Zane Konczak_Ancient_Civilizations_Interactive_Notebook_1 (1)

A Look at the

Mississippian, Maya,

Aztec and Inca

Civilizations

Ancient Civilizations
of the WBy: estern
HemBisyp:here

Zane Konczak

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 B.C. stands for before christ and is
for when looking at used on the timeline for before when

dates? christ was born.

What does A.D. stand A.D. stands for Anno Dimini which
for when looking at also means “the year of our lord.”

dates?

What does B.C.E. stand B.C.E means before common era
for when looking at C.E. means Common era
dates?

What does C.E. stand
for when looking at

dates?

What do c. and ca. C. and ca. Mean Circa which
stand for when looking translates to “around or about” Its
used when we dont know the exact
at dates? date of something.

Multiple-tier Timelines

You will insert a picture in this space of
you holding your completed timeline at

the end of this project!

The
Mississippians

The Mississippians were known for making the
serpent mound, how? Well there is only so much
information that we found. The Mississippians
worshiped the sun and that is why we scientists
think that the circle on the right side of the serpent
mound is a sun/egg. What a lot of scientists are
thinking is that the serpent mound stands for a
snkae eating the sun/egg.

The Mississippians were ruled by their cheifdoms
they had two different ranks, the elites and the
commons. This is because cheifs known as “suns”
the Great suns” ruled them in any civil matters.
And the “tattooed serpent” ruled them in any matter
of war.

The Mississippians were also known for being
very creative. The Mississippians made lots of
creative stuff. They created stone, pottery, native
copper, and marine shell. They created these
materials by flaking, carving, and grinding stone
materials.

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? The approximate
location is 33 degrees North and 83 Degrees West. And it was around the area of Atlanta,
Georgia.
What might the climate be like in this location based on the latitude and longitude? The climate
might be relatively hot or warm.
How would this affect the way people live in this area? It might affect the people because its not
good to just stay in the sun for a long time. Also, there could be no water source.

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!

It is the great serpent What is
mound in ohio it is this?

next to the ohio river.

The circle on the left side of What is the
the drawing could be an egg circle on the
left side of the
or the sun.
drawing?
The great serpent mound was used
to respect dead people.. Why do you
think it was
made? What was
it used for?

This is because the Mississippians had a creature Why do you
shape because they beleived in mythilogical think they
chose this
animals. The circle is a sun it could create a solar
eclipse. Snakes and reptiles are used to have shape?

super natural powers

They used rocks and soil and dropped them on How do you
the mound every day and really sacrificed think they
themselves for the mound. 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?

Some physical attributes of the mound Archeologists think that the mounds
is that it looks like a snake swallowing a
sun or a southern egg. It also looks like look like a seroent because the
it has squiggly bumps- when you have rattlesnake was a common theme in
a birds eye view. the mississipian culture.

The people who ceated The ancietnt american Danielle Knight GO Interactive, 2015
this could have been the culture really takes care of the
ancient american great serpent mound and
culture. they would sacrifice their lifes
for the great serpent mound.

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 mississippians government is
Did powerful relationships exist made up of two different ranks of

between the people and their chiefdoms. They are elites and
leaders? commons. They would worship their
leader and thought of him as a god.
How was their society set up?
What were the types of jobs The cheifs were called “suns” the
people had? Were the jobs people “great sun” ruled the people in all
did purposeful for the civilization?
civil matters and the “tattooed
Describe their religion. Did the serpent” ruled the people in matters
relationship the people had with
their gods and religious leaders of war.

follow rules? Mississippian people were organized
or setup as chiefdoms or ranked
societies. The mississippians were
very social and talkative.

What did the people invent, create, The mississippians religion was
or trade that allowed them to worshiping the sun, they would
exchange ideas or values with gather around the temple served by a
others they had relationships
with? shaved head priests. The
mississippians have four different
What was the agriculture like? social classes called, the suns, the
What food did they eat? How nobles, the honored men and the
honored woman and the lower class.
did they grow it? What
relationships did the people The mississippians created stone,
have with their environment? marine shell, pottery, and native
copper. They created these materials



● The american civilization was
much diferent than it is today.

● There are different tribes such
as, Kwakwaka’
wakw,pueblo,Navajo,sioux,
mississippians, and the iroquois.

