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The Inca Empire was very large in area that they ruled in. The Incas empire stretched most of the way along the western side of South America. The Incas lived in the Andes and had the Amazon Rainforest on one side of them and the Gobi Desert on the other. The Amazon and The desert were natural barriers. The Inca built many roads connecting their different cities, stretching throughout the Andes. The Inca built bridges over deep valleys and drops. Only the messengers and Noblemen were allowed on the bridges. Commoners were only allowed with special permission from a Noble.

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Geographic locationAnd Human-environment InteractionTheir geography and climate created to disturb their comfort. One thing they did was to clear large sections of the rainforest to build underground reservoirs for fresh water storage. But they did use a metal tools.

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Geographic locationAnd Human-environment InteractionTheir geography and climate created to disturb their comfort. One thing they did was to clear large sections of the rainforest to build underground reservoirs for fresh water storage. But they did use a metal tools.

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This is website about Geographic locationAnd Human-environment Interaction

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This is website about Geographic locationAnd Human-environment Interaction

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The Mayans also used the resource of limestone to make their buildings. Making the stones was quite a process though. They had to heat up the limestone to make it soft. It took 20 trees to heat just one square meter of it.

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HISTORY'S HISTORIES You are history. We are the future.

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Essential Themes Geography: ​ Why do people live and build where they do? Review: What is geography? ​ Where are the Andes Mountains?

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The Inca’s government was relatively small and had lots more comments than government officials. The Inca had a Sapa Inca who was in charge of all the people and all the land. The Sapa Inca was the only one that could change rules or make new rules. The Sapa Inca made his family Nobles. Noble is the name that the Inca government officials. When the Sapa Inca made a new rule it was passed down the levels of Nobles then to the commoners. After a local tribe joined the Inca a new government official was put in charge of them.

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They ate corn porridge, tortillas filled with cooked vegetables. They were very good farmer and grew more food than they needed. They called that food is surplus crops. Men and boys began working the fields at dawn. They did not get home under early afternoon.

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Kids learn about the government of the Inca Empire including officials, organization, Sapa Inca, taxes, law and punishment.

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For the Maya, reliable food production was so important to their well-being that they closely linked the agricultural cycle to astronomy and religion. Important rituals and ceremonies were held in honour of specialised workers; from beekeepers to fishermen, and maize, the all-important Mesoamerican staple, even had its own god. An agricultural society, 90% of the Maya population were involved in farming. Management of land and natural resources brought a more dependable harvest and varied diet, enabling economic growth. This allowed for the flourishing of Maya culture but eventual over-exploitation, an ever-increasing population, and protracted periods of drought may have been factors in the ultimate collapse of the Maya civilization.

The Maize God

One of the most important Maya deities, perhaps even the most important, was the 'Young Maize God'. Typically portrayed with a head in the form of an ear of maize, he could appear in Maya mythology as the creator god. Descending to the underworld, he reappeared with the world tree which holds the centre of the earth and fixes the four cardinal directions. The world tree was, indeed, sometimes visualised as a maize plant. One of the names of the Maya maize god was Yum Caax ('Master of the Fields in Harvest') but another, as at Palenque, was Hun-Nale-Ye ('One Revealed Sprouting'). If any further proof were needed of the Maya reverence for maize, one need only consult the religious text, where the ancestors of humanity are described as being made of maize. Other important foodstuffs besides maize had their own gods, for example, Ek Chuah (aka God M) was considered the god of cacao and so vital was water to crops that the Maya rain god Chac gained special prominence, especially in times of drought.

To maximise productivity crops were planted together such as beans and squash in fields of maize.

Maya Agricultural Methods

The quality and quantity of agricultural land around Maya cities varied depending on their location. In the lowlands of the Peten and Puuk regions, for example, the soil was relatively fertile but restricted to small patches. A technique to increase soil fertility was the use of raised fields, especially near water courses and flood plains. At these locations stone- wall terraces were sometimes built to collect fertile silt deposits. Forests were cleared to make way for agriculture but such land quickly declined in fertility and necessitated slash-and-burn techniques to rejuvenate the land after two years of crops, which then requires on average a further 5-7 years to be ready for re-planting. A similar necessity to leave fields to rejuvenate was common in the highland sites, where plots had to be left empty for up to 15 years. To maximise productivity, crops were planted together such as beans and squash in fields of maize so that the beans could climb the maize stalks and the squash could help reduce soil erosion.

