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- The Guatemalan people , known as the Mayans, settled in the Yucatan area
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The designation Maya comes from the ancient Yucatan city of Mayapan, the last capital of a Mayan Kingdom in the Post-Classic Period. The Maya people refer to themselves by ethnicity and language bonds such as Quiche in the south or Yucatec in the north.
-  https://thestrangemayans.weebly.com/uploads/1/8/6/7/18674238/306223282_orig.gif?363

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The Mexica people, known as the Aztecs, settled on an island in a large lake in the valley of Mexico in 1325.  They came from northern mexico, attempting to find a place to settle. The capital of the Aztec empire was Tenochtitlan, now modern day Mexico city.

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The Peruvians, known as the Incas, settled in Western South America from 1463-1532. The center of the empire was located in modern-day Cusco, Peru.

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The Aztecs had a hierarchy society, divided into classes. Social class was often inherited, there were very little opportunities to move up or "upgrade".
Serfs were the lowest class in society, people who owned no land and paid 30% of their produce to their overlords.
Then you have the slaves, people who had been conquered or committed serious crimes. Slaves could marry non-slaves, and if they had children, they would be born as free children since the slave class isn't inherited.
The next class were farmers, the largest group. The farmer class was divided into further smaller sections, like people who owned the farm and the people who worked the farm.
The artisan class was known as  tolteca. Artisans were held in very high regard. Most of the time they worked in special workshops. Some different professions in the artisan class were  carpenters, metal workers, potters, and scribes.
Nobles and priests were near the top of the social  hierarchy. The nobles were the  owners of private land, very wealthy thanks to the tributes the people that live on their land pay. The priests class orchestrated the state religion and ran the education system.
The leader of society was the emperor. The emperor is chosen by a council of nobles by voting.

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created using PowToon - http://www.powtoon.com/

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- At the bottom of the mayan society were the commoners and slaves. The nobles and priests spent their days as farmers, architects, stonecutters, and carpenters.

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The Incas had a very strict class structure. The Emperor is the main man who is in charge of the Incas. The Nobles are ranked higher because of birth or title. The Commoners, who are not in the Noble group are the lowest ranked people. The Commoners were the majority of the Inca population although they were the lowest ranked ones. People between ages 25-50 had to fight in wars.

https://visitinca.weebly.com/society-and-achievements.html

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The Incas believed in many Gods and Goddesses. Viracocha was a God that was believed to create the Earth, the stars, the Moon, the Sun, the humans, and the other Gods. The Incas believed that the God took these by picking them out of Lake Titicaca.Inti was the most important God out of the rest of the Gods in the Inca Empire. He was the God of the Sun. Inca Sapa, the leader of the empire was believed to be the son of Inti. Inti was married to Mama Quilla, Goddess of the Moon.
Mama Quilla was the Goddess of the Moon, goddess of marriage, and a defender of women. Quilla was married to Inti, the God of the Sun. Whenever Mama Quilla was being attacked by animals, the Incas believed that Lunar Eclipses were happening.
Pachamama was the Goddess of the Earth or Mother Earth. She was the one responsible for farming.
Supay was the ruler of the world Uca Pacha, the underworld of the Incas and he was the God of Death.  http://www.ducksters.com/history/inca/mythology_and_religion.php

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-They built a highway system with 2,500 miles of roads
-Did skull surgeries perfectly
-first to grow potato in Peru
-used strings for math, language, and records
-used a dry method to put stones in a building where no space would exist; the buildings were resistant to earthquakes
-used farming techniques like ditches and canals to irrigate the plants and crops
-Incan empire believed to be descendant of the Sun God
-https://blog.go-today.com/travel-tips/ten-interesting-facts-about-the-incas/

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The Aztecs were a very religious group of people, basing every decision they made on religious significance.  The religion itself was focused on how the gods, humans and nature were interconnected. They adopted traditional religious beliefs as well, believing the gods had created the world through sacrifices.

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-  The mayans religion involved several aspects of astronomy, nature, and rituals. For example they would have a Sun God,  , Kinih Ahous, or Maize God, Yum Kaax. The mayans were known for their calendars and astronomical buildings.

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The aztecs created many wonderful things. Some of their achievements are:
-popcorn
-"Floating gardens" called  chinampas
-achieved universal education
-chocolate drinks made from coco beans

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Achievements of Math and Science in Mesoamerica

In what is now Central and South America, there were three highly advanced ancient civilizations: the Aztecs, the Maya, and the Inca. All three of these achieved incredible feats of engineering and science because they highly valued education. Keep that in mind - education is good.

