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OFFICIAL NAME: Kingdom of Spain

FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Parliamentary monarchy

CAPITAL: Madrid

POPULATION: 49,331,076

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: Castilian Spanish, Basque, Catalan, and Galician

MONEY: Euro

AREA: 195,363 square miles (505,988 square kilometers)

MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Pyrenees, Sierra de Guadarrama, Sierra de Gredos, Sierra Nevada

MAJOR RIVERS: Guadalquivir, Ebro, Duero, Miño, Tajo, and Guadiana

Spain occupies most of the Iberian Peninsula, stretching south from the Pyrenees Mountains to the Strait of Gibraltar, which separates Spain from Africa. To the east lies the Mediterranean Sea, including Spain's Balearic Islands. Spain also rules two cities in North Africa and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic.

The interior of Spain is a high, dry plateau surrounded and crisscrossed by mountain ranges. Rivers run to the coasts, creating good farmland. Still, the interior of the country gets very hot in summer and very cold and dry in the winter. Droughts are common.

Plants and trees grow so well on the northwestern coast, in Galicia and along the Bay of Biscay, that the area is called Green Spain. Rain, trapped by the mountains farther inland, is frequent. Beech and oak trees flourish here. Numerous coves and inlets break up the coastline.

The southern and eastern coasts of Spain, from the fertile Andalusian plain up to the Pyrenees, are often swept by warm winds called sirocco winds. These winds originate in northern Africa and keep temperatures along the Mediterranean coast milder than the interior.

PEOPLE & CULTURE

Many Spaniards share a common ethnic background: a mixture of the early inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula, the Celts, and later conquerors from Europe and Africa. The origins of the Basque people in the north of Spain remain unknown. Recent immigrants from North Africa and Latin America have added to the mix.

Spaniards are known for their love of life and for eating and drinking with family and friends. Traditional appetizers like tapas or pintxos, the Basque country equivalent, are popular. Regional dances and music are almost as important as soccer and religious festivals.

A link between Europe and Africa, Spain is an important resting spot for migratory birds. Spain is also home to such mammals as the wolf, lynx, wildcat, fox, wild boar, deer, hare, and wild goat. Streams and lakes shelter trout, barbel, and tench fish. But many species of wildlife face threats from habitat loss and pollution.

Due to centuries of tree cutting, large forests are now found only in the north Pyrenees and the Asturias-Galicia area. Planting new trees is difficult where sheep and goats graze. Erosion and river pollution are also problems. Spain has created many national parks and refuges, but they only cover about 7 percent of the country.

One protected area is Doñana National Park, a region of marshes, streams, and sand dunes where the Guadalquivir River flows into the Atlantic. The park's diversity of life is unique in Europe and includes the European badger, Egyptian mongoose, and endangered species such as the Spanish imperial eagle and the Iberian lynx.

GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY

In Spain, which is a parliamentary monarchy, the king and the elected president share the power. Although there is a national parliament, Spain is one of the most decentralized democracies in Europe. Each of its 17 regions manages its own schools, hospitals, and other public services.

With vibrant, historic cities and sunny beaches, Spain attracts more tourists than any other European country except France. Services to the tourism industry drive Spain's economy, the eighth largest in the world. In 1986 Spain joined the European Community and further modernized its economy. Important industries include mining, shipbuilding, and textiles.

Settlers have migrated to Spain from Europe, Africa, and the Mediterranean since the dawn of history. The Phoenicians, who came in the 8th century B.C., called the peninsula "Span," or hidden land. By the first century B.C. the Romans had conquered Spain.

Spain became mostly Christian under the Romans, who were followed by the Vandals and the Visigoths, Germanic peoples from Europe. The Visigoth rulers fought among themselves, and in A.D. 711 Muslims from Africa invaded Spain.

Islamic culture spread across Spain as Muslim rulers introduced new crops and irrigation systems, and trading increased. Mathematics, medicine, and philosophy became more advanced, peaking in the tenth century-the golden age of Islamic rule in Spain.

In 1492 Christian kingdoms in northern Spain conquered the Muslims and spread the Catholic religion. Enriched by silver from the Americas, Spain grew more powerful. It later lost land and power in the Napoleonic Wars, which ended in 1815.

More than 500,000 people died in the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s. The victorious Gen. Francisco Franco ruled as a brutal dictator until his death in 1975. Soon after, Spain began to transform itself into a modern, industrial, and democratic European nation.

