LESSON-2-Part-I.-Mesoamerica-Civilization.pdf

Mesoamerica Civilization 2 Title of the Lesson: The Maya, Aztec and Inca Civilization Time Frame: 6 hours INTRODUCTION Civilization defines a complex way of life characterized by urban areas nowadays, in terms...

Mesoamerica Civilization 2 Title of the Lesson: The Maya, Aztec and Inca Civilization Time Frame: 6 hours INTRODUCTION Civilization defines a complex way of life characterized by urban areas nowadays, in terms of communication, infrastructure, and division of labor. These places of the scientific and engineering communities have struggled to understand new framework to describe ways which science and technology can respond to it that resulted to propose a renewed and strengthened covenant between science, technology, and its society. This civilization that is rich in indigenous culture developed in parts of Mexico and Central America prior to Spanish exploration and downfall in the 16th century. Towns or villages occurs when individuals settle down together to work their fields, and they develop particular cultural practices as they gather located close to lakes, where planting, fishing and bird hunting became important ways to obtain food. OBJECTIVES At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to: 1. Locate and identify in the map or globe of the ancient Mesoamerican civilizations. 2. Develop an awareness of each place and reasons why certain events occur in Maya, Aztec and Inca civilizations. 3. Compare and contrast the three distinct civilizations in terms of architecture, calendar, education and technology, and culture of its people. DISCUSSION The term Mesoamerica denotes the part of Mexico and Central America that was civilized in pre-Spanish times. In many respects, the American Indians who inhabited Mesoamerica were the most advanced native people in the Western Hemisphere. The northern border of Mesoamerica runs west from a point on the Gulf coast of Mexico above the modern port of Tampico, then dips south to exclude much of the central desert of highland Mexico, meeting the Pacific coast opposite the tip of Baja (Lower) California (Coe & Murra, 2019). The historic region of Mesoamerica comprises the modern-day countries of northern Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, and central to southern Mexico. For thousands of years, this area was populated by groups such as the Olmec, Zapotec, Maya, Toltec, and Aztec people. Cultural traits that define the region include the domestication of maize, beans, avocado, and vanilla, and a common architectural style. worldmap.harvard.edu/maps/APWorldMap/Map data © 2016 Google (National Geographic, 2020) Maya Civilization (1500 B.C.E to the sixteenth century arrival of the Spanish conquistadors) Mayans were the first major civilization in the Mesoamerica, they were simply the first to develop a highly sophisticated society with art, science, architecture, and writing. They were mostly nomadic, meaning they moved continuously rather than lived in one place, or had small herds of animals and moved around occasionally (Muscato, 2014). Location Important Maya cities include Tikal in the east (in what is today Guatemala), Palenque in the west (what is today Mexico), and Copán in the south (in what is today Honduras). The collapse of Maya cities in the tenth century is not fully understood but may have resulted from complex factors including climate change (and resulting drought and crop failures), overpopulation, and political unrest. Following this collapse, Maya civilization continued on the northern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula, where Chichen Itza emerged as an important city of the Post-Classic Period. Though the city was abandoned by the thirteenth century, it was the arrival of Hernan Cortés and his Spanish fleet in the early 16th century that marked the end of the Maya civilization (Jimenez, 2020). Map showing the extent of the Maya civilization (red), compared to all other Mesoamerica cultures (black). Today, these sites are located in the countries of Mexico, Belize, Honduras and Guatemala (image: CC BY-SA 3.0) https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-americas/early- cultures/maya/a/the-maya-an-introduction Throughout the film Quest for the Lost Maya, a team of anthropologists led by Dr. George Bey discovers the Maya may have been in the Yucatan as far back as 500 BCE. This new evidence indicates the Maya of the Yucatan had a very complex social structure, distinctive religious practices, and unique technological innovations that made civilization possible in the harsh jungle (Herrero, 2012). Agriculture Mayans converted wetlands to farmland, the sophistication of the civilization's agricultural systems rivalled their pyramids (Mascarelli, 2010). Using new techniques and extensive excavations, researchers have found that the Maya coped with tough environmental conditions by developing ingenious methods to grow crops in wetland areas. "The work shows that this intensive agriculture is more complicated and on a par with these other areas of intellectual development," says Timothy Beach, a physical geographer at Georgetown University in Washington DC, who presented his findings at the Geological Society of America (GSA) meeting in Denver, Colorado last 2010. The Maya's home was a tough environment replete with recurring droughts and rising sea levels, and the land that they farmed was rough, rocky terrain intermixed with vast swamps, or wetlands. So, one of historians' biggest questions about the Maya civilization is how they managed to feed their huge populations (Mascarelli, 2010). At the GSA meeting, Beach presented the results of two decades' work aimed at answering these questions. During that time, he and his wife, Sheryl Luzzadder- Beach, a physical geographer specializing in water quality from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and their colleagues, have performed more than 60 excavations to study and map the different earth layers, or strata, in field sites in northern Belize. Fossilized plant remains at these sites show that the Maya were growing crops such as: 1. avocados 2. grass species 3. corn or maize Their research suggests that the Maya built canals between wetlands to divert water and create new farmland, says Beach. As the Maya mucked out the ditches, they would have tossed the soil onto the adjacent land, creating elevated fields which would kept the root systems of