
did purposeful for the civilization? ranked by their societies. A chiefdom is a human
organization with social ranking as a
fundamental part of their structure.

Describe their religion. Did the The mound builders worshipped the sun. The
relationship the people had with mound builders had their religious leader get
their gods and religious leaders
the title Great Sun and there leader of war
follow rules? tattooed serpent. Their religion centered
around a sun temple. When great sun or
What did the people invent, create, tattooed serpent died the wives and kids of
or trade that allowed them to them got killed too to join them in the afterlife.
exchange ideas or values with
others they had relationships The mississippians were very creative
with? and created a lot of things like
Mounds, effigy heads, people
statues, pottery shells and chunkys
deities, blades and iconagraphy

What was the agriculture like? The mississippians grew corn, beans, squash
What food did they eat? How sunflowers ,goosefoot sumpweed, and other
plants were cultivated. They grew much of their
did they grow it? What food in small gardens using simple tools like
relationships did the people stone axes, digging sticks and fire. They were
have with their environment? almost always outside and only went indoors
when the weather was too cold for staying



The Maya

The Mayans were a civilization that lived in the
ancient times Their time period stretched from 2000
BCe to 1500 CE making them one of the longest living
civilizations in the ancient period. They lived in
Mexico. The mayan had a social structure the went
from kings and priest as most respected to peasants
who were least respected. The mayan people were
very religious as when it came to praying, human
sacrifices were common. The Mayan also had a
unique number and letter system. They used these to
write messages. The number system in similar to
ours but their letter system was not. The Mayan lived
in huts made of straw and wood. They also had a lot
of different artifacts and art made that are still their
today

The Mayans relationship affect their civilization
because higher standings like kings and priests got
way more respect than peasants and slaves. The
mayan beliefs affected the Mayans actions because
when they would pray human sacrifices would be
made. Finally, becaise mayans lived in places where
it was hot they would ear light cloting and live in
places with a lot of air coming through.

Where in the World…
Were the Maya Located?

Map from ducksters.com What is the approximate latitude and
longitude of the center of the Maya
Empire?
86 south and 5.2 north and It in
relative to Central America honduras

What might the climate be like in this
location based on the latitude and
longitude? Climate will be humid
because honduras in very close to
the equator.

How would this affect the way people
live in this area?
People would wear light
Clothing and might be harder to grow
some crops than others.

The Mayan Government/
Social Structure

Kings

They were the most powerful
Top of government

Priest

Known to talk to god and
highly respected

Nobles
Easy life No taxes

Merchants
One above peasants
Known to be military leaders

Commoners

Normal people that live in the Mayan culture
No respect given

Overview of Mayan government: Mayan government consisted with kings and went down to
commoners .

Mayan Religion Mural

So, for our Mural we chose to to three different sections. One section was
for the Commoners so we drew different commoners doing different tasks
such as pulling a plow and building mounds. Our second section is for
the kings, priests, and nobles. In this section we drew things such as a
kingdom for the king and a symbol that represents kings. Our final
section was for the gods, in this section we found different glyphs that
represent mayan gods. Our mural, in our perspective labels the sun god,
death god, and feathered serpent. So, this is the overview of the mural of
the Mayan religion.

Mayan Language and
Number Systems

Insert the picture of your artifact
here. Create a text box below to
explain what your codex or stelae
means.

Determine the Relationships

Explore the Mayan 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? During the Mayan time, there were independent city
Did powerful relationships exist states that were mostly ruled by kings and priest. There
were no standing armies but warfare played an
between the people and their important part in who had the power in government
leaders? back then. Human sacrifice also played an important
role in political scenarios where they were worshipping
How was their society set up? the king.
What were the types of jobs
people had? Were the jobs people There are many different levels of the Mayan society.
did purposeful for the civilization? The highest standards are the kings. The kings are the
most valued. Then comes the nobles and priests. These
Describe their religion. Did the people also live luxury life but not as respected. Then
relationship the people had with comes the craftsmen who live a hardworking life but still
their gods and religious leaders have a tiny bit of respect given. Finally, there are the
peasants. The peasant still have rights but live a hard
follow rules?
life. They are the most common level of the society.
What did the people invent, create,
or trade that allowed them to The mayan religion wasn’t just simply worshipping gods.
exchange ideas or values with Instead the gods that they worshipped composed into 3
others they had relationships groups and they were: The heavens, the earth and the
with? underworld. The worshippers strongly believed in a
relationship between the supernatural and humans. The
What was the agriculture like? early Mayans believed in human sacrifice practiced
What food did they eat? How partially by priests. Some ways that they worshipped
gods were by; Preparing food without salt or chili.
did they grow it? What Periods of celibacy fasting, praying and burning incense ,
relationships did the people and offering of flowers and fragrant herbs.
have with their environment?
Mayans were often trading materials. They traded
things such as salt, cotten, mantels, slaves, quetzal
feathers. They often had to make or plant these things
in order to trade with other tribes. They often had to
trade by sending things over sea. Some items that were
traded were grown by outside farmers and then sent to
the city. Trading was a big part of the Mayan civilization

