Ancient Civilization

A Look at the

Mississippian, Maya,

Aztec and Inca

Civilizations

Ancient Civilizations
of the WBy: estern
HemBisyp:here

Alyssa Bickler

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 Before Christ. It’s on the Christian
for when looking at Calendar or the Gregorian Calendar.

dates? Anno Domini which in Latin it is “in
the year of the Lord”. Also used on
What does A.D. stand
for when looking at the Gregorian Calendar.

dates?

What does B.C.E. stand Before Common Era. This is used to
for when looking at mark the same dates in BC.
dates?
Common Era. This is used to mark
What does C.E. stand the same dates in AD.
for when looking at

dates?

What do c. and ca. Circa. Circa means around or about.
stand for when looking It is used when we don’t know the

at dates? exact date of something.

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

Government

Products
Religion

The Mississippians government was a lot different then
governments today. They had chiefs which can be
compared to kings. They also had chiefdoms which are
societies in which people are ranked according to the
family they belong to. Some families have a higher
status than others do. The ruler or chief in a chiefdom
usually comes from a high-status family. High-status
families usually have more privileges than regular
people. Many people believed that the leaders were
connected to gods, so they think they had powerul
relations with them.

I know some products that the Mississippians grew,
made, and traded. The ones they grew are corn, beans,
squash, pumpkins. They made pottery and effigy beads.
They traded stones that could be used as weapons. For
food, they also hunted and fished.

As a religion, the Mississippians worshipped the sun
and were centered around a temple which is served by
shaven head priests, shaman, and village chiefs. The
chiefs were called “Suns” and there was the “Great Sun”
who was the ruler of people in all civil matters.

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?
Around Atlanta Georgia.
What might the climate be like in this location based on the latitude and longitude?
33 degrees North, 84 degrees West. It would be pretty humid and warm, hot.
How would this affect the way people live in this area?
They Will have to wear less clothes because of how hot it would be. Since they are close to the
equator, they won’t get much water because it would evaporate. They would also need to be
protected from the sun.

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!

I think this is the Great What is
Surpent Mound or a this?
symbol for something.

I think the circle is like a What is the
symbol or head of the circle on the
left side of the
Surpent.
drawing?
Maybe it was used as a symbol or
reminder of something. I think it Why do you
also could of been a burial ground. think it was
made? What was
it used for?

I think they chose this shape Why do you
think they
because maybe it represented chose this
something that was buried beneath
shape?
it.

They could of made this by How do you
layering more dirt, grass, on top think they
of the surface to make this design. 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?

It is in the shape of a Ancient people believed snakes
serpent. It is 1,300 feet had supernatural powers. Also,
long ad 1-3 feet tall. It’s some believe that it may have to
head is to the East and do with astrology.
it’s tail is in the West.

They believe that the Ft. The relationship Danielle Knight GO Interactive, 2015
Ancient Culture who between them must of
been that the mound
were influenced by the was really important to
Mississipians.
them.

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 governments were led by Chiefs who
Did powerful relationships exist were tied to the religion. The people

between the people and their believed the leaders had connections to
leaders? the gods and as such they had powerful

How was their society set up? relations with them.
What were the types of jobs
people had? Were the jobs people Most jobs the Mississippians had
did purposeful for the civilization? are gardening, building, craftsman,
fishermen, and hunters which was

official for all to survive.

Describe their religion. Did the As a religion, they worship the sun and
relationship the people had with they are centered around a temple that is
their gods and religious leaders served by shaven head priests, a shaman.
and village chiefs. The Chiefs were called
follow rules?
Suns. The Great Sun was the ruler of
What did the people invent, create, people in all civil matters.
or trade that allowed them to
exchange ideas or values with Pottery, effigy beads, they traded
others they had relationships stone that could be used as
with?
weapons. They built huge trade
What was the agriculture like? centers to trade with people from
What food did they eat? How the Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes.

did they grow it? What They grew corn, beans, squash, and
relationships did the people pumpkins. They hunted and fished
have with their environment? for food. Since the people worshiped
the sun, they were very connected to

their enviorment.