Those cities without access to large areas of land suitable for agriculture could trade with more productive cities. For example, slaves, salt, honey and precious goods such as metals, feathers, and shells were often traded for plant products. Just how larger plots of land were distributed, in what manner farmland passed on between generations, and the level of state management in agricultural production remain unclear. It is known, however, that many Maya private homes would have cultivated food in small gardens, especially vegetables and fruit. Once harvested, foodstuffs were stored in wooden cradles above ground and in subterranean sites.

Water management was another necessity, especially in certain Maya cities during the dry winters and hot summers. Water was collected in sinkholes created by collapsed caves and known as a tz'onot (corrupted to cenote in Spanish) and sometimes brought to fields using canals. Cisterns ( chultunob) were also excavated, typically bottle-shaped and built using wide plastered aprons around their entrances to maximise the collection of rainwater.

Maya Crops & Food

Maize ( milpa) was one of the most important crops but so too were root crops such as sweet manioc, beans, squash, amaranth, and chile peppers. Maize was typically boiled in water and lime, and eaten as a gruel mixed with chile pepper ( saka') for breakfast or made into a dough for baking on a flat-stone ( metate) as tortillas or flat cakes ( pekwah) and as tamales - stuffed and baked in leaves.

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Animals which were hunted include deer, peccary, turkeys, quails, ducks, curassow, guan, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, the tapir, and armadillo. Dogs were also fattened up on maize and eaten. Fish were caught using nets, traps, and lines, and, as in certain Asian cultures, trained cormorants were used to help catch fish: The cormorants' necks were tied so that they could not swallow the bigger fish, which they would then bring back to the fisherman. Meat and fish were typically cooked in stews along with various vegetables and peppers. Fish was either salted and dried or roasted over an open fire.

Fruits eaten included guava, papaya, avocado, custard apple, and sweetsop. A frothy chocolate drink and honey were also popular desserts. Another very popular drink was beer, known to the Maya as chih and made from fermented agave juice.

Important trees used by the Maya for their wood were the sapodilla and breadnut. The bottle gourd was cultivated to make containers from its hard but light-weight fruit shell. The copal was valued for its resin which was burned as incense and used for rubber. Finally, cotton was also cultivated, especially in the Yucatan province, famous for its fine textiles.

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For the Maya, reliable food production was so important to their well-being that they closely linked the agricultural cycle to astronomy and religion. Important rituals and ceremonies were held in honour of specialised workers; from beekeepers to fishermen, and maize, the all-important Mesoamerican staple, even had its own god.

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Ancient Mayan Traditions: What Did They Eat? by Artistic Vegan

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The Inca had many farmers that grew for the whole empire. The Inca mainly grew potatoes (they were the first to do so), corn, and quinoa. The Inca never wasted any food, instead, they put the extra, dried, into a storehouse for when they needed it later on. Since the Inca lived in the Andes there wasn’t much flat land, so the Inca being resourceful they built terraces. Terraces were like giant flat steps used for farming. The Inca also built aqueducts to bring water where it was needed.

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The Incas controlled a vast empire which included four climate zones and, consequently, their agricultural produce was diverse. The people of the ancient Andes were largely vegetarian, occasionally supplementing their diet with camelid meat and seafood if they could get it. The Inca state developed a huge farming apparatus, where crops and herds were commandeered from conquered peoples and the people themselves were periodically commandeered to work on state-owned farms. More positively, a vast network of storage facilities was developed to insure against times of drought and disaster and foodstuffs were often given out as gifts by rulers seeking to make themselves popular.

