More handpicked essays just for you.
The differences between mayans and aztecs
Comparison between Incas, Mayas and Aztecs
Compare and contrast inca maya and aztec
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Response Paper
The Mayans and the Aztecs are both civilizations that lived in Central America just before the time the Europeans, most likely the Spaniards, came to their countries. The Mayans were from around 250 C.E. to 900 C.E. when their empire was not as powerful as it was, it continued to survive till the Spaniards came in the 1500s while the Aztecs were in power in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries when the arrival of the Spanish had put a stop to their power.
The Mayans had abundance of limestone which was used to build architecture and the limestone formations created wells called cenotes which were their source of water which they used for farming, religious and spiritual sites. For crops the Mayans used maize, beans, squash,
…show more content…
chili peppers, some root crops and fruit trees (McKay et al., 2015, pg. 310). The Mayans had independent city states ruled by a hereditary king. They made pottery, altars, pillars, temples, palaces, pyramids and courts for ball games. At Maya markets, they used jade, obsidian, beads of red spiny oyster shells, lengths of cloth, and cacao beans as media of exchange (McKay et al., 2015, pg. 311). “The Maya developed the most complex writing system in the Americas, a script with nearly a thousand glyphs” (McKay et al., 2015, pg. 311). They wrote everything important down. Little is known about their religion since the Spaniards had burn their documents because they viewed the Maya religion books as demonic. The Mayans were interested in astronomy as well. They even had their own little set up of calendars. The Maya use math based on vigesimal system rather then the decimal system (McKay et al., 2015, pg. 311). “The Maya believed in a cyclical nature of time” (New World Encyclopedia, 2014) much like the Aztecs and Incas. The Mayans had a shaman who is like their priest who would interpret prophecies and celestial and terrestrial cycles. If they came up with a bad omen, the Mayans would then make sacrifices to please the gods. The Mayans believed that the cosmos had three different planes: the underworld, the sky and the earth. “Mayan gods were not discrete, separate entities like Greek gods” (New World Encyclopedia, 2014). The Mayan gods did not have permanent characteristics of good and evil. It appears that in one season, a god might be unacceptable while in a different season, they would find that god acceptable. “The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries.
They were a civilization with a rich cultural heritage whose capital, Tenochtitlan, rivaled the greatest cities of Europe in size and grandeur” (New World Encyclopedia, 2015). The Aztec society had changed in the early 16th century when a stratified social structure emerged and warrior authority had great power and authority (McKay et al., 2015, pg. 319). Tecuhtli were lords who were appointed by the emperor who were generals, judges, and governors who earned reputations as great war heroes. They were like the local government who oversaw political, judicial, and military …show more content…
matters. Warriors were trained since birth. At 6 years old, boys went to a military school where they were taught to fight, learned to live on little food and sleep and to tolerate pain without complaint. At 18, they would fight in their first campaign in which if they captured a prisoner, they would be given the title of iyac. If they captured or kill 4 prisoners, they would be called tequiua. If they failed this requirement they would be called macehualli or commoner. Beneath macehualli, there were tlalmaitl, who were like the serfs in Europe and beneath the tlalmaitl were slaves. For women, they stuck to the domestic side of life and it was like that for all classes of women. However a few vowed service to the temple. (McKay et al., 2015, pg. 319). The Aztecs made human sacrifices to the gods. “human sacrifice became an important part of the Aztec culture, not only because of religious reasons, but also for political reasons” (New World Encyclopedia, 2015). There had also been talk of Aztecs practicing cannibalism but there lacks the proof if they have ever done cannibalism and to what extent is they did. The differences between the Mayans and Aztecs was Mayans seemed to be more on the cultural side, such as their use of math, astronomy, language, and their architecture while the Aztecs seemed to be focused more on the military side with their warriors, wars, and sacrifices.
They both share similar religion in which both thought in terms of cyclical nature of time. Mayans and Aztecs would make sacrifices. However the Aztecs would do human sacrifices more frequently then the Mayans. Aztecs actually embraced the Mesoamerican religion that the Mayans had and the “Aztecs would invoke prophesies of Quetzalcoatl as foretelling the arrival of the Spaniard Hernán Cortés” (McKay et al., 2015, pg. 314). The Aztecs and the Mayans both share a rich history in Mesoamerica though in different eras in which both had brought something to present day culture that we use
today.
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.