The Maya

The Maya began to form in 600 BC and in 1,600 BC they began forming
larger settlements. They built pyramids and had their own type of writing
called glyphs. They also had many gods that they worshipped and had
relationships with.

The Maya began to construct their first pyramids in 100 BC and
continued to build them. The pyramids they made were like their homes
and places they lived their lives in. The Maya had their own type of form
of writing which are called glyphs. They had glyphs for letters and
numbers. Their glyphs were sort of like symbols. Now people have found
out what each of the symbols means. The Maya had relationships with
many gods and also worshipped them. A few of the gods were the Sun
god, also the Great Serpent (shown as the large snake-like picture on
slide 13), and there was also the Maize god.

The pyramid on slide 12 is something that a Mayan pyramid would look
like. They built them and lived in them just like our house that we sleep,
eat, and do other things in. The Mayans glyphs were written on some
walls or rocks. They also had their own language that they spoke. One
glyph represents one syllable of a word. So you would have to seperate a
word like Maya into syllables (like My-a) and each syllable would be a
glyph. So there would be 2 glyphs for the word Maya. On slide 12 there’s
a picture of Maya glyphs for numbers from 0-19. The gods meant a lot
for the Maya. They worshipped the gods, had great relationships with
them, and some Mayans even sacrificed themselves for the gods. The
Sun god they seemed to have very great relationships with and
worshipped this god very much. The Maya also had relationships with
the Great Serpent and Maize god but it seems like they had thr most
powerful and strongest relationship with the Sun god.

Overall, the Maya built pyrimids that were used as their homes. They had
their own type of writing for letters and number which are called glyphs
and they also had lots of gods that they worshipped and had many great
relationships with them.

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 approximate longitude and
latitude of the center of the Maya
Empire is 80 degrees South longitude
and 17 degrees North latitude.

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

It could be hot in summers and cold
in winters based on the latitude and
longitude.

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

This could affect them because then
they will need clothes for when its
reallly cold on clothes for when its hot
outside.

The Mayan Government/

Social Structure

King/Ruler

They ruled each city-state. The
position of king was usually inherited

by the oldest son, if there was no
son then the oldest brother became

king.

Priests

Because religion was an important part of
the Maya life, the priests were powerful

figures in the government. Sometimes kings
came to priests for advice.

Nobles

The governments powerful council of leaders were chosen
from the class of nobles. In court, the nobles or local leaders
served as a judge. The nobles were also subject to the law
and if found guilty of a crime they would often be punished

more severely than a peasant.

Peasants

They made up the majority of the Maya society. Peasants worked very hard and
did not live a life of luxury. Peasants were used as human sacrifice if no other
people like captured warriors were available. Peasants were also known as
commoners. Most of the peasants were farmers and some were craftsmen.

Craftsmen were a step up from farmers. They worked very hard but not as hard as
farmers and they didn’t have to pay tax although farmers did.Peasants were
forbidden from wearing the clothing or symbols of the nobles.

Slaves

Slaves are the lowest level. In general, slaves were not treated poorly. In some cases,
their lives were far more comfortable than the life of farmers. But no matter how they were
treated, slaves had no rights or privileges. Slaves could be orphans, captured people, or

punished people. Most of the victims of human sacrifice were selected from the slaves.

Overview of Mayan government: The Maya Empire was not a whole nation. There was no
central government but there was a collection of independent cities. Each city had a noble family in
charge of it. The cities had very similar laws but often were at war with each other. The head of the
noble family in each city-state had government officials to help him rule his city-states. The Maya
people might rule individually but they were an empire, one civilization. What united them was their
common culture, language, calendar, religion, and way of life.

Mayan Religion Mural

My group and I drew a mural of the
Great Serpent and a few totems to
the bottom left. The Mayans drew

murals on walls a lot.

Mayan Language and
Number Systems

These Mayan letters spell my
name, Alyssa. These were my
syllables I used: A-li-sa.

