Interactive notebook

A Look at the
Mississippian,
Maya, Aztec and
Inca Civilizations

Ancient Civilizations
of the WBy: estern
HemBisyp:here

Valeria Garza

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. So
for when looking at when before Christ was born.

dates? A.D stands for “Anno Domini” which
is in Medieval Latin which means “In
What does A.D. stand the year of the lord.”
for when looking at

dates?

What does B.C.E. stand When looking at dates B.C.E
for when looking at stands for “Before common Era”
dates?

What does C.E. stand C.E stands for “Common Era.”
for when looking at

dates?

What do c. and ca. C. and ca. stands for Circa which
stand for when looking in Latin is around or about.

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.

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

the end of this project!

The
Mississippians

Mississippians created different things such as pottery
and different kinds of mounds. For example, the pottery was
made with things such as clay paste. Things such as these
where made out of stone, marine shell, and native copper.
They usually made cups and pendants and much more. They
normally made it by flaking and carving stone materials. This
could have meant that the Mississippians where creative.

The Great Serpent Mound was said to be made by some
mound builders named the Fort Ancient Culture. The circle
next to the Serpent is thought to be an egg about to be
swallowed or an eye. People have also said it was a sun or a
sun that was getting swallowed which was representing a
solar eclipse. The rattlesnake was apperently a common
theme back then.

The mounds could have represented things about their
religon like The Great Serpent Mound. The Mound Builders
worshipped the sun. Their four social classes where the Suns,
The Nobles, the honored men and women, and the lower
class. The chiefs where called the sun. It was said that
Human sacrifice and ritual suicide was formed to be part of
their culture. There was also something else called
chiefdoms. They where made up of 2 social ranks, the elite
and the common people. You where either on the top or you
where not.

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 latitude and longitude is Georgia which is about 32 degress North and about
83 degrees west.
What might the climate be like in this location based on the latitude and longitude?
The weather is pretty warm in the summers about 90 degress at the highest or 80 degress. In
the winter its near negatives or below 10 degrees.
How would this affect the way people live in this area?

When it rained the crops probably did have enough water to grow. There where crops such as
Cotton and tobacco, corn, and many more.

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 called The Great What is
Serpent Mound this?

It is an egg that the snake is What is the
eating. But its also said that circle on the
left side of the
its a sun or eye.
drawing?
It was used as a burial mound. It
was made for dead people. And it Why do you
think it was
was used as a calendar to tell made? What was
time. it used for?

Snakes and reptiles where used to be Why do you
thought of having super natural think they
chose this
powers also thought to have spiritual
practices. shape?

I think they made it by using How do you
different materials like variaties think they
of rocks like coal, clay or stone. 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?

The Great Serpent Mound’s It was shaped like a
physical attributes are that it
is a rattlesnake either serpent because it was said
swallowing an egg or a sun. it was a popular theme
among the Missisipian
culture.

It was believed that the The relationship about it is Danielle Knight GO Interactive, 2015
Fort Ancient Culture had that the Fort Ancient Culture

created it. was influenced by The
missisipian culture the
rattlesnake was a popular

theme.

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? It was a chiefdom. The leader was a
Did powerful relationships exist chief who people normally
worshipped him.
between the people and their
leaders? Leaders where treated as if they
where a god.
How was their society set up?
What were the types of jobs The mississipians set up they’re
people had? Were the jobs people chiefdoms or ranked societies.
did purposeful for the civilization? A cheifdom was a human social

organization.

Describe their religion. Did the The mound builders worshipped the
relationship the people had with sun. They had four different social
their gods and religious leaders classes named: The sun, The Nobles,
The honored men and the honored
follow rules?
women and the lower class.
What did the people invent, create, A part of the culture was human
or trade that allowed them to
exchange ideas or values with sacrifice and ritual suicide.
others they had relationships
with? Some things they invented where
pottery such as cups and pendants and
What was the agriculture like?
What food did they eat? How bead decorations.
They made these by carving and flaking
did they grow it? What objects to make them into whichever
relationships did the people
have with their environment? size and shape they wanted.

People used cheifdoms as a form o f
management for food so it was not
overused. chiefdoms where also used

When Christopher Columbus discovered the
American people he thought they where Indians so
therefore he called them that. It turned out he was
wrong but the name stuck on. Now there are many
Indian tribes.

The United States became home to a lot of
different tribes such as the Kwakwaka’wakw and the
Chinookan tribe and more. The pueblo and navajo also
took place in more west U.S. The pueblo and Navajo
made their buldings out of dried mud or clay brick. In th
great plains tribes like the on called Sioux, hunted for
large animals like Bison.

