aztec inca

• 1. Civilizations ofLatin America

2. The Aztec Civilization

• The Aztecs lived in the Valley of Mexicoin the A.D. 1100s.

• The Valley of Mexico is in central Mexico and includes the site of present-day Mexico City.

3. 4. Aztec Civilization

• The Aztecs wandered the Valley of Mexico looking for a permanent home until A.D. 1325.

• They finally settled on an island in Lake Texcoco.

• They changed the swampy land into a magnificent city, which they called Tenochtitln (the site of present-day Mexico City).

5. 6. Tenochtitln

• The Aztecs built floating islands by piling rich earth from the bottom of the lake onto rafts made of wood.

• After a while, the roots of plants and trees grew down to the lake bottom, anchoring the rafts.

• Some of these floating islands were the size of football fields.

7. Tenochtitln

• In the center of the city was the Great Temple.

• Upper-class dwellings were made of stone and ordinary dwellings were made of reeds and mud.

• Canals, laid out in a grid system, connected all parts of the city.

• Causeways, or raised earthen roads, connected the city to the mainland.

8. 9. 10. 11. 12. The Incas

• About A.D. 1200, the Incas settled in Cuzco, a village in the Andes (now a city in Peru).

• Most Incas were farmers, growing maize and other crops.

• Through wars and conquest, the Incas won control of the Cuzco Valley.

13. 14. 15. 16. 17. Pachacuti

• In 1438, he became ruler of the Incas.

• The name Pachacuti means he who shakes the earth.

• He conquered the people who lived near the Pacific Ocean.

• He demanded loyalty from the people he conquered.If disloyal, the people were forced off their land and replaced with loyal Incas.

18. 19. The Lost City

• Pachacuti built many cities.The most famous is the lost city of Machu Picchu.

• Machu Picchu is located high in the Andes Mountains, 54 miles northwest of Cuzco.

20. 21. 22. 23. Incan Accomplishments

• The Incans were excellent farmers, builders, and managers.

• The capital, Cuzco, was the center of government, trade, learning, and religion.

• In the 1500s, one of the first Spaniards to visit Cuzco described it as large enough and handsome enough to compare to any Spanish city.

24. Roads and Aqueducts

• The Incas built more than 19,000 miles of roads.The roads went over some of the most mountainous land in the world.

• The Incas built canals and aqueducts to carry water to dry areas.One stone aqueduct carried water from a mountain lake almost 500 miles to its destination.

25. 26. Government and Records

• The Incas organized their government carefully.

• The Incas did not have a written language.Incan government officials and traders recorded information on knotted strings called quipus.

27. 28. Religion

• The Incas worshipped many gods.

• The sun god, Inti, was an important god of the Incas.They believed Inti was their parent and they referred to themselves as children of the sun.

• Another important Incan god was Viracocha, the creator of all people of the Andes.

29. Quechua Descendants of the Incas

• The Spanish conquered the Incan empire in the 1500s.

• The Incan descendants live in present-day Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and Colombia.

• They speak Quechua, the Incan language.