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 Mayans government were ruled by kings
Did powerful relationships exist and priests. They constructed a

between the people and their hierarchical government. They live in
leaders? independent city-states and rural

How was their society set up? communities and large urban ceremonial
What were the types of jobs centers. All people were religious.
people had? Were the jobs people
did purposeful for the civilization? The Mayan society was broken up into four
groups, the priesthood, the Nobillity, the
Describe their religion. Did the
relationship the people had with common people, and the slaves. Some of the
their gods and religious leaders jobs they had were farmers, cloth makers,
and jewelers/tool makers (made things from
follow rules?
stone).

The Mayans worshipped their gods.
One of their gods is the Sun god and

also the Maize god. Some people
sacrificed themselves for their gods.

What did the people invent, create, The Mayan traded and invented salt,
or trade that allowed them to cotton mantels, slaves, flint, quetzal
exchange ideas or values with
others they had relationships feathers, etc. They traded with
with? others that they had relationships

What was the agriculture like? with.
What food did they eat? How
The Mayans grew many crops and had
did they grow it? What farmers to farm them. They grew them in
relationships did the people
have with their environment? crop fields. Their soil was also not very
great because it barely rained every year.

Their main food was corn.

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?
About 18 degrees North latitude and
105 degrees longitude West of the
center of the Aztec Empire. It was
North of Guatemala and East of the
Pacific Ocean. It was West of the
Atlantic Ocean.
What might the climate be like in
this location based on the latitude
and longitude?
The climate would be warm and hot
out because they were near the
equator. It would also get very cold in
winter, so cold it could frost. They also
got a lot of rain from May-October.
How would this affect the way
people live in this area?
This would affect the people by making
their food dried out more.They would
need shelters for rainy, hot, and cold
weather. Also they need a lot of water
so they don’t get dehidreated when it’s
very hot. They would also need warm
clothes and cool clothes.

The Aztec Government/
Social Structure

King
/Emperor

They called
the ruler Huey
Tlatcani. They
believed the king was
given the right to rule by

the gods.

Tecuhtli
These were the rulers of the
Individual city-states. They had power
over all the people in their city-state,
lived in large places, and were able to

choose the tributes.

Pipiltin
This was the noble class. They were able to wear

gold and feathers. They were able to serve as
priests, army commanders, and hold government

jobs. The king was chosen from this group.

Pochteca

These merchants were very valued by the Aztec people because they would travel to trade
and bring back luxury items for the nobles.

Macehualtin

These were the common people. They had jobs as farmers, warriors, and craftsmen.

Slaves

People could sell themselves into slavery to pay off debts or crimes. The slaves were able to
buy their freedom, were protected from abuse by their owners, and couldn’t be sold to another

owner without their own consent. If a slave escaped from their owner and made it to the
palace, he/she was free. Slaves could have their own slaves.

Aztec Sun Stone
Calendar

My mural is of the Aztec Sun Stone calendar.
My mural shows 52 revolutions which
represented the number of years in a century
on the Aztec calendar. The Aztec people
would circle around a pole 13 times.

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? Their government was ruled by a
Did powerful relationships exist empeir and if they paid their deeds
they would not really be ruled or
between the people and their
leaders? bossed around and their leaders
were army generals.
How was their society set up?
What were the types of jobs People were separated into different positions and
people had? Were the jobs people rankings, each with benefits and tasks to perform, such
did purposeful for the civilization?
as trading, farming, participating in war, and various
Describe their religion. Did the jobs assigned. Higher rankings received greater benefits,
relationship the people had with and rights higher above others. Each job balanced their
their gods and religious leaders
community and benefited their society throughout
follow rules? many aspects, such as food, resources, religion, in

What did the people invent, create, addition to alternative aspects.
or trade that allowed them to
exchange ideas or values with The aztec religion was mesoamerican. Gods were
others they had relationships developed through important aspects of their culture,
with? such as corn, the sun, and alternative additions. Human
sacrifice ad additional tributes were made to worship
What was the agriculture like?
What food did they eat? How their gods. Rules, such as the selected emperor and
their placements, were determined through religion.
did they grow it? What Rules were dictated based on religion and beliefs of
relationships did the people
have with their environment? people.