In the video it said that 6 Iroquois nations united
under a constitution called The Great Law of Peace. It
also said that many different tribes livd in Alaska such
as the Athabascans, Eskimo, Aleuts and more.

Many ancient civilizations are gone now for many
different reasons. Some of them where killed by
invaders.
Others died from diseases. Many Indians died since
European sellers came and took over their land.
In the 1800’s, the U.S government kept making
promises with them about them moving but kept
turning their backs on them. Soon after they where
living of reservations hat the government set aside for
them.

The Maya

There are many great things that the mayans did when they
lived like making a glyphs and amazing temples. They made things
such the Tikal Temple, pyramid of the magician, and el castillo.
Theese are only a few of the things Mayans made.

The Maya script also known as glyphs is the only
Mesoamerican writing script to be thought of. This writing stopped/
ended in the 16th and 17th century. It ended when the Spanish
attacked the Mayans. Glyphs were carved into walls and often
painted as well.The glyphs were normally carved into wood and
stone. This Mayan script was the only mesoamerican script that was
thought of.

The mayan houses were made as any other houses in the old
times. They were made of wood, stone, and even sometimes straw.
They lived in things such as small huts and anything that relates to
that.
The mayas weren’t as talented in making houses as glyphs or the
mayan calander they created.
The mayan foods weren’t as unique as the other things they created
as I said before, but they still farmed crop. They had trouble farming
crops because of the scorching weather but they somehow still
managed to farm things. They farmed a variety of things such as
pumpkins, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, chili peppers,
tomatoes, chote, avocados, breadfrui and a lot more.

They lived near Guatemala where it was very hot. This affected
the Mayans in a negative way since they had a hard time growing
crops because of the weather. It was thought that droughts would
happen often because of the hot weather. Some descendants of the
mayas still live in Guatemala to this day and some were even said to
speak the mayan language.

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?
The relative location is Guatemala.
The absolute location is:
16 degress North
90 degrees West.

What might the climate be like in this
location based on the latitude and
longitude?
The climate will most likel,y be very hot
because it’s only 16 degrees North and
Guatemala is near the equator. There
might be rainforests knowing it is more
near the southern area.

How would this affect the way people
live in this area?
Because it is warm, they might have
some diffuculties growing crops since
they could get dried. And droughts may
happen often.

The Mayan Government/
Social Structure

Kings

The Maya’s believed that kings
Have the right to rule over the gods. They were
basically godlike
Their names where Halach uinic or Ahaw which
meant “ruler” or “lord. “

Nobles

There where also powerdul councils who ruled the
government. The nobles chose the batab and nacom.

The lesser lords where called the batab. If a noble
was caught guilty of a crime, they ould be punished

worse than a commoners.

Priests

The kings of the Mayan often went to the priests for advice
since they were very religous. The priests had a great
influence on the government and how the kings ruled. In some
ways, the king was also considered a priest.

Military leaders
Military leaders, also known as Nacom were chosen by
the nobles. Along with the Batab, the nacom was also

chosen by the nobles.

Commoners
Male commoners were sometimes served as warriors if needed. Commoners had to pay taxes in order
to support the kings and higher classes. Though commoners were often punished if any noble was
caught guilty of a crime, they would be punished worse than commoners. Some punishments included
death, fines, slavery and more. If commoners were only punished these sort of things, I wonder what
the nobles had to do. Commoners were not aloud to wear the clothing or symblols of the nobles. A few
times if the king came, servants would put a cloth on the commoners face so they wont see him.

Overview of Mayan government: The mayan government is kind of hard to understand.
Such as kings being referred to godlike and priests were almost as important as kings
since they went oto them for advice. Another thing was that nobles were punished
worse than commoners if they were caught guilty of a crime.

Mayan Religion Mural

Replace this mural picture with your own.

Our mural represents the mayan art, structures
and animals that they worshipped. Some of the
animals they worshipped were, a deer, a jaguar,
and rattlesnakes. They built such as pyramids and
more. The art just represents what kind of culture
that they had.

Mayan Language and
Number Systems

.

My birthday is December 12, 2007
I wrote my birthday with the
Mayan numbers.

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 government was ruled by kings and priests.
Did powerful relationships exist The government often practiced human

between the people and their sacrifice and would raid different places to get
leaders? victims. Each city had a noble family to rule over

How was their society set up? it. The head of the noble family would often
What were the types of jobs choose officials.
people had? Were the jobs people
did purposeful for the civilization? Many mayan cities shared many similarities
such as dressing the same way, and basically
made their cities the same way. Mayan city
states were often at war. It would be kings,
nobles, priests, military leaders and commoners.

