# data[].attributes.body
Class: Sapphire
4/1/19

The main point of this padlet is to provide information about three ancient empire in the Americas, the Mayan, the Inca and the Aztecs. This padlet will discuss mostly about the civilization's culture, religion, and the people themselves. Information will be given, helpful images, and short explanations. This information will be based upon educational sources.

# data[].attributes.body
Both size and power became larger in Aztec culture and so did there empires. Tenochtitlan was a magnificent city that was full of culture, exotic ideals, different religions, Aztec traditions, and several other unique aspects. Tenochtitlan was very important to the Aztecs, it was so important because it was there capital city. The city was made up of palaces, canals, impressive road ways, temples, and a large population between 200,000 and 300,000 Aztecs. The city was a based upon a large island and to expand there land the Aztecs had man-made land which gave much room for the city's expansion.
Through this expansion came a large and blank canvas for the Aztecs to build upon. The middle of Tenochtitlan boasted astounding and well made temples. These temples were of religious significance to the Aztecs due to there traditions and ceremonious. This area was also treasured by nobility and the ruler of the Aztecs. There houses were near, if not right next to, the spiritual area. One of the more known Aztec temples was called the great temple. It was dedicated to the gods Huitzilopotchli the chief god, and Tlaloc the rain god. Religious human sacrifice was common to see happen at this temple.
The city held the emperor estate, the emperor expected it be held to the highest standard. The emperor was given many luxuries and one of the biggest one was his palace. The city of Tenochtitlan held the emperors palace which was extremely large an held most if not all Aztec luxurious. The palace also served as a place of government work where government official would discuss with the ruler about decisions that would effect the empires way of life. The palace had social significance that made
Tenochtitlan even more impressive.
Tenochtitlan economy was what made the city great. Through this large amount of income that went to the government they could build the large and luxurious buildings. The market place was a important aspect to the Aztec. This is were merchants can come and sell goods and services, and these goods and services ranged from food to exotic jewelry. To get to places like the market place the Aztecs need a form of transportation and a road to travel. The Tenochtitlan road were a impressive feat, they were used by thousand to go from one place to another. These roads we also kept in great condition and were easy to access at night. The Aztec also had a chain of water ways that were used by all Tenochtitlan. These water went to the cites farmers and civilians.
Tenochtitlan was one of the greatest Aztec cites. Due to all its advancements in culture, religion, and mostly, technology it was a hub of life for many Aztecs.

This is part of the city Tenochtitlan. In the picture it shows one of the temples that the Aztecs built in the city. Also in the picture it shows how big the temple and the area they were located in, were

# data[].attributes.body
This is a map that shows the Aztecs location of the Aztec empire. It also shows the location of important Aztec cites.

# data[].attributes.body
This is a map of where the Mayan empire was located in the Americas.

# data[].attributes.body
The Aztec started very simple, only over time did they develop a great empire. The Aztecs first big development was Tenochtitlan, and only through this large city did that Aztecs branch out and make connections. The Aztecs started, instead of conquering, they force neighboring areas into paying large fees. They gathered enough currency to support, both, the Aztecs empire building and the people that lived there. The Aztec took high percussion to make sure that there fees will be paid. The Aztecs brought in so much that they were able to pay all religious and government officials with it, this included there military.
When the size of the Aztec empire increased the need for tributes increased as well. To meet this demand they Aztecs turned to war and couriering. The Aztecs would conquer neighboring areas and make them into Aztecs, they would then have to pay the large fees. Aztec war was unique in its own ways. Aztecs would use a variety of weapons during battles and each weapon had it own religious symbol usually in the form of a animal. Only males fought in these wars and each Aztec male was trained to do so. The way of war was also unique. Once a city refuses to give themselves up without force a Aztec army will prepare itself for battle. The Aztecs will fight against the city and if winning they will implant there rules. The Aztecs demand the city to follow Aztec religion and pay the fees to the Aztec and follow by all Aztec governmental decisions. The Aztecs would then take imprisoned people back to Tenochtitlan. These captives would most likely be used for human sacrifices. The Aztecs would then leave the city to the native people living there and would usually keep there traditions and customs.
Due to all these wars and Conquering the city-states did not feel a great connection to the Aztec empire. They later turned on the Aztecs and defeated them in battle.

This is a religious tome to the god Huitzilopotchli who was very important tot the Aztecs.