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OFFICIAL NAME: Kingdom of Spain FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Parliamentary monarchy CAPITAL: Madrid POPULATION: 49,331,076 OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: Castilian Spanish, Basque, Catalan, and Galician MONEY: Euro AREA: 195,363 square miles (505,988 square kilometers) MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Pyrenees, Sierra de Guadarrama, Sierra de Gredos, Sierra Nevada MAJOR RIVERS: Guadalquivir, Ebro, Duero, Miño, Tajo, and Guadiana Spain occupies most of the Iberian Peninsula, stretching south from the Pyrenees Mountains to the Strait of Gibraltar, which separates Spain from Africa.

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Kids learn about the Geography of Dominican Republic. The history, capital, flag, climate, terrain, people, economy, and population.

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Kids learn about the Geography of Paraguay. The history, capital, flag, climate, terrain, people, economy, and population.

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Uruguay had long been inhabited by indigineous people who would hunt, gather, and fish on the land. Europeans discovered the country in 1516, but it was settled by the Portugese in 1680. In 1726, the Spanish took control and founded Montevideo. Few indigineous people remained.

Uruguayans would later fight to resist takeover from Argentina and Brazil. In 1828, a treaty proclaimed Uruguay as a separate state and buffer between the two countries. Uruguay's first constitution was established in 1830.

A civil war ensued between the Blancos (Whites) and the Colorados (Reds) until the mid-1800s, with the two sides eventually becoming the country's conservative and liberal political parties, respectively. The names of the parties were taken from the colors of the flags during the civil war.

Uruguay would see increased development in the late 1800s and increased immigration, both of which were aided by the introduction of a railroad to Montevideo. The country's population soared to one million by 1900, up from around 70,000 at the time of independence.

While civil war would continue to trouble the country, stability was finally achieved in 1905 when the Colorados were elected to power. Uruguay suffered the effects of the Great Depression, but had an economic boom during World War II and the Korean War, selling wool, meat, and other animal products to European countries and the U.S. However, the end of the wars brought a slump for the Uruguayan economy and further political instability that lasted into the late 1900s.

New leadership would eventually bring about economic growth and more job opportunities that continue through present day.

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Uruguay had long been inhabited by indigineous people who would hunt, gather, and fish on the land. Europeans discovered the country in 1516, but it was settled by the Portugese in 1680. In 1726, the Spanish took control and founded Montevideo. Few indigineous people remained.

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The northern part of the country was ruled by the Inca before the Spanish took control in the 16th century. Native Mapuche people lived in the southern and central regions before the country became a Spanish colony.

The country gained independence from Spain in 1810. Toward the end of the 1800s, many Europeans began to settle in Chile, including Germans, French, British, and Italians. Many Chinese moved to Chile to help build the railroad.

Chile was once considered to be a very stable and free country. But in 1973 a bloody battle overthrew Salvador Allende's elected Marxist government and the country suffered 16 years under the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. Democracy was restored in 1989.

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Chile Country Profile - National Geographic Kids

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The northern part of the country was ruled by the Inca before the Spanish took control in the 16th century. Native Mapuche people lived in the southern and central regions before the country became a Spanish colony. The country gained independence from Spain in 1810.

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Ecuador Country Profile - National Geographic Kids

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Ecuador is located in the western corner at the top of the South American continent.

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Humans have inhabited the land in Bolivia for thousands of years.

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The ancient city of Machu Picchu was built by the Inca.

OFFICIAL NAME: Republic of Peru

FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Constitutional republic

CAPITAL: Lima

POPULATION: 31,331,228

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: Spanish, Quechua

MONEY: Nuevo Sol

AREA: 496,224 square miles (1,285,216 sqare kilometers)

MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Andes

MAJOR RIVERS: Amazon, Ucayali, Madre de Dios

Peru is the third largest country in South America, after Brazil and Argentina. It is made up of a variety of landscapes, from mountains and beaches to deserts and rain forests. Most people live along the coast of the Pacific Ocean, where the capital, Lima, is located.

Along Peru's west coast is a narrow strip of desert 1,555 miles (2,500 kilometers) long. Ancient people, called the Chimú and the Nasca, first inhabited this region thousands of years ago. The coastal desert makes up only about 10 percent of Peru, but it is home to more than half of all Peruvians.

The world's largest rain forest, the Amazon, covers nearly half of Peru. Called the selva in Spanish, this huge jungle, which also covers half of Brazil, is home to plants and animals that do not live anywhere else on Earth. Some scientists think there may even be Indian tribes there that have never seen the outside world.