Architecture and Education

The Aztecs, Maya, and Inca all took education very seriously. Their civilizations were supported by very intelligent philosophers and engineers, so education had to be a priority. The Aztecs, for example, implemented a standardized education across the entire empire to ensure that every child received a quality education consistent with the needs of the empire. Aztec children, mainly those of nobility, who continued school after the age 14 could enroll in the military institute or the school for advanced astronomy, philosophy, statesmanship, and engineering, called the calmecac. Medicine, science, art, and philosophy were all very important to all three civilizations, but the greatest priorities were on astronomy and architecture.

The Aztecs, Maya, and Inca all developed monumental architecture, meaning buildings of immense size and scale. In Central America, the Aztecs and Maya developed pyramids with temples to their gods on the top. These temples were generally the center of the city and the tallest buildings. The Maya used pure step pyramids, made from placing a series of continuously smaller platforms on top of each other that were also physical representations of the calendar. The number of steps on each side could represent days in a month or years in a cycle. For example, the great pyramid in Chichen Itza has 365 steps on each side. The Aztecs were fond of twin pyramids, which had two temples on the top and two ramps to worship two deities. For example, the massive main temple in the Aztec capital Tenochtitlán had twin temples dedicated to the god of war, Huitzilopochtli, and the god of rain, Tlaloc.

The Inca, down in South America, had slightly different architecture because they lived on the sides of high peaks in the mountains. They used huge retaining walls to build flat platforms of raised earth, called steps, on which they built massive structures. Mortar, a mixture that holds stones together in a wall, was not commonly used by any of the American civilizations, but the Inca used it the least. Without mortar, the stones have to be cut so perfectly that there was no room at all for them to budge. To this day, most Inca structures are so well-built that not even the edge of a knife blade can fit in-between stones in the wall.

Astronomy and Calendars

The Inca, Maya, and Aztecs all had advanced calendars based on astronomy, which was perhaps the most important science to the ancient people of the Americas. They devoted years of observations to it, built observatories in all major cities, and even designed their architecture to reflect different cycles of the sun, moon, stars, and planets. During the solstices and equinoxes, the sun appears directly in line with dozens of ancient buildings, cast shadows from statues onto thrones, and illuminates objects through holes in the walls.

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mesoamerican achievements in astronomy & architecture - video & lesson transcript | study.com

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Mesoamerican Achievements in Astronomy & Architecture - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

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In what is now Central and South America, there were three highly advanced ancient civilizations: the Aztecs, the Maya, and the Inca. All three of these achieved incredible feats of engineering and science because they highly valued education. Keep that in mind - education is good.

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The Incas had a monarchy controlled by one leader, Sapa Inca Pachacuti (sole ruler). Pachacuti  transformed Cusco into the Inca Empire. His army began to conquer several lands like Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, parts of Chile, etc. They arose in the highlands of Peru in the early 13th century. The empire was ruled by ancestors of the original Inca people.  Inca was the largest empire in Pre-Columbian America.

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GGRV_enUS766US766&q=sapa+inca+pachacuti&spell=1&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwic3pGX0O3WAhVF5yYKHTydDvUQvwUIJSgA&biw=1440&bih=769&safe=active&ssui=onSapa Inca Pachacuti

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- they had a good calendar
-  farming was done by men
- structures and building were not done with metal tools
- structures/buildings were done with limestone, cement, and plaster
- used three different ways for numbers
- they used dots, dash, and shell
-  Mayas believed that the celestial objects had a direct impact on their lives.
- they calculated time by looking at the sky
- http://www.history.com/topics/mayan-scientific-achievements/videos

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- The Mayans ate maize, which is a vegetable like corn. They made all types of food from maize including tortillas, porridge, and even drinks. Other staple crops included beans, squash, and chilies other new foods included tomatoes, sweet potatoes, black beans, and papaya.

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- Ah Mekat Tutul Xiu
- Chanal Balam
- Ah Ulil
- Chac-Xib-Chac
- Chan Chak K'ak'nal Ajaw
- Aj Yaxjal B’aak
- Kayb'il B'alam
- Itzamnaaj Bahlam of Ucanal
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Maya_rulers

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Alannah

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Husaam

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Ismail

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How do countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, Peru celebrate their indigenous peoples past? (You may have to research a bit more for this)

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How do countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, Peru celebrate their indigenous peoples past? (You may have to research a bit more for this)

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-  they usually take that day off
-  they have parades
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Day

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When Europeans arrived, they called these natives “savages.” Provide support to counter this Eurocentric view.

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When Europeans arrived, they called these natives “savages.” Provide support to counter this Eurocentric view.

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Europeans called African people trash. For example, in the book, Things Fall Apart, the white people came. They found out the Africans were worshipping the Ibo Religion. They said that it is not the true religion; the true religion is Christianity. The people got into a dispute because no one knew which religion was the correct one. Another example is when a white man came into the village of Abame. The Africans got scared and shot him. A bunch of white people came in and shot up the entire village of Abame. That shows how white people valued black people.