The Mayan were skillful farmers The used their
knowledge of calendars and seasons to help. The soil
was dry and rocky with little lakes. They grew a variety
of fruits and vegetables. They used simple tools such

digging sticks, fire, and wood tools. They also
domesticated animals such as turkeys and dogs for

eating

Ancient Maya
Concept Map

Replace this example with your own concept map!

The Aztec

Where in the World…
Were the Aztec Located?

Map from ducksters.co What is the approximate latitude and
longitude of the center of the Aztec
Empire?

19 north 99 west
East of the Pacific, west of the
Atlantic

What might the climate be like in this
location based on the latitude and
longitude?

Rain will be very common. Hot
weather. Humidity is common. Cold
Nights because of high peaks and
valleys
How would this affect the way people
live in this area?
Houses would have roofs. Light
clothing. Durable clothing for cold
nights. ( layers)

The Aztec Government/
Social Structure

king/
emperor

Most respected
luxury was normal.

Lived in huge
palaces

Tuchuhtli

Rulers of city states. Also very
respected. They were very wealthy
and lived in luxury. They had power
over cities as long as they respected

kings.

Pipiltilin

They were the nobles, still lived easy life. Wore
jewelry and gold. They had high places if
priesthood, the army, and government. Lived
good life. Less respect given than kings and
preists

Pochteca
They still remained in nobility. They were merchants who
were thought to have very important jobs. Last level in
easy life. Given freedom and rights.

Macehualitin

The common people of the Aztec. Farmers, Warriors, Craftsmen.
They were given rights and freedom.

Slaves
No respect. They could buy freedom. Treated better than most slave tribes

Aztec Sun Stone
Calendar

The Aztec used this calender to
tell the date and time. Often,
there would be gods on the
calendar.In this calendar there in
the Sun God.

Determine the Relationships

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? The Aztec government was unlike any other kind of
Did powerful relationships exist government their government was like a tribute that

between the people and their conquered cities tended to show an increase in
leaders? resources. The cause of this is because they have
better forms of communication to others. The center
How was their society set up? of the Aztec Government was a City State called
What were the types of jobs
people had? Were the jobs people Tenochtitlan.
did purposeful for the civilization?
The Aztec society was made up of tecuhtli as the most powerful to
Describe their religion. Did the the pipiltin, pochteca, macehualtin, slaves as the least powerful.
relationship the people had with Tecuhtli in the rulers of the society. The rights and respect keep
their gods and religious leaders
going down as each tier. The pipiltin was the ruler of the city
follow rules? states. The pochteca was the last tier of the easy life. They would

What did the people invent, create, help rule the city states. The Macehualtin was the commoner
or trade that allowed them to group. Most people were from this tier. Finally, the slaves got no
exchange ideas or values with rights. Although, the slaves could buy their respect and freedom
others they had relationships
with? unlike the other Ancient Civilizations.

What was the agriculture like? Aztecs were primarily warriors. Wars weren’t only
What food did they eat? How to gain territory, it was to capture prisoners for to
sacrifice to gods that they worshipped. Although if
did they grow it? What
relationships did the people they lost in war it was a disgrace to whoever
have with their environment? caused it and eventually led to their sacrifice.
Sacrifice was probably the Aztecs number one way

of worshipping gods.

The Aztecs invented many things. One of these things
is the sunstone calendar. They made it out of molten
lava in the late 15th century. It helped them to tell

when certain days were favorable and others that
weren't. They had tools made from obsidian, bone,
and stone. They made medicine to help treat illnesses
from plants.They created aqueducts for water systems

and transport systems for water

Aztecs were pretty skilled farmers let me show you why.
One way they were skilled is they were one of the first

civilizations to make paper out of Bark. Another cool thing
they did did was make beer out of cactus. They farmed
some Crops some such as Squash, Cactus and Beans.

Agriculture was hard to maintain because huge swarms of
Locust could descend on their crops and destroy them. One

cool food they made was grinding chillies in a chilli paste.

Ancient Aztec
Concept Map

Replace this example with your own concept map!



The Inca

Where in the World…
Were the Inca Located?

Map from ducksters.com What is the approximate latitude and
longitude of the center of the Inca
Empire?