The Aztecs traded goods. The Aztecs developed through
their resources of food and technology to exchange and

trade. Their main food source being meat, the aztecs
traded their native resources for the reasoning that the

aztecs would receive another resource in return. The
Aztecs had advanced technology, such as their calendar,
predicting events such as solar eclipses and holidays to
celebrate. Colonies within the Aztec area paid tribute in
exchange for safety and peace. They created aqueducts.

Aztecs grew plant they also grew
flowers that would be used for
festivals thought out the year. The
weather was often perfect for
farming, not to hot and not to cold.

Ancient Aztec
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? About 13 degrees
South latitude and 72 degrees West
longitude. West in South America.
West of Brazil.
What might the climate be like in
this location based on the latitude
and longitude? Because they are
near the equator it would most likely
be humid and hot, but since they live
on the Andes Mountain, their climate
would be cold.
How would this affect the way
people live in this area?They would
need to wear heavy clothes since
they live on top of the mountains, it
would be cold there.they would need
more clothes. It would also be hard
form them to farm because it would
be so cold, and the plants could die
easily.

The Inca Government/
Social Structure

The Inca Government: The nobles were picked as the

king. The Commoners and the Ayllu both had to make pottery and
make gold jewelry for the nobles. The Public Administrators helped
run the government but at the lowest level. The nobles receive
high or best positions in the government. If you stole something,
your hands would be chopped off.

Inca Social Structure

Noble Classes

The Inca empire was ruled by the ancestors of
the original Inca people.The empire or king was

called the Sapa Inca.

Public Administrators

The Public Administrators were the class below the nobles.
They ran the government at the low level. They were the
leaders of the tribe and they kept an eye on people.

Commoners

Artisans were commoners, but were also considered a higher social class
than the farmers. They worked on crafts, such as pottery or gold jewelry

for the nobles.

The Ayllu

They had their own tax payers. They had a tax called Mita, that was a portion of their
crops. They worked on crafts, such as pottery or gold jewelry for the nobles just like the

Commoners.

Inca Religion,
Science, Roads,

Language

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? People had a good relationship with the
Did powerful relationships exist government because people follow the rules

between the people and their and even better there were not a lot of
leaders? crimes. People always respected the gods.
This is some ways people work well with the
How was their society set up?
What were the types of jobs government.
people had? Were the jobs people
did purposeful for the civilization? Their society was ruled by the king, called the Sapa Inca. Then there
was royalty, the son of the Sapa Inca called Auqui. The wife of the
Describe their religion. Did the Sapa Inca was called The Coya. After royalty there was the noble
relationship the people had with classes, who were other members of Royal Relatives. Then there
their gods and religious leaders
was Ayllu, which were the general people. Some jobs were
follow rules? farmers, weavers, and craftsmen, ceramics production, road
building, and making textiles. Yes, it was purposeful because in
What did the people invent, create, exchange for the work the citizens did, the citizens had free
or trade that allowed them to
exchange ideas or values with clothing, food, health care, and education.
others they had relationships
with? They Incas had a decent amount of gods. Some gods
lived in Heaven or Earth and each of them had a
What was the agriculture like? purpose. The Incas believed that the gods had a
What food did they eat? How human behavior where they would feel hatred,
fear, love, compassion, sadness, and any other
did they grow it? What human behavior. The Inca gods and goddesses
relationships did the people represented a number of divine powers.
have with their environment?
They created a great system of roads and bridges to other
areas which helped people trade. The Inca did not have any

money. The Ayllu would trade amongst each other. Each
Ayllu speacialized in the production of certain products
depending apon it’s location. One Ayllu would trade to
another area and would trade for something they didn’t
have. Some things they traded were meat, wool, pottery,
jewelry, clothing. They would trade handmade items like

woven things.

Crops cultivated across the Inca Empire including
maize, coca, beans, grains, potatoes, sweet

potatoes, ulluco, oca, mashwa, pepper, tomatoes,
peanuts, cashews, squash, cucumber, quinoa,
gourd, cotton, talwi, carob, chirimoya, lucuma,

guayabo, and avocado. The main thing about the
environment is that they love llamas a lot.

Ancient Inca
Concept Map