● All of the Natve americans
traveled through the part that
connected Alaska and Russia.

●

The Maya

The mayans are very interesting people. They are very unique in
many ways. There are many thing that we know about them, but
there are also many things that we don’t know about them. The
mayans grew many crops such as, corn, beans, sweet potatoes,
chilli peppers, tomatoes and food like that as their main foods. They
had a big food source, so they always had lots of food to eat.

The mayans had a very big government. At the top of their list
they had the kings. The Mayans thought of their kings as gods, the
kings/gods ruled their place. Under the kings and the second to top
of the list are the Nobles, priests, and the Nacom. They were
treated very well. They didn’t have to pay taxes at all. Nor they
didn’t have to have jobs, unless they wanted to. Under the Nobles
there are the Commoners. The Commoners were very torchered
and got work really hard. They had to pay taxes and all that. But at
the very bottom would be the slaves, the slaves were basically like
the Commoners but were torchered even more and worked even
harder.

The Mayans lived in the Yucatan peninsula. Even though the ground
in Yucatan was very rocky, the Mayans still managed to grow and eat
many things. They used basic stone tools and flint axes to grow things such
as pumpkins, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, chili peppers,
tomatoes, chote, avocados, breadfruit, papaya, and a wide variety of wild
fruits and berries. The Mayans domesticated turkeys, bees, ducks, and
dogs. This also affected what the Mayans wore, because they live in hot
areas, specifically next to the equator they wore thin clothes.

In result the Mayans are very creative and interesting and made lots of
things that helped us create our own things.

Where in the World…
Were the Maya Located?

What is the approximate latitude and
longitude of the center of the Maya Empire?
16 degrees North and 90 degrees West.
Guatemala. Southeast of Mexico and west
of Belize.

What might the climate be like in this
location based on the latitude and
longitude? Most likely the climate is warm.
This is because it is close to the equator.
There will also have a lot of rain forests. It
will be hot and humid.

How would this affect the way people live in
this area? Because it is warm they may
have some difficulty growing crops and food
and drouts may happen more frequently.
They would have also most likely have
water kegs

Map from ducksters.com

The Mayan Government/
Social Structure

KING:
Each city-state had a leader
every leader was called a “
halach uinic” or “ ahaw” which
meant “lord”or “ruler” They
also wanted to be called
by”god”

Nobles
They didn’t have to pay taxes. Could
choose if they wanted to have jobs or
not.

The priests
The priests were also very powerful part in the
Mayan government. The kings of the Mayan would
sometimes come to the priests for any advice. In
result the priests had good influence on why the
kings ruled.

Military leaders

The military leaders were called “nacom”

Commoners
The commoners had to serve as warriors whenever the king commanded. They also had to pay
taxes in order to support the kings and nobles. They were forbidden for wearing clothing or
symbols of the nobles.

Overview of Mayan government: The mayan civilization was made up of hundreds od
city-states. Each city-state was surrounded by more city-states.

Mayan Religion Mural

Replace this mural picture with your own.

The left picture is a mayan pyramid. This is a
symbol of the buildings that they built and lived in.
The middle one is a picture a mayan festival, it
shows what the people looked like and what they
did. The right one is a picture of animals. These
are the animals that they used to cook food and
that helped them survive. This was very important
in the Mayan live.

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? The mayan government was not one
Did powerful relationships exist unified piece. The empire was made

between the people and their of independent city-states. The
leaders? mayan government built lots of
cities. Each city had a noble family
How was their society set up? that was in-charge.Control of the city
What were the types of jobs was passed by from father to son.
people had? Were the jobs people
did purposeful for the civilization? They had jobs like leather workers,
blacksmiths but Most nobles were
Describe their religion. Did the elite warriors, priest's or government
relationship the people had with
their gods and religious leaders officials. In the middle were the
artisans, traders, weavers, potters
follow rules? and warriors. Since maya culture
depended on agriculture for food and
What did the people invent, create, trade, most Mayans were farmers in
or trade that allowed them to
exchange ideas or values with harvest time.
others they had relationships
with? The Mayans beleived in supernatural
and human beings, thet are nutured

and developed

What was the agriculture like? They invented many things and they
What food did they eat? How trade A lot of pottery also they

did they grow it? What traded food like meat but especially
relationships did the people crops like corn and bean. They also
have with their environment? invented the number 0. They also

Ancient Maya
Concept Map

The Aztec

At the end of this unit,
you will insert at least
three images on this page
that you feel represent
the Aztec people. Delete
this text box when this is
complete.

