In terms of agriculture, Moche and Mayan civilizations were similar in that they both had water management systems that would help them grow the crops more efficiently; however, since agricultural styles were dependent on the landscapes and the climate of the region, Moche and Mayan had different techniques of growing their crops, as well as irrigation system, which Moche had more complexed ones. Moche irrigation system was surely “complex...requiring constant maintenance, which funneled runoff from the Andes into fields,” since the Moche civilization contained thirteen river valleys and dynamic landscapes including the Andes mountains, that they required an extensive irrigation system. Rainfalls were extreme, that it occasionally brought drought and …show more content…
flood from El Nino as well.
On the other hand, Mayan irrigation system was less complex compared to Moche’s, because they had extremely rocky landscape that prevented Mayans from constructing complex structures of the system. Even though Mayans still had their irrigation system, they rather developed their own ways of saving or finding water from nature, such as water caves. Moche and Mayan civilizations both had political structures that contained the elements of religions and rituals; however, Moche, as a one united state, had political structures were focused on war, ritual, and diplomacy, while Maya had different sectors within government structure and was divided into different state governments within a civilization. Moche had a highly stratified society that was mostly ruled by warrior-priests, the conductors of warfare, rituals, and government, and shaman-rulers, who mostly devoted their lives on conducting ancient rituals and connecting the world of humankind to the gods. The political structure heavily relied on the religions and rituals in order to unite the civilization, and maintain the equilibrium between nature and the people. Respecting the Gods were priority to the Moche people, as they thought the Gods determined
whether the civilization will flourish or not. Mayan people also put great importance to the deities of their own; however, they had more political system that is more complex and secular than the Moche political system, since the civilization was greater in size and population. Each of the officials of the Mayan states did not take many roles at the same time, like the warrior-priests of Moche civilization, who functioned as both warrior and priests. For example, “high priests” only conducted rituals such as sacrifices, “batabs” had administrative, judicial, and some religious authority, and “nacoms” were the supreme military commanders. Dividing the political structure into several sectors enabled Mayans to efficiently govern the states, and connect and unite the states as a whole. Since Mayan civilization was big in size, they realized that making a person rule the whole government and religion will bring disintegration of the Mayan civilization. Therefore, they eliminated the potentials of segregation of the civilization by using wise ways to strengthen the bond among people by distributing powers among different officials. (Compare to moche) Religions were similar in Mayan and Moche civilization that they both had deities that were derived from the nature, but they had different kinds of the gods that were dependent on their geography of the region. Mayan gods and Moche gods were similar that they both included the creator god as the superior gods, such as Al Paec the creator and sky god of Moche and Itzamna, the supreme and the creator god. Creator gods both existed in Mayan and Moche civilization because they considered that the Creator gods created nature, and nature controlled the prosperity of the civilization. To maintain the balance between the nature and people, they needed a supreme force that they could believe in, so they could give themselves a satisfying sense of protectiveness. However, not only similarities, but also many differences existed between Moche and Mayan people. Mayan gods were divided into two major groups: the benevolent gods and the malevolent gods, while Moche gods lacked malevolent elements. For example, Mayan’s malevolent god was, Zipacna, the Demon deity who had “great sexual appetite” and was “very arrogant and powerful.” The reason why Moche did not have “evil gods” was probably because of the Mayan’s complex government system that enabled the rulers to punish the felons according to the written rule. Mayans required the source of power to punish and eliminate the evil spirits that prevented the society from being more prosperous, so that they could lessen the conflict or felony among people in Maya. On the other hand, Moche, which was small in size compared to Maya, did not find much necessities of creating a source of power to punish people as they would still have satisfying lives from worshipping the gods.
The layout of the Maya cities was quite a unique one. They had no formal plan and expansion was done
The Mayans did not grew up with technology, they grew by using their instincts. The way Mayan’s grew their crops were all done by their hands. The Mayan people did not use any wildlife such as an ox, bull, nor caribou. The work they have done was purely all muscles. Not only was the Mayan civilization was not polluted, but their population was not massive as well. They had a decent amount of people. They had to balance out their water and food consumption because the weather was bipolar. The weather would be hot for four months and it would rain for six to eight months. The people had to figure out how to save enough water during the hot season and how to preserve their crop during the rainy season. The Mayans somehow knew about the environment more than the people
The Mayans and Americans have many differences. Mayans and Americans have their own religions and beliefs such as what kind of gods/god they believe in,and what they believe what they have to do to stay alive.
Because of the mountainous terrain, it was difficult for them to farm. Similar to the Aztecs, they also invented a way to farm in their challenging environment. The Incas came up with the idea of terraces (Document 6). These were steps or flat level areas carved in to the mountains that made it easier to farm. Another agricultural achievement of the Incans was the widespread construction of irrigation channels.
Mexican civilization is very much affected due its contact. with France, New Orleans of the USA.”Design, style and gastronomy are expressions that show the vibe of Yucatan, sentiment relevance more than its personal kingdom.”(4).