# data[].attributes.body
The people of Maya were, both, advanced and cultured in there civilizations. Mayan civilizations started to appear in the Americas around 2000 B.C.E. Mayan civilizations were diverse in there people, culture, and geography for each region. The Mayan people based there empire off the ideals and values of past and present tribes. The Mayan based many of there larger and more important cultural aspect on the Olmec. The Mayan based a lot of there "empire building" on the ways of the Olmec. The Olmec centered themselves around agriculture, agriculture was, both, a basic need for empires and was a valuable resource for economy. Trough agriculture the Olmec built smaller settlements which turned into great empires which was a great influence on peoples culture. Through this technique the Mayans built a great empire of its own
The Mayan had several periods in which effected the culture and day to day live of the people living in these civilizations. These three periods were the Pre-Classic, Classic, and Post-Classic. The Pre-Classic period was a time of simplicity for the Mayans. This time period was the time of agriculture and basic human needs. At this point in time culture was simple and most Mayan luxuries were not emplaced yet. This time period lasted from 2000 B.C.E to 300 B.C.E.
The Classic period is when the Mayan civilizations became bigger and complex culture came into play. Mayan empires grew in size so a large amount of architecture grew to. Larger temples were built which change they way people practice there religious beliefs which was a large part of Mayan culture. Trough this large amount of expansion Mayan population grew and new ideals and beliefs were introduced to the Mayans. Through this new developments in techniques came new development in writing, building, religious teachings, government workings, ext, these all gave a bases for Mayans new complex culture. The class system started which put people into categories based upon there social status. The ruler of the Mayan was on top of the "social class pyramid", this was due to his power and income. Then the rulers advisers were next, which were very important to the making of decisions that would shape the way of the empire, then there was the Nobelists and there part in the social class was mainly based on there wealth. The merchants were the fourth layer of the period and they were the working class of the Mayan empire. They made income because of were the worked and what goods and services they traded. Next on the Social ladder was the peasants. The were the Mayan people that did much of the manual labor, they either had very little or no social status. Most peasants job occupation was being a farmer. Lastly the slaves were at the bottom of the social class. Slaves were considered property and were owned by people of a higher social class. Slaves were ether people who were born into slavery or people who committed crimes. Many slaves were used for religious human sacrifice. Through the social class traditions and customs started to be practiced more. Marriage customs became coman among all classes, and ceremonies for thing like the "coming of age ceremony" became a symbol of Mayan culture. Through all these advancement came a golden age of culture and prosperity for the Mayan people. The Classic time period lasted from the year 300 B.C.E to 900 C.E.
Around 900 C.E the Post-Classic period came into play, this was because of the failing Classic period. To the North Mayans this time period was not much different from the classic period, the empire was still expanding and the people still celebrated there culture and traditions. But for South Mayans there way of life had changed. They left there city's and migrated to different regions of the Mayan territory. This was because of a ununified region. Even though culture was still cherished it did slow down in advancement during this time period. The Post-Classic period last from the year 900 C.E to 1500 C.E.
Through all this development the culture of the Mayans became something great.

This was one of the magnificent religious buildings the the Mayans had built during the classic period. This pictures shows how the architectural skills advanced over time.

# data[].attributes.body
The Inca empire stretched across most of modern western South-America. The Inca empire also housed a population of 10 million Incas. Like many other empires the culture of the Incas was effected by past empires. The Incas culture, religion, traditions, cites, and water systems were all based off of past empires.
The Inca based there empire off Cuzco. They started to build much of the empire in mountain range. Many cultural ideals were based of Incas religious beliefs, they belied the empire started because of there god Manco Capac. Much of the Inca history is centered around religious beliefs, which was a bases of Inca culture. Also religious beliefs effected the way the Incas expanded the empire. The Incas were told to teach there findings to the people they conquered.
After the Incas fought off a large powering neighbor, they began the long chain of conquest. Through these conquest the Inca became large and a great power of the Americas. The Inca began to place thing like the class structure and the custom that came with it. The Inca class system was much more broad then the Mayans or the Aztec. All citizens of the Inca were based upon there social status. Like all empires the ruler was considered the highest of all civilians. A ruler was made a ruler because of the Inca religious beliefs. Next was nobility and there social status was only based of the wealth, the nobility were given most Inca luxurious. Last were the commoners and they were the largest class. The commoners were most of the labors of the Incas, farmers. Unlike other large empires located in the Americas the Incas did not have slaves.
Religion was the bases for Inca culture. The Inca believed that all elements of nature we there due to the gods. The Incas most popular god was the sun god named Inti. This is because the Inca believed that this god gave the Inca there crops, which was one of the most important parts of there empire. The Incas would use priest and ceremonies to follow religious traditions. These ceremonies commonly took place a the Incas temples. Also these ceremonies commonly used sacrifices that ranged from food to humans. Also religion would deiced the jobs of women, some women would become teachers while others would become wives. Religion would effect every aspect of day to day life of the Incas.
When expanding the empire the Inca ran into the problem of imposing empires. The Inca followed a simple solution, they would ask the empire to join them and if they did not they would start war with the empire. If the Inca win the new region would except the Inca customs and  especially there religion. The Inca would use there techniques to build upon the new found land and leave the area and the population the peopel who were already there.
Through all this work the Inca made a great empire that effected the culture of it people and surrounding areas. The impact of the Incas would last from years to come.

This is a picture of Muchu Pitchu one of the many cites that the Incas built in the South American mountain range.