Students compare and contrast the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the Meso-American and Andean civilizations.
Students will learn about:
the locations and climates of Mexico, Central America, and South America and their effects on Mayan, Aztec, and Incan economies, trade, and development of urban societies.
Study the roles of people in each society, including class structures, family life, warfare, religious beliefs and practices, and slavery.
how and where each empire arose and how the Aztec and Incan empires were defeated by the Spanish.
the artistic and oral traditions and architecture in the three civilizations.
the Meso-American achievements in astronomy and mathematics, including the development of the calendar and the Meso-American knowledge of seasonal changes to the civilizations’ agricultural systems.