Organization & Methods

At a micro-level each family unit produced its own food. Family units were part of a wider kin group or ayllu which collectively owned farmland. Ideally, an ayllu would posses at least some land in both the highlands and more temperate lowlands so that a diversity of foodstuffs could be cultivated. For example, the highlands could offer good pasture and permit potato and maize production, while coca could only be grown at lower altitudes. An area of land for maize cultivation (perhaps around 1.5 acres) called a tupu was given to newlyweds by their ayllu so that they might be self-sustainable. In addition, their first child entitled the couple to another half tupu. If the owner of land died without an heir, then the land was returned to the ayllu for future redistribution.

Land was worked using simple tools such as a hoe, clod breaker, and foot plough - the chakitaqlla, which consisted of a wooden or bronze pointed pole that was pushed into the ground by placing one's foot on a horizontal bar. Hoe blades were typically made using sharpened cobble stones. Agriculture was a community practice, and farmers worked in small teams of seven or eight, often singing as they worked with the men hoeing and women following behind, breaking up clods and sowing seeds. Meanwhile children and young adults were responsible for tending to the family herd of camelids.

Crops cultivated across the Inca Empire included maize, coca, beans, grains, potatoes, sweet potatoes, ulluco, oca, mashwa, pepper, tomatoes, peanuts, cashews, squash, cucumber, quinoa, gourd, cotton, talwi, carob, chirimoya, lúcuma, guayabo, and avocado. Livestock was primarily llama and alpaca herds. These animals were vital to many aspects of Andean life as they provided wool, meat, leather, moveable wealth, transportation - especially for the army, and they were often sacrificed in religious ceremonies. Some of the larger state-owned herds could have tens of thousands of animals, and all herds were meticulously accounted for in a state census conducted each November.

The Incas were ambitious farmers and they transformed the landscape with terracing, canals, and irrigation networks.

The Incas were ambitious farmers, and to maximise agricultural production, they transformed the landscape with terracing, canals, and irrigation networks, whilst wetlands were often drained to make them suitable for farming. In addition, the Incas were fully aware of the values of regular crop rotation, and they also fertilized the land with dried llama dung, guano, or fish heads if these materials were available. Even so, the often harsh Andean climate could bring floods, droughts, and storms which, along with disease, meant that annual crop failures were not infrequent. In such cases the Inca talent for food storage came into its own.

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Food Storage

Foodstuffs (and other goods) were stored in storehouses ( qollqa) which were built in the tens of thousands across the empire, typically arranged in neat rows and near population centres, large estates, and roadside stations. State officials kept careful accounts of their stocks using the quipu, a recording device of strings and knots. Qollqa were single-roomed stone buildings, either circular or rectangular, which were built in a remarkably uniform manner. Placed on hillsides to take advantage of cool breezes, qollqa were designed to maximise the storage time of the perishable goods with which they were filled. They had drainage canals, gravel flooring, and ventilation in both the floor and roof in order to keep the interior as cool and dry as possible so that ordinary goods could be stored for up to two years and freeze-dried foodstuffs for up to four years. Archaeologists have ascertained that maize, potatoes, and quinoa were the most common foodstuffs stored in qollqa. Maize and coca from these stores were frequently given to the masses by popularity-seeking rulers and in times of crop failures.

Rituals, songs, and sacrifices were a vital part of farming for the Incas. In such ceremonies llamas and guinea pigs were sacrificed and chicha beer poured into the ground and near rivers and springs in order to win favour from the gods and the elements. In addition, the sometimes harsh Andean environment meant that agriculture was viewed as a form of warfare so that, as the historian T. N. D'Altroy eloquently put it, "The Incas approached farming with weapons in their hands and prayers on their lips" (276).

There were also many sacred fields in the Inca capital Cuzco. The harvest from these was used as offerings in shrines, and one particular field was reserved for the ceremonial planting of the year's first maize. It was here, in the month of August, that the Inca king ceremoniously tilled the first soil of the year with a golden plough. The sacred Coricancha, which had a temple to the Inca sun god Inti, even had a life-size field of corn made purely from gold and silver complete with precious metal animals and insects. When the Incas conquered a territory, they divided the land and livestock into three unequal parts - one for the state religion, one for the king, and one for the local inhabitants. Alternatively, as tax was often extracted in the form of labour ( mit'a), farmers were relocated to work the Inca ruler's lands or help in other state projects, such as road building and large buildings. The agricultural produce of the farmers' own land was largely left untouched, and they were also allowed to cultivate small plots alongside the state farms while performing their mit'a.