The second highest mountain range in the world runs through Peru. These peaks, called the Andes, are so tall and forbidding that the ancient Inca people thought they were gods. They run from north to south and can be seen from Peru's beaches 50 miles (80 kilometers) to the west. The highest peak, Mount Huascarán, is 22,205 feet (6,768 meters) high.
Map created by National Geographic Maps

PEOPLE & CULTURE

The people of Peru are a mix of many different cultures, including Indians, Spaniards and other Europeans, descendants of African slaves, and Asians. Until recently, most people lived in the countryside. But now, more than 70 percent live in cities. Most Peruvians follow the Catholic religion introduced by the Spanish.

Because it has so many different ecosystems, Peru is home to a wider variety of plants and animals than most other countries on Earth. For many reasons, Peruvians have not had as much of an impact on their natural world as many other countries, and much of these ecosystems have been undisturbed.

A 250-acre (100-hectare) plot of Peruvian rain forest is home to more than 6,000 kinds of plants! There are hundreds of species that are only found in the Amazon. To protect these plants and animals, Peru has created special forest areas called reserves.

On the Pacific Coast, many interesting plant and animal species have adapted to the dry desert climate. And off the coast, the Peru Current nourishes huge numbers of small fish, which in turn support large populations of bigger fish and seabirds, including Humboldt penguins.

Peru's mountains support special types of grasses and plants, which provide food for mammals like llamas, alpacas, and vicuñas. One plant that grows in the Andes, the puya raimondi, grows for a hundred years before blooming.

GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY

Peru is a constitutional republic, with a president, a congress, and a supreme court. Peruvians are required to vote by law. Presidents serve five-year terms and can only be elected twice in a row.

Peru is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of natural resources. Gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead, and iron are found across the country, and there are reserves of oil and natural gas. Even so, jobs there can be very hard to find, and Peru remains one of the world's poorest countries.

Peru is a very old country. The earliest inhabitants arrived there about 15,000 years ago. Societies emerged on the west coast more than 5,000 years ago and began to spread inland. These included the Chavín, the Moche, and the Nasca.

One of the most important Peruvian cultures was the Inca, who lived in Peru around 600 years ago. Their capital, Cusco, is still a major city today. The Inca also built Machu Picchu, a famous and mysterious ancient city in the Andes. They thrived for centuries before being conquered by the Spanish in 1532.

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The ancient city of Machu Picchu was built by the Inca. OFFICIAL NAME: Republic of Peru FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Constitutional republic CAPITAL: Lima POPULATION: 31,331,228 OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: Spanish, Quechua MONEY: Nuevo Sol AREA: 496,224 square miles (1,285,216 sqare kilometers) MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Andes MAJOR RIVERS: Amazon, Ucayali, Madre de Dios Peru is the third largest country in South America, after Brazil and Argentina.

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Colombia is nicknamed the "gateway to South America" because it sits in the northwestern part of the continent where South America connects with Central and North America.

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Kids learn about the Geography of Venezuela. The history, capital, flag, climate, terrain, people, economy, and population.

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Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean Sea.

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The Panama Canal joins the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

OFFICIAL NAME: Republic of Panama

FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Constitutional democracy

CAPITAL: Panama City

POPULATION: 3,800,644

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: Spanish, English

AREA: 29,118 square miles (75,416 square kilometers)

MONEY: Balboa, U.S. dollar

This Central American country is bordered by Costa Rica and Colombia, and is situated between the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean. Panama is a narrow land bridge, or isthmus, connecting North and South America. Panama is slightly smaller than South Carolina.
Map created by National Geographic Maps

PEOPLE & CULTURE

Most Panamanians are descended from indigenous, or native, people, Europeans, Afro-Caribbeans, and immigrants from all over the world.

The three largest indigenous groups in Panama are the Kunas, Emberás, and Ngöbe-Buglés and they still live in the remote areas of the country.

They have their own dialects, languages, and customs and most of them also speak Spanish.

The national traditional dress for women is a long, full white cotton dress decorated with colorful embroidery called a pollera. Men wear a traditional montuno, which is a white cotton shirt with embroidery and short pants.

Family is very important in Panama. Children attend school from ages 7 to 15. Most of Panama's national holidays are religious occasions.

Panamanians eat rice with most of their meals. They also eat corn tortillas with meat and vegetables.

The country is very diverse with mountains, rain forests, beautiful white-sand beaches, and 1,500 islands. Darién Gap, from Panama City to Colombia, has about 12 million acres of rain forest, yet few Panamanians or tourists ever visit the area, which is only accessible by boat.