In the fertile valleys or high plateaus the Mayas, Incas, and Aztecs built communities and villages practicing sedentary lifestyles. They had for the most part “permanent, intensive agriculture.” (Lane and Restall 2012) This allowed them to produce complex foods that benefitted the villages because it made them possible but it also resulted in social stratification. “Agricultural activities of the majority allowed a minority to live and work as artisans, merchants, warriors, nobles and royalty – permitting the development of writing, metallurgy, bureaucracy, and other features of high civilization.” More specifically, the Mayans were able to create the most complete of the three Mesoamerican writing systems, “one that was still used in the early sixteenth century.” (Lane and Restall 2012) They were also able to expand, but their expansion would also be their demise. Because they were so large -- filled with regional kingdoms and empires -- the Spanish were easily able to conquer
The Maya and Aztec civilizations were both indigenous people that flourished in Mesoamerica during different periods of time. Maya 's classic period is dated from 250 to 900 AD, which was considered to be the peak of their civilization. They covered much of the Yucatan Peninsula and were centered in what is now known as Guatemala. The Aztecs dominated from 1325 AD to 1521 AD, in what is now modern day Mexico. Although they shared cultural similarities such as their social structure, they also had their differences in military and religious rituals.
...e land around the Aztecs was filled with water. The Aztecs solved the problem by making chinampas. A chinampa was a bit of land in the water , such as a small island, that allowed the Aztecs to grow more crops. To make a chinampa, they sank wood into the water, then filled it up with reeds, mud, and rocks. The crops the Aztecs would grow were red peppers, tomatoes, sage, squash, green beans, potato, sweet potato, avocado, and corn. The Aztec’s agriculture was sophisticated because it allowed them to grow food for over 200 thousand people.
...c used a slash and burn style of farming and they relocated once the nutrients of the land were used up. The Incas were much more advanced. Labor specialization was common, especially in the large densely populated areas like Cuzco. The Incas made roads, had irrigation channels, fortresses, and mines. They used crop rotation and terracing and other advanced agricultural methods.
This decided what they could grow if they could even grow anything. It also determined whether or not they had water, also whether or not it would be safe to travel for trade. In the Roman empire the cities were overflowing with people. So full that, poor people couldn’t have their own home and only rich people could. Where they were they could grow olives and grapes, they also ate vegetables, bread, and cheese. Where the Maya lived farmers lived in wood houses and rich people lived in stone houses. In the Maya civilization, they had corn, beans, and yams if they were poor; if they were rich they ate meats and crops that servants grew. Both had a fine line between the rich and the poor. The two civilizations both had the ability to grow things to keep themselves
Mayan architectural achievements were remarkable, given the difficulties brought on by fragile soil, dense forest, and a harsh tropical climate. During the Classic period (250-900 A.D.), the largest Mayan cities had populations in excess of 50,000 people. These high populations required them to practice more intensive agriculture, instead of the typical slash-and-burn.
The most important idea in Allen J. Christenson's Popol Vuh is maize or often known as corn but to the Maya culture, corn has a bigger significance than just food. Corn has played a important role in empires, civilizations and people for thousands of years. The Maya have a lot of admiration to corn as a cornerstone of their culture and spirituality. Maize was so highly admired that the Mayans had a Maize God. Corn was a gift from the Gods and cultivating it and planting it was a sacred duty it was a really important process in which corn was to be planted and harvested. Temples were built for Maize Gods and corn was used to nourish workers and kings. To the Mayans, the Gods made humankind out of maize. The Maya also considered this crop to be the vegetation of life in order to eat and grow. This symbolized the fragile nature of corn, a crop that depends entirely on human cultivation for its reproduction with such deep meaning and that has deep culture and meaning.
Both the Mayans and the Incas were among one of the first mesoamerican civilizations. they were both deeply religious and built huge cerimonial temples where they performed human sacrifices. The Incas were ruled by an established government whereas Mayans were ruled by kings and priests. The incas practiced terrace farming and used irrigation. One fascinating fact is that, the Mayans from time to time gradually disappear. Both the Aztecs and Mayans studied astronomy and developed calendars. They both built great cities,
The Mayan civilization was located in southeastern Mexico on the Yucatan Peninsula. One of the first American civilizations, it lasted from about 1000 B.C.-1542 A.D. Their civilization flourished during the Sixth Century. They built many temples and over forty cities. The Mayan population consisted of almost fifteen million people who were all living in one of the many cities. The Mayan people were extremely religious and believed in multiple gods which meant they were polytheistic. Their most commonly worshiped god was the Maize God, or god of corn, as corn was the most grown and most relied on crop. The Mayans grew all of their own food so they needed to have useful farming methods. The one they used most often was the slash and burn method, which involved cutting down trees and burning them to make the soil fertil which was necessary to grow crops. This method worked for many years, but soon started to backfire. The Mayans were ahead of their time, but that did not prevent their mysterious decline which occurred between the years 800 A.D.-900 A.D. Although it is not known exactly why the powerful empire fell, but there are various probable theories. The mysterious decline of the Mayans may have been caused by
Maya civilization was based mainly on agriculture and religion. Maya every day life revolved around an innumerable number of earth Gods. The most important God was chief, ruler of all Gods. The Mayans prayed to these God’s particularly about their crops. For example, they prayed to the Rain God to nourish their crops. They practiced their religion during ceremonies conducted by priests. They also practiced confession and even fasted before important ceremonies (Gann and Thompson 1931 118-138). The Mayans also b...