Mayan And Inca Civilizations

Both the Mayans and the Incas were ancient Mesoamerican civilizations who were polytheistic and technologically advanced. However, the Inca decline was mostly caused by the Spanish invaders. On the other hand, the Mayan decline was caused by overpopulation, illness and mostly their gradual disappearance from their villages.

In ancient civilizations, religion played a huge rule in their day to day lives. It affected their culture, the way they acted and in some cases the way their government was ruled. For example, the Mayan and Inca civilizations were both known for their dedication to their polytheistic beliefs. Also, both strived to please their Gods and Goddesses. However, the Incas chief God was Inti, the sun god, while the Mayan chief

God was Itzamná, the ruler of heaven, night and day. In addition, both the Inca and Mayans would have festivals to honor their Gods. During these festivals, offerings would be performed to please their Gods. For example, the Mayans would play a ball game called pitz and the losers of the game would be killed and sacrificed to their Gods. Even though that sounds cruel and horrid, most Mayan people would be happy and honored to sacrifice themselves which is an example of how much they worshipped their Gods. In addition, the Incas also felt as if it was an honor to be sacrificed, but they mostly sacrificed animals, plants and material goods. In the rare time when they did sacrifice humans, it would only be young kids because they felt their chief God, Inti, would appreciate the pureness and innocence of the children. The incas also viewed their afterlife very highly, which was a major factor to why they mummified their dead. In contrast, the Mayans didn’t mummify their dead, although they did bury the bodies facing north because that was said to be the way to heaven. Overall, both the Mayans and Incas valued their religion and would do almost anything to please their Gods.

In today's world we have extremely educated scientists, advanced machines and programing and much more knowledge than they had in 300 B.C.

Therefore, in today's world new technology advancements are very common, but back in the Mayan and Inca time period it was unbelievably more challenging to figure out the way things work. Despite the struggles, they invented very important things. For example, the Inca invented terrace farming which was a farming technique used in the mountains. Since the Incas didn’t have much flat land to farm on they created their own space on the sides of mountains using their technique. This was great for saving space and also irrigation. Unlike The Incas, the Mayans had different farming strategies. The first being, the Mayan farmers would burn down forests and then clear the land to plant on. The second method is building raised fields to prevent the crops from getting damaged by flood waters. The Mayans were also extremely advanced in their architecture and art. They built towering temples, stone palaces, where priest would perform rituals and created elaborate carvings of nobles, warriors, powerful rulers and their Gods. The Incas on the other hand weren't as advanced in art, but they were talented weavers and also the most skilled metalworkers in the Americans. A major invention by the Incas was their elaborate road system that stretched through their capital, Cuzco and additionally 14,000 miles around the capital city and played a major role in

spreading news and easy access ways for the armies to get around, whereas the Mayans road system wasn’t nearly as advanced, but they did have their own form of a hieroglyphic writing system that their scribes used to write down astronomy rituals, religious matters and historical events. In addition, the Mayans developed an accurate 365 day solar calendar and a 260 day ritual calendar. Similarly, the Incas also had a 365 day calendar. Lastly, The incas made huge advancements in the medical field. They developed a method for surgery on the human skull, a drug to make patients unconscious and lastly the concept to clean the area where the person is going to be operated on. All in all, The Incas And the Mayans both made extreme technological advancements that even impact the way we live today.

Unlike everything else, the declines of the Incas and the Mayan civilizations were extremely different.

Little is known about the Mayan decline, but what is assumed is around the time period of A.D. 900 and is said to be caused by the Mayans abandoning their cities. Scientist also say overpopulation could have led to over-farming and exhaustion of the soil or frequent warfare could have been a factor as well. Conversely, The Inca decline is much more known about. In 1525, Huayna Capac, their emperor died of illness which led to much chaos and civil war to break out. Additionally, the timing of his death couldn't have been any worse because it was right before the Spanish invaders came to attack. In addition, the Spanish invaders spread disease to the inca people killing hundreds almost every day. All, in all the timing of everything killed the Inca because they were tight in the middle of the rebellions and wars caused from their emperor dying and then to top it off the Spanish attacked them which led everything downhill from there. In a nutshell, both civilizations decline were caused by very different factors. Overall, The Mayans basically disappeared while the Incas were physically attacked and conquered by the

Spanish.

In conclusion, the Mayans and Incas definitely had many differences that led to their decline, but in comparison they were very alike. For example, they shared the same religious values and both contributed major technological advancements which even have an impact on our daily lives today.