This remote nature preserve is threatened by development and the proposed extension of the Pan-American Highway through this region.

The national flower is a white orchid called the Flor del Espiritu Santo, or Flower of the Holy Spirit. There are over 1,400 tree species, including the square tree, which has a square shaped trunk and is found in the mountains west of Panama City.

Panama is home to many unique animals that are found only in Panama. The mysterious golden frogs have gleaming, shimmering skin and are thought to bring people good luck. The numbers of golden frogs is declining and so are the numbers of sea turtles.

GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY

Under the constitution, there are three branches of government, including the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Panamanians elect a president and a vice president every five years. The president picks a cabinet of ministers.

After years of government corruption, Panama instituted many laws to focus on human rights, and to make the government more transparent to its citizens.

Panama's agricultural products are bananas, rice, corn, beans, and coffee.

Explored and settled by the Spanish in the 16th century, Panama broke with Spain in 1821 and joined with Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela to form the Republic of Gran Colombia. When this republic dissolved in 1830, Panama remained part of Colombia.

With U.S. backing, Panama split from Colombia in 1903 and signed a treaty, which allowed the U.S. to control a strip of land on either side of a new canal.

The Panama Canal, built by the United States after Panama's independence from Colombia in 1903, joins the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The canal was built by 75,000 workers between 1904 and 1914 and allows boats to sail between the two oceans without having to go all the way around the South American continent.

In 1999, Panama assumed full control of the Panama Canal.

In 1989 U.S. troops overthrew the country's leader Gen. Manuel Noriega after he was found to be involved in drug trafficking. Panama's first woman president, Mireya Moscoso, was elected a few years later.

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This Central American country is bordered by Costa Rica and Colombia, and is situated between the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean.

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Costa Rica is committed to preserving the beauty and diversity of the country through the development of national parks. One fifth of the country is covered in forests.

The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is the largest cloud forest in Central America. Costa Rica is home to over 2,000 species of trees and 9,000 different kinds of flowering plants.

Tropical dry forests remain dry until the rainy season begins in April or May. These forests burst into bloom when the rains arrive. The tropical rain forests are humid and hot year-round. The heavy rains encourage thick plant growth from the treetop canopy to the forest floor, including fungi, molds, ferns, and vines. Palm trees and mangroves are prevalent along the coastal areas.

There are over 200 species of reptiles, the majority of which are snakes. There are many brightly colored toads and frogs, including the poison arrow frog. The country is also home to hundreds of mammals including bats, and insects, such as vibrant butterflies and leaf-cutter ants.

Birdwatchers may get a glimpse of the endangered colorful quetzal bird, blue-footed boobies, scarlet macaw, and toucans. The national flower is the orchid. There are over 1,200 species of orchids in Costa Rica.

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Costa Rica Country Profile - National Geographic Kids

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Costa Rica is committed to preserving the beauty and diversity of the country through the development of national parks. One fifth of the country is covered in forests. The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is the largest cloud forest in Central America. Costa Rica is home to over 2,000 species of trees and 9,000 different kinds of flowering plants.

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Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America and is slightly bigger in area than New York State.

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The forests of El Salvador have been cut down for firewood, coffee plantations, and for the building of homes. The result is the destruction of wildlife habitats in El Salvador.

Along the coastal plains, there are palm trees and tropical fruit trees, such as mango, coconut, and tamarind. Armadillos, snakes, and iguanas also inhabit the warm, humid coast.

High in the mountains, at the 7,931-foot (2,417-meter) summit of Monte Cristo Mountain, is a cloud forest in the international nature preserve of El Trifinio. The governments of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras are trying to protect this rain forest.

The cloud forest is home to orchids, ferns, spider monkeys, jaguars, anteaters, and many bird species, including green toucans.

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El Salvador Country Profile - National Geographic Kids

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The forests of El Salvador have been cut down for firewood, coffee plantations, and for the building of homes. The result is the destruction of wildlife habitats in El Salvador. Along the coastal plains, there are palm trees and tropical fruit trees, such as mango, coconut, and tamarind.

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Honduras Country Profile - National Geographic Kids

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Honduras is bordered by Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador.

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Guatemala Country Profile - National Geographic Kids

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Get facts, pictures, and learn about the country of Guatemala

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Kids learn about the Geography of Equatorial Guinea. The history, capital, flag, climate, terrain, people, economy, and population.