Spain, as one of the most powerful nations in the old world, had a great influence on many events in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Spanish also had an influence on many other empires/nations' fate. One of the empires that suffered a grave fate at the hands of the Spanish was the Aztec empire. The Aztec empire was not the oldest Mesoamerican empire and it was formed from an agreement between three city-states. The Aztec's class system had the emperor on top, then the priests, and everyone else below them. The priests were responsible for keeping the gods happy. The sacrifice of goods and people was a commonplace in the Aztec culture, and it was often the goods/people of other nations that were taken for sacrifices. As one can imagine,
The Aztec’s and the Inca’s have many similarities, such as religious beliefs, and views about gods. Inca’s views about training for war are different, and the Aztec’s artifacts are somewhat different. The farm land compared to the Inca’s differs also, because where the Aztec’s lived the land was elevated about ten thousand feet. The religious beliefs of the Aztec’s were bloody; they believed they had to make many sacrifices to appease the gods. The sacrifices were an important aspect of the Aztec religion.
Three tribes ruled modern day Mexico and South America, both at different times. These three tribes were called the Incas, the Aztecs,and the Mayans. And while they do have some similarities. They also have some differences that are actually matter quite a bit. As all three tribes lived in different
The Spanish and Aztecs were both, very powerful and rich empires. They both were immensely successful. The Aztecs, originally known as the Mexica, was a group of people who lived in Tenochtitlan, now know as Mexico City. They believed that the gods controlled the world, and that they worshipped them by sacrificing. If the gods were not fed blood, the believed that the world would end. The Aztecs became one of the greatest cities in the world. On the other hand, the Spanish lived in the west of Europe, converting people to Catholicism. The Spanish wanted to explore, to conquer and by doing that, they could get rich. They were both powerful in their own areas. The Spanish soon were exploring and came across the Aztecs. The Spanish were seeking
.... The Tlatoani of Tenochtitlan was the head of the cult of Huitzilopochtli and thus of the state religion of the Aztec empire. He had special priestly duties in different rituals on the state level. Huitzilopochtli being the state religion required every single person of society to be practiced and revered. As Eduardo F. Elias and Robert Pring-Mill point out:
The Aztec Empire was ruled by an emperor known as the Huey Tlatcani, guest speaker, and had absolute power. The Huey Tlatcani was believed to have been
The Mayan, Inca, and Aztec civilizations each originated from Latin America. The Mayans lived in southern and central Mexico, other Mayans lived in Central America in the present day countries of Belize, Guatemala, and ancient Honduras. The Incas lived along the long coastal strip, and in the high peaks and deep fertile valleys of the Andes Mountains, and along the edges of the tropical forest to the east; this would be the country of Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina in present days. The Aztecs were from Aztlan located in both north and northwest Mexico.
By 1866, several distinct positions on Reconstruction emerged. These were divided into three opposing camps: Conservatives (democrats), Moderates, and Radicals. The Conservatives believed the South should be readmitted into the Union as soon as possible, but the Radicals and Moderates believed there should be consequences for succeeding.
The Aztec had a very simple society. Slaves, commoners, and nobility. Even still, the Aztec gave the poor people chances at achieving high society status. This fairness and practice of not judging someone on their financial status was beneficial for the Aztec. Highly qualified people were able to show what they could do and the overall efficiency improved. Even in religion, the Aztec had determined who would continue into the afterlife and what they did on Earth had an impact on what decision would be made. The Inca automatically assumed that all nobility would go to the sky regardless of what they did on Earth.
Many civilizations have similar qualities as other civilizations, but they also have their differences. Some of these differences include: Religion, Geography, and Government. These three things were a big part of any civilization. Two civilizations had many different things and many similar things. These civilizations are The Maya and The Romans. The Romans had a very unique and interesting culture, The Maya were also very interesting and different. Even though they were unique in their own way, they also had many similar qualities.
The Maya Civilization originated in the Yucatán region during the Preclassic Period at around 2000 BC. There is some argument as to when the Preclassic Period began for the Maya. It 's argued to have began as late as 2600 BC, while there 's claim that it 's earlier because there are permanent Maya settlements along the Pacific coast that date to 1800 BC. A difference of eight hundred years, depending on region.
...nt crops like maize. Religious officials and their roles in Mayan society reflect on how seriously the Mayans took religion and how organized it was. Ceremonies, such as sacrifices, are evidence of how the Mayans honored their gods and how they believed the world worked. All are important to understanding Mayan religion.
Between 200 to 1550 A.D four major civilizations settled in the Pre-colombian Americas. One of the four were the Mayans, who were located along the Yucatan Peninsula and continued between the years 200 to 900 A.D. And then there is the Aztecs, who settled in the Central Mexican Basin and lasted from 1345-1521 A.D. Also there was the Cahokians who arranged around where modern day St. Louis, Missouri is and remained civilized within 1050 to 1200 A.D. Lastly there were the Incas who humanized along the Andean Region and lasted from 1200 to 1532 A.D. They were able to create a huge temple made of gold in their own capital city of Cuzco. Additionally, the Incas had a highway system for sending messages to different parts of the empire. Along with these accomplishments they were able to successfully develop a “give and take” farming society. The Incas were the most advanced of the early american civilizations because they had a strong capital city, created a pathway through their whole territory of land for sending important messages and
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...