At the end of this unit, you will write a
well-developed paragraph in this space explaining
what you learned about the Aztec people. You
might want to include who the Aztec people were,
what they valued, how their society was set up, the
relationship generalizations you uncovered while
learning about the people, etc. *Note: Your pictures
on page 4 should relate to this paragraph!

Where in the World…
Were the Aztec Located?

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

The approximate latitude and longitude
location is 20 degrees North and 121
degrees West. They were by Mexico City.
East of the Pacific Ocean and west of the
Atlantic Ocean

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

The climate would be warmer cause
they were located in Mexico and they are
located on the western side of the world.
But they also had a very big rain season.

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

They might have a problem growing
crops cause its very warm and there could
possibly be droughts. They most likely
would wear thin clothes. But they would
have to wear lots of layers of clothes when
it is their rain season. And they would have
to have rooftops because of the rain.

The Aztec Government/
Social Structure

Emperor/ King Huey
Tlatcani was the
king of the Aztecs
and he was the
most powerful

Tuchuhtil

As long as they paid their taxes they were
the rulers of all the city-states

Pipiltin
They wore lots of jewelry and gold. They were ranked
high as the priesthood and the army.

Pochteca
They traveled a lot to get lots of resources
and because of that they got treated like the
Nobles.

Macehualtin
They were the people such as farmers, warriors and ect. Later in history the caftsman and warriors got a
higher rank and got above the farmers later in the Aztec history.

Slaves
The slaves had no rights but they did have a chance to buy their freedom with the required money

Aztec Sun Stone
Calendar

I chose to color the sone calendar these colors
because the Aztec calendar was mostly mossy
and brown. Even though I colored it other colors I
mostly colored it brown. But why the Aztecs used
this calendar is because it helped them know what
the date was and what the season was.

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? Tenochtitlan was the Capital of the Aztec
Did powerful relationships exist empire. This was where the emperor lived and
most of the nobles. The majority of the Aztec
between the people and their Nobles and the other government leaders left
leaders? the city. The government was similar to
monarchy. The conquered cities had to pay
How was their society set up? regular tribute to the empire. They paid in forms
What were the types of jobs of money. That is how the Aztec Empire became
people had? Were the jobs people so rich and powerful. There were many laws
did purposeful for the civilization? including laws against stealing, murder,
drunkenness and more. There were many
Describe their religion. Did the systems of court to determine punishments and
relationship the people had with guilt.
their gods and religious leaders
The Aztecs used a strict form of discipline to
follow rules? ensure that the law was followed. Smaller
crimes were met with fees and fines, while
What did the people invent, create, some sort of work followed heavier crimes. First
or trade that allowed them to in the society came the king/emperor, also
exchange ideas or values with called a “huey tlatcan”. He was believed to have
others they had relationships the power to rule from the gods. Then came the
with? Tecuhtli, rulers of their own city-states, as long
as they payed regular tribute to the king. The
What was the agriculture like? Pipiltin were nobles, and allowed to wear
What food did they eat? How special clothing. The Pochteca traveled long
distances to bring back goods for the nobles.
did they grow it? What The Macehualtin were farmers, warriors, and
relationships did the people craftsmen. Slaves were at the bottom of the
have with their environment? pyramid, but they did have certain rights.

They were ruled by many gods, the main ones

Ancient Aztec
Concept Map



The Inca

At the end of this unit,
you will insert at least
three images on this page
that you feel represent
the Incan people. Delete
this text box when this is
complete.

At the end of this unit, you will write a
well-developed paragraph in this space explaining
what you learned about the Incan people. You
might want to include who the Incan people were,
what they valued, how their society was set up, the
relationship generalizations you uncovered while
learning about the people, etc. *Note: Your pictures
on page 4 should relate to this paragraph!

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?

16 degrees south 75 degrees west

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

The climate might be hot because they live
in the southern area of the world, and
usually the weather is hot in the south.