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Argentina Country Profile - National Geographic Kids

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Argentina is a vast country located in the southern part of South America.

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The Equator- The line that distinguishes between the Northern and Southern Hemishere.

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You may think that weather is virtually the same worldwide, but on the contrary, the type of weather you experience is somewhat unique to which part of the world you live in. Events like tornadoes, which are commonplace here in the United States, are a rarity in other countries. Storms we call "hurricanes" are known by another name in the world's far oceans. And perhaps one of the most well known-which season you're in depends on which hemisphere (which side, north or south, of the equator you're on)-Northern or Southern-you live in.

Why do the Northern and Southern Hemispheres see opposite seasons? We'll explore this answer, plus other ways their weather is strikingly different from the others.

1. Our Opposite Hemispheres Have Opposite Seasons

December may be ... but our neighbors in the Southern Hemisphere rarely ever see snow on Christmas (except in Antarctica) for one simple reason-December begins their summer season.

How can this be? The reason why is the same as why we experience seasons at all-the Earth's tilt.

Our planet doesn't "sit" perfectly upright, but rather, leans 23.5° from its axis (the imaginary vertical line through Earth's center which points toward the North Star). As you may know, this tilt is what gives us the seasons. It also orients the Northern and Southern Hemispheres in opposite directions so that whenever one points its innermost toward the sun, the other aims away from the sun.

2. Our Hurricanes and Low-Pressure Systems Spin in Opposite Directions

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Coriolis force, a which deflects to the right, gives hurricanes their signature counter-clockwise spin. but spin counter-clockwise. Because Earth rotates to the east, all free-moving objects such as wind, low-pressure areas, and hurricanes are deflected to the right of their path of motion in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemi.

There's a misconception that because of the Coriolis force, even water in bathrooms spirals clockwise down the drain-but this isn't true! Toilet water isn't of a large enough scale for the Coriolis force so its effects on it are negligible.

3. Our Milder Climate

Take a moment to compare a map or globe of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres...what do you notice? That's right! There's more landmass north of the equator and more ocean to its south. And since we know that water warms and cools more slowly than land does, we can guess that the Southern Hemisphere has a milder climate than the Northern Hemisphere,

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Climate in the Northern vs Southern Hemispheres

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You may think that weather is virtually the same worldwide, but on the contrary, the type of weather you experience is somewhat unique to which part of the world you live in. Events like tornadoes, which are commonplace here in the United States, are a rarity in other countries.

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Find out more about the Aztecs and Mayan cultures

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The Aztecs and the Maya

We're sincerely grateful to Panel of Experts member Elizabeth Graham, Professor of Mesoamerican Archaeology at University College London, for this quick, fun, helpful, entry-level comparison between the Mexica (Aztecs) and the Maya. We hope teachers preparing for the National Curriculum change from Aztecs to Maya will find it an excellent starting point...

Where do the Aztecs and Maya live today, & where did they live in the past?
The people who are known as the 'Aztecs' and 'Maya' live in Mexico and Central America today, and lived in the same areas in the past. The Aztec political centre was present-day Mexico City and the land around it. This is where the Aztec Empire was based. We call the area the 'Basin of Mexico' or 'Valley of Mexico' because Mexico City and the land around it form a large valley (or basin) surrounded by high mountains. In the past, the rivers that ran down the mountains formed a huge lake in the valley, called Lake Texcoco, and the Aztecs built their main city on an island in this lake. Not much of the lake remains today because Mexico City was built on it.
Maya civilisation was spread out across the Yucatan Peninsula (this includes the Mexican states of Campeche, Yucatan, Quintano Roo and part of Tabasco) and includes Guatemala, Belize, western Honduras and western El Salvador. Unlike the Aztecs, the Maya were never an empire. The Maya world was made up of many city-states, although some city-states became more powerful than others.

When did Aztec and Maya civilisation exist?
This is complicated because dates are always changing! Maya civilisation goes back at least to about 1500 B.C. and existed until the time the Spanish arrived in the area in the 1500s. Belize is interesting because in Belize, it is the British who settled in Maya territory. But the Maya are best known for the large cities they built that flourished from about 300 B.C. until A.D. 900. In the 900s, there was a lot of political turmoil and some (not all) cities were abandoned. This period is known as the Maya 'collapse'. Many of the Maya seemed to get a lot more interested in maritime trade after the collapse, and in commerce in general, as if the fall of the powerful dynasties made it easier for everyone else to rise in the world! Smaller cities then spread out across the peninsula and it is these cities that the Spaniards saw when they came to Yucatan. Cortes arrived in 1519.
The Aztec Empire flourished from about 1300 (1326 is the usual date given) until its conquest by the Spaniards in 1520-21. The Aztecs were in the Valley of Mexico before 1300 but it took them a while to consolidate their power. And that is a great story in itself!

