Vocabulary:
1. Legend: A legend is a story that is told from generation to generation; it may or may not be true.
2. Maize: Another word for corn is maize.
3. Market: A public space where people buy and sell food and other goods
4. Empire: The people and land conquered and ruled by one king or emperor, often against their will.
5. Culture: The beliefs and behaviors of a group of people.
6. Civilization: A civilization includes a group of people with a common leader, a religion, and a city.
7. Ancient: Very old or from very long ago.
8. Emperor: An emperor is a ruler, kind of like a king.
9. Pyramid: A structure with triangular sides and a rectangular base
10. Tradition: A continuing pattern of culture beliefs or practices.
11. Enormous: Very large
12. Wing: Part of a bird, a plane, or a building.
13. Strained: To exert a lot of effort
14. Accurate: Correct, true
15. Noiselessly: Without noise
General Knowledge:
Incas:
This civilization developed in the Andes Mountains of Peru, in South America.
This civilization had a city known as Machu Picchu.
The Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro invaded the Incan Empire, seeking riches.
Mayans:
This civilization developed in the rainforests of Mexico and Central America.
They built observatories, scheduled holidays, and created a calendar based on their knowledge of the planets and stars.
The ancient Maya city of Tikal become a great Maya city-state with more than two dozen major pyramids.
Aztecs:
This civilization developed in Mexico and built their capital on an island in a lake.
The capital of this civilization was Tenochtitlan.
A leader of this civilization was the emperor Moctezuma.
Hernan Cortés invaded Mexico and conquered the Aztec Empire.
There are many ways these civilizations were similar:
All 3 civilizations used farming as one way to get food.
All 3 civilizations had cities.
All 3 civilizations believed in many gods and goddesses. They were polytheistic.