Inca Food & Drink

The Incas had two main meals a day, one early morning and another in the late evening, both taken while seated on the floor without a table. The Inca diet, for ordinary people, was largely vegetarian as meat - camelid, duck, guinea-pig, and wild game such as deer and the vizcacha rodent - was so valuable as to be reserved only for special occasions. More common was freeze-dried meat ( ch'arki), which was a popular food when travelling. A porridge made from quinoa was a staple food, and near the coasts fish was eaten, typically in stews. Using small reed boats, Inca fishermen hoped to catch anchovies, sardines, tuna, salmon, sea bass, and shellfish. Wild fruits available included sour cherries, custard apples, elderberries, cactus fruits, pineapples, and a type of banana.

Food was prepared on fires of wood or llama dung using a stone or clay stove so that most food was either boiled or roasted. Maize was either cooked in the form of small cakes or toasted, while popcorn was considered a special treat. Potatoes were another important staple, and these could be stored by drying or freeze-drying in the form of chuno. The grains quinoa and canihua were also important, along with the tubers oca, mashua, and maca. Grains were prepared by pounding them between stone mortars or with a pestle. Additional flavours were achieved by adding herbs and spices, especially chili peppers. The most popular drink was the mildly alcoholic chicha, a fermented beer-like drink which women prepared by chewing maize or other plants and then allowing the pulp to ferment for several days.

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The Incas controlled a vast empire which included four climate zones and, consequently, their agricultural produce was diverse. The people of the ancient Andes were largely vegetarian, occasionally supplementing their diet with camelid meat and seafood if they could get it.

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Education for the Incas was valued only to be for the royal kids. This resulted in Farming kids always farming and royal kids always to be royal. The Inca government realized that the needed more Nobels so they tested all the Inca kids and if they had a high enough IQ they could go to school. The children that didn’t go to school helped in the fields and learned from their parents. These children learned to cook and sew from their parents, these children were better off. Some farming girls went to the temple, either to be slaves of Nobles

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In the ancient Maya society, there was a special class of priest whose job was to teach the children of the nobles. That priest, or group of priests, taught math, science, astronomy, medicine, writing, and other subjects.The job of a child was to help their parents.

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In the ancient Maya society, there was a special class of priest whose job was to teach the children of the nobles. That priest, or group of priests, taught math, science, astronomy, medicine, writing, and other subjects.

But there was no formal school for the children of commoners. Most people in the Maya Empire were farmers. The job of a child was to help their parents. By the time a child turned 4 or 5, they were given daily jobs to do, so they would learn how to be a farmer or a farmer's wife. If a parent had a specialized profession, such as a artist, the boys learned that skill, even if they had no talent for it. Girls learned from their mothers and boys from their fathers, whatever their job. As time went on, children were given more difficult tasks. By the time they were 15, they were considered an adult and fully trained for their life's work.

It was almost impossible for a commoner to move up. Once a farmer, always a farmer. Once a brick layer, always a brick layer. If a child exhibited incredible talent, especially in the arts, that child on occasion might be singled out to be taught a specialized profession. But this was rare. Social position in each city-state was tightly structured. Positions and jobs were hereditary.

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Children and School, Daily Life - The Maya Empire for Kids

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In the ancient Maya society, there was a special class of priest whose job was to teach the children of the nobles. That priest, or group of priests, taught math, science, astronomy, medicine, writing, and other subjects. But there was no formal school for the children of commoners.

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Mayan civilization (video) | Early Americas | Khan Academy

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An overview of the Mayan civilization as well as the great city of Teotihuacan.

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Nobody know where they came from. About 2400 years ago. A new tribe appeared in central America.They were skilled builders. They built palaces, temples, pyramids, walls, and homes.

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Create a new survey on your own or with others at the same time. Choose from a variety of survey types and analyze results in Google Forms. Free from Google.