21.1608° S, 66.7752° W

What might the climate be like in this
location based on the latitude and
longitude?
The climate would be very hot and
humid. Lots of rain but also prone to
droughts.

How would this affect the way people
live in this area?
They would have to have roofs on
houses and wear light clothing while
doing work.

The Inca Government/
Social Structure

Noble Classes

The noble class includes the Sapa Inca (which was literally a god on earth and was sacred), the
Villac Umu, the royal family, the inca class (the noble class), and the Inca-by-privilege. These
people established the city of Cuzco and were respected. The inca-by-privilege were almost as
high in class as the nobles, but were not considered real inca.

Public Administrators
Curacas- They were the leaders of Inca tribes that they conquered. If they
reported to the Inca they could keep their position
Tax Collectors- They kept watch over a family to make sure that they paid
their taxes.
Record Keepers- They kept track of who paid their taxes and they worked
in the government.

Commoners
This class was the lowest rung of the Inca SOcial Structure. They were
usually Farmers or Craftsman. They had to pay the Taxes the
government put out and had to work on projects such as build temples
and bridges. Even though they were so low in the Social Class the
Craftsmen were very skilled and no Mortar was required to keep objects
together. Craftsmen were also paid but not with money but farmers

The Ayllu

The ayllu was made up of a number of families that worked together almost like one large family.
Everyone in the empire was part of an ayllu. The ayllu also had to pay tax. Women married as young
as twelve and were generally married by the age of 16. Men were married by the age of 20

Determine the Relationships

Explore the Incan 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? The inca’’s leader was the Inca in the family meaning they had Inca as
Did powerful relationships exist there middle name. They Inca government was a functioning Theocracy.
This meant that they thought the Sapa inca or the leader was both god
between the people and their and man. The Inca government was in Charge of taking care of people
leaders?
This meant for example if there was a drought the government would
How was their society set up? distribute food. The government also had a imperial system which meant
What were the types of jobs every place they conquered had to pay public tax which meant they had
people had? Were the jobs people
did purposeful for the civilization? to work on bridges and building temples. This is how the Inca
government worked.

The Inca had a very interesting Society. To start they had four base positions, The
Noble Class, Public administrators, Commoners and the Alyts.. The Noble Class
included all the high end afficals and of course the leader of the Inca the Sapa
inca. In the Public Administrators you had the Curacas, who were the leaders of
the different tribes. You also had the Collectors who watched and collected Taxes
from the families, there were also the Record Keepers who kept public records of

everything that happens in the society. Next, were the commoners who were
either Craftsmen or Farmers. Another part of Society was the Alluys who were a

bunch of families who worked together as one large family. Well, that’s it for
Society today, See ya!

Describe their religion. Did the The Inca religion consisted of gods and goddesses and they
relationship the people had with worshipped them so much that they would sacrifice
their gods and religious leaders themselves for the gods. They most important deities would
include Hanan Pacha were Inti which was the sun god and
follow rules? Mama Quilla which was the moon god. In some Inca religions
gods and goddesses showed overlapping divine powers. The
What did the people invent, create, upper pantheon consisted of creater sky weather complex
or trade that allowed them to with three main points. This includes Viracocha, the
exchange ideas or values with creator;Inti, the sun god and ancestor of ruling destiny and
others they had relationships finally Illipa, the thunder of weather god.
with?
One thing that the inca invented was their own secret
language Quechua which is pretty smart. They also

invented perfect sculpted building that came out to look
pretty good in those days. The invented miles of road.

Everyone was well fed and no one was homeless. Although
they never invented the wheel or a way of righting they still

lasted 100 years.

What was the agriculture like? Inca were great farmers. They mostly grew potatoes,
What food did they eat? How
corn and quinoa, which was used to make soup. They
did they grow it? What kept domesticated bees for honey. They also grew many
relationships did the people other things, including pineapples. They grew more food
have with their environment? than they needed, even and stored them in store
housing for later use. They used terrace farming which
helped them to farm in mountain areas. They used
llamas to get around

Ancient Inca
Concept Map

Amerian Indians

●

● Them being called Indians was a mistake. When
chirstopher columbus came to America, he thought he
had reached india and therefore called them indians

● Most indian tribes came from asia on a brigde from
Russia to Alaska called Bering Strait

● The original settlers divded into thousands of different
groups that are called tribes

● Each tribe had a different culture and language
● Namadic tribes moved with the season
● Groups mastered farming and made actual communites

and cities
● Aztec, Maya, Inca created complex civilazations
● Native americans were atackked by new settlers and

soon died off
● New settlers made the native americans give up land

and if they refused, they would kill them.
● A lot of native americans died of diesease brought by

the new settlers