Kings and nobles were mor important

Describe their religion. Did the The mayans would have different leaders and
relationship the people had with had different ways of pleasing them. They often
their gods and religious leaders preformed rituals to please them. Some of the
things that would occur at rituals were, baptism,
follow rules?
cycles of time and ceremonies of sacrifices or
What did the people invent, create, the god. A few of the gods included, Cizin the
or trade that allowed them to god of violent sacrfice, Rain god chac, which was
exchange ideas or values with the god of lightning and thunder . There were
others they had relationships many more mportant mayan gods these were
with?
just a couple.
What was the agriculture like?
What food did they eat? How The mayans built pyramids. They didn’t
always use pyramids to live inside.
did they grow it? What
relationships did the people Pyramids were used for tombs. Mayans
have with their environment? placed traps in order for no one to enter

inside these pyramids. They also built
cities and more buildings.

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,

Ancient Maya
Concept Map

Replace this example with your own 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?
21 degress north
100degress west
What is the relative location?
East of the pacific ocean relatively
near Mexico city

What might the climate be like in
this location based on the latitude
and longitude?
The climate will be hot since they
were basically in Mexico were it’s
hot.

How would this affect the way
people live in this area?
They would have trouble growing
crops because of the hot weather.
Rain is also common in Mexico so it
could also be bad. Humidity is
common. People would need to
have a roof over their heads
because of the constant rain.

The Aztec Government/
Social Structure

Huey Tlatcanl

They felt that they
where appointed by
the gods. He decided
when to go to war.

Tuchuhtili
These where they rulers of
the city states. The were
allowed to have all power as
long as they paid.

Piplitin

The Piplitin held the city council which
helped to rule city states. They held a high
ranking to the specfic kinds of priesthood,
the army and government.

Macehualtin
The common people included
farmers, warriors, and craftmen.
Later on they got a higher position
in the social classes.

Slaves
Slaves had the oppurtunity to buy back their freedom with the required money.
They had no rights.Slaves had certain rights and they were not to be mistreated by
their masters. The children of slaves would not be slaves. They can’t be sold by their
masters untl they agreed.

Aztec Sun Stone
Calendar

The aztecs used the sun stone calendar to
divide rituals and days between the gods. I
chose these colors to make things stand
out more than others. The god needed to
stand out more than the rest because it
was more important than anything else.

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

What was the agriculture like? They were ruled by many gods, the main ones were
What food did they eat? How Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcoatl, Tlaloc, and
Huitzilopochtli. The gods sacrificed themselves in order to
did they grow it? What create the Earth, sun, moon, and
relationships did the people Humans. That is why the Aztecs sacrificed themselves in
have with their environment? return to the gods.They believed in Heaven and the
underworld, believing there were 9 underworlds, and
13 Heavens. They created many beautiful temples, to
appease their many gods.

Some of the things the aztecs invented was popcorn,
chocolate and gum, not to mention they made great
medication that could cure common diseases. They created
the sun stone calendar which was one of the main things
they created. Also they were the first empire to have

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° south

°75 west

What might the climate be like in this
location based on the latitude and
longitude?
The climate may be very hot because
it is brazil so it would br hot and
humid.

How would this affect the way people
live in this area?
This would affect their crops in a
negative way because of the hot and
humid weather. They would want to
wear lioght clothes in the summer
and winter.

The Inca Government/

Social Structure

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

Describe their religion. Did the The society was held up by the nobles, the
relationship the people had with public administrators, commoners and the
their gods and religious leaders
Ayllus. The Villac Umu was the priest
follow rules? underneath the Sapa Inca. The royal families
after the Vilac Umu. This is only part of the
What did the people invent, create,
or trade that allowed them to nobles.
exchange ideas or values with
others they had relationships The Inca believed that the gods had certain human feelings such as
with? hatred, love and compassion and more. Mama Quilla the

What was the agriculture like? moon goddess. Inti Raymi was the festival of the sun
What food did they eat? How god. They had bishops called Vilcas, who would travel

did they grow it? What around to supervise temples. Human and animal
relationships did the people sacrifices ( such as llamas and guinea pigs) were only
have with their environment?
held on special occasions. 200 children would be
killed, in diseases or epidemics.The incas felt it was
neccesary to know what the gods needed in order to

apease them.

They counted everything a conquered tribe owned, they needed
a way to remember everything they had counted. They invented
the quipus. The quipus had colored strings tied to a main string.
The color of the strings and the distance between the knots tied
in each string told a story - how many of this, and what 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 tower. Time was important to the
Inca for religious purposes. They also invented 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 and scary art, a central government, a unified
language, woven colorful textiles, gold and silver jewelry and
statues, specialized professions, a system of communication and
much more. They were very clever people.

Ancient Inca
Concept Map

Replace this example with your own concept map!