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

Since it is hot they would want to wear thin
clothes during the summer but, there still
gonna want to wear thicker clothes during
winter. They could also have a little
problem with grow crops. But they still will
be able to grow tropical crops.

The Inca Government/
Social Structure

Inca Social Structure

Noble Classes:Sapa Inca - The Sapa Inca was the emperor or king. He was at the top of the social structure,

because he was so important and he was considered a god by the Inca people
● Villac Umu - A priest just underneath the Sapa Inca. Because gods were so important to the Inca, he was
important as he spoke to the most important god, Inti, the sun god
● Royal Family - They were next in the social structure. They were important in the government. The
primary wife of the king was called the coya.

● Inca - The noble class was made of people directly descended from the founders of Cuzco. They were

rich and had the best positions in the government

Public Administrators: The Curacas were the leaders of the tribe that were conquered. If they

were held loyal, they would keep their information. Each group of family had a tax collector. He
made sure they paid all of their taxes. The higher level of tax collector kept an eye on the lower
level. Record keepers stored supplies and tracked people to make sure they paid taxes.

Commoners The common people had no freedom. By Inca law, they could not travel on the roads. By law, they

could not be idle. They had a little time each day for bathing and eating and sleeping, and the rest of the time, they
had to be working. The common people lived and worked in small groups or units. There were a dozen or so people in
each unit. Each person in each unit had a job to do. If you did not do your work, you were breaking the law, and could
be killed. Most commoners, as usual, were farmers. The emperor controlled all the land.

The Ayllu: The Ayllu was made up of a number of families and they all worked together
almost as a big family Everyone in the Inca Empire were involved in the Ayllu.Woman
married at the age of 12, but usually got married at the age of 16. Men usually got married
at the age of 20. Crafts people were paid from the government with food that the
government received from farmers.

Determine the Relationships

Explore The Inca government was a monarchy

What was the government like? The government had to take care of their people, including the poor and
Did powerful relationships exist the sick and elderly. Once a person turned 15 they had to participate In
the Mita, it became mandatory for a person until he turned 50. Messages
between the people and their were carried by relay, all the messengers lived in houses by main roads.
leaders? Whenever the Inca won new territories, they moved different groups of
leaders around to ensure loyalty, a trusted leader would be relocated to a
How was their society set up?
What were the types of jobs newly conquered territories.
people had? Were the jobs people
did purposeful for the civilization? In addition to the noble class, the public administrators who held jobs like
tax collectors. The lowest class were the commoners. They held the job of

potters, craftsmen,and farmers. These jobs were essential to the
productivity and growth of the Inca civilization

Describe their religion. Did the The Inca believed that the gods had certain human feelings such as hatred,
relationship the people had with love and compassion and more. Mama Quilla the moon goddess.
their gods and religious leaders
Inti Raymi was the festival of the sun god. They had bishops
follow rules? called Vilcas, who would travel around to supervise temples.

Human and animal sacrifices ( such as llamas and guinea
pigs) were only held on special occasions. 200 children
would be killed, in diseases or epidemics.The incas felt it

was necessary to know what the gods needed in order to
appease them.

What did the people invent, create, They counted everything a conquered tribe owned, they needed a way to
or trade that allowed them to remember everything they had counted. They invented the quipus. The quipus
exchange ideas or values with had colored strings tied to a main string. The color of the strings and the distance
others they had relationships between the knots tied in each string told a story - how many of this, and what
with? was going on. You had to have special training to be a quipus reader. The Inca
invented a calendar they called time makers or time watchers. This calendar was
What was the agriculture like? tower. Time was important to the Inca for religious purposes. They also invented
What food did they eat? How a flute, a drum, the famous Inca panpipe (a collection of hollow tubes of various
lengths stuck together), terrace farming, freeze dried foods, aqueducts, strange
did they grow it? What and scary art, a central government, a unified language, woven colorful textiles,
relationships did the people gold and silver jewelry and statues, specialized professions, a system of
have with their environment? communication and much more. They were very clever people.

The Incas grew corn, squash, beans, tomatoes, quinoa, potatoes,.and
peppers. They fished for things such as fish, anchovies, sardines, tuna,

salmon, sea bass, and shellfish. Meat that was caught was saved for
special occasions, so their daily meals consisted mainly of crops that they

grew.

Ancient Inca
Concept Map

Replace this example with your own concept map!