Who were the Aztecs and the Maya?
Well, in fact these names are fake. The Aztecs did not call themselves Aztecs, and the Maya did not call themselves Maya. It gets complicated, but the people we now call 'Maya' actually called themselves by the name of their home town or city. We call them 'Maya' because linguists now know that all the languages of the Maya area are connected to a common root that existed sometime around 1,500 B.C. But the ancient Maya didn't know that! It would be a bit like us giving one name to all the people who spoke a language that derived from Indo-European; or, say, giving Italians, French, Spanish, Romanians and the people who speak Romansh all the same name because we know their languages are connected. Kind of crazy...but...because we don't have good records of what the Maya called themselves, we use 'Maya'. The language or languages we call 'Mayan'. Today there are about 30 Mayan languages.
As for the Aztecs, the ones who dominated the empire are mostly Mexica-Culhua. There were LOTS of ethnic groups with unpronounceable (to us) names living around the Basin of Mexico: Mexica, Culhua, Acolhua, Tepaneca, Matlazinca... to name but a few.

The upper classes of these groups all intermarried - exactly like the ruling houses of the past in Europe and the corporate executives of today. Some things never change. So in fact, the people called 'Aztec' were a mixed bag. On the other hand, most of the groups living around Lake Texcoco traced their ancestry to a place called 'Aztlan' (the Spanish got the word 'Aztec' from 'Aztlan'). No one can be sure where Aztlan was, but most evidence puts it completely outside Mexico in the southwest U.S.! Groups slowly moved south into Mexico over the centuries. They all spoke, and still speak, a language called 'Nahuatl' and this is what unites them. Like English today or French or Latin in the past, Nahuatl spread widely into many other cultural and ethnic areas. By the time the Spaniards came, even the Maya spoke Nahuatl in addition to their native languages.

What did the Aztecs and Maya do for us?
* Some words from Nahuatl (Aztecs): chocolate, tomato, avocado, chilli, coyote, ocelot, atlatl, guacamole
* Some words from Mayan languages: cacao (cocoa), shark, cigar.
How are the Maya and Aztecs alike?
Main similarities: agriculture, books, some aspects of the calendar, importance of jade, attitudes towards war and conflict (they did not kill on the battlefield)
* Corn (maize) was the basis of the diet as well as beans and squash; corn was soaked in a lime solution (yes, the same stuff you put on soil in gardens) which added calcium and made a greater range of proteins available. Doritos are made this way and are good for you!
* Cacao (chocolate) only grew in the tropics but everyone loved it and the Aztecs imported it.

* There were no cattle or sheep or goats so they didn't have to knock down the forest to graze their animals.
* Everyone walked everywhere or travelled in canoes (no cars or horses or the wheel) so it was a lively landscape and seascape with people selling food and drinks and resting places to everyone else. Great for business!
* They both liked tobacco and smoked cigars (not pipes).
* There was lots of trade between the two areas (Valley of Mexico and Yucatan Peninsula); merchants were really important to both societies.

How are they different?
Both kept written records and books, but the Maya had a written language that was phonetic. The Maya also inscribed stone monuments with text on the histories of dynasties. They practiced astronomy, used mathematics, and had the concept of zero. The Maya were also sea traders and great maritime people; the Aztecs were more land and lake-oriented. Art styles were different. The Maya created some of what we would call 'realistic' representations of people. The Aztecs were wonderful at depicting realistic animals with great sensitivity.

Picture sources:-
* Map: adapted fom the map by Luis Covarrubias, scanned from our copy of Trajes Regionales de México, text and illustrations by L. Covarrubias, Fischgrund Ediciones de Arte, Mexico City, 1978
* Illustration by Ignacio Marquina scanned from our own copy of Arquitectura Prehispánica by I. Marquina, INAH/SEP, Mexico, 1951, p.197
* Photo of Palenque from Wikipedia
* All other photos by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore.

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Where do the Aztecs and Maya live today, & where did they live in the past? The people who are known as the 'Aztecs' and 'Maya' live in Mexico and Central America today, and lived in the same areas in the past. The Aztec political centre was present-day Mexico City and the land around it.