their crops above the waterlogged soil, while allowing access to the irrigation water. Beach says that surveys carried out using Google Earth and remote sensing techniques suggest that this wetland system was probably around 100 kilometers across (Mascarelli, 2010). Maya irrigation canals at "Birds of Paradise" site in northwest Belize. Credit: S. Luzzadder-Beach https://www.nature.com/articles/news.2010.587#citeas Astronomy Mayan commoners mapped their cosmology and recorded their history, based on using domestic ceramic with its color, placement, and association with other artifacts at the minor center of Saturday Creek, Belize. Results show that hidden items served to contextualize their place in the universe. Commoners may not have had the written word, but they had the means to record their own history, one with which they interacted daily — under their feet, within walls, and under their roof (Lucero, 2010). Mayans incorporated their advanced understanding of astronomy into their temples and other religious structures. This allows them to use their temples for astronomical observation. For example, the pyramid El Castillo (“the Castle”) called by Spanish conquistadors is located at Chichen Itza in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, is situated at the location of the sun during spring and fall equinoxes. Mayan knowledge and understanding about celestial bodies were advanced for their time, as evidenced by their knowledge of predicting eclipses and using astrological cycles in planting and harvesting. With its pleasing radial symmetry, tidy stepped platforms, and crowning temple, El Castillo is one of the most recognizable Mesoamerican pyramids. It was probably built by the Toltec-Maya between 1050 and 1300 CE when the rest of the Maya population was dwindling. It is famous not only for the descent of Kukulcán (Mesoamerican serpent deity) but also for its relationship to the Maya calendar. Each of the pyramid’s four sides has a staircase of 91 steps. The total number of steps, when combined with the temple at its summit, equals 365 — the number of days in the Maya solar year. The temple on top was used exclusively by priests who performed sacred rituals at a height that brought them closer to the gods in the sky (Zelasko, 2020). © diegograndi/iStock.com https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-inside-the-pyramid-at-chichn-itz The ancient Maya were accomplished observers of the sky. Maya animal constellations are found in the Paris Codex. Using their knowledge of astronomy and mathematics, the ancient Maya developed one of the most accurate calendar systems in human history. The ancient Maya had a fascination with cycles of time. The most commonly known Maya cyclical calendars are the Haab, the Tzolk’in, and the Calendar Round. Aside from these, the Maya also developed the Long Count calendar to chronologically date mythical and historical events. The 13 baktun cycle of the Maya Long Count calendar measures 1,872,000 days or 5,125.366 tropical years. This is one of the longest cycles found in the Maya calendar system. This cycle ends on the winter solstice, December 21, 2012. The following are brief description of each Maya cyclical calendars (Hawkins, 2020) : 1. Haab cycle - is 365 days, and approximates the solar year. The Haab is a nineteen-month calendar. The Haab is composed of 18 months made of 20 days, and one month, made of 5 days. This 5-day month is called "Wayeb." Thus, 18 x 20 + 5 = 365 days. This image below shows the hieroglyphs corresponding to the nineteen months of the Haab calendar. The Maya represented some of these months using more than one glyph. These glyphs are referred to as "variants." Variants of the same glyph are framed in a turquoise background. Hieroglyphs corresponding to the nineteen months of the Haab calendar. The Maya farmers of the Yucatan conduct offerings and ceremonies on the same months every year, following a 365-day Haab cycle. These ceremonies are called Sac Ha’, Cha’a Chac and Wajikol. The Maya in the highlands of Guatemala perform special ceremonies and rituals during the Haab month of Wayeb, the short month of five days. 2. Tzolk’in – is the Mayan’s sacred calendar in Yucatec Mayan and Chol Q’ij in K’iche’ Mayan. This calendar is not divided into months. Instead, it is made from a succession of 20-day glyphs in combination with the numbers 1 to 13, and produces 260 unique days. Multiplying 20 x 13 equals 260 days. The image below illustrates how the numbers 1 to 13, cycle through the 20 glyphs to form dates in the Tzolk’in calendar. Any such combination, such as 1 Imix’, repeats only after 260 days have passed. The length of the Tzolk’in matches nine cycles of the Moon and the gestational period of humans. The Tzolk’in is also related to the movements of the zenith Sun and the growing cycle of corn.  Illustrates how the numbers 1 to 13, cycle through the 20 glyphs to form dates in the Tzolk’in calendar. https://maya.nmai.si.edu/sites/all/themes/mayatime/img/calendar-system/4.jpg Every 260 days, the Ajq’ijab’ in the highlands areas of Guatemala, celebrate a new year ceremony called Wajxaqib’ B’atz’, and welcome another cycle in the sacred Chol Q’ij or Tzolk’in Maya calendar. During this ceremony, new calendar Day Keepers are initiated. This image shows Roberto Poz Pérez, K’iche’, a calendar Day Keeper in a village near Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. He has been a calendar Day Keeper for more than 30 years. Roberto Poz Pérez, K’iche’, a calendar Day Keeper in a village near Quetzaltenango, Guatemala https://maya.nmai.si.edu/sites/all/themes/mayatime/img/calendar-system/5.jpg 3. Calendar Round - is made from the interweaving of the Tzolk’in and Haab calendars. In the Calendar Round, any given combination of a Tzolk’in day with a Haab day will not repeat itself, until 52 periods of 365 days have passed. The Maya believe that when a person reaches 52 years of age, they attain the special wisdom of an elder. The image shows a contemporary representation of the Calendar Round, interlocking the Tzolk’in (left) with the Haab (right).  Contemporary representation of the Calendar Round, interlocking the Tzolk’in (left) with the Haab (right). https://maya.nmai.si.edu/sites/all/themes/mayatime/img/calendar-system/7.jpg Any historical or mythical event spanning more than 52 years required the ancient Maya to use an additional calendar, the Long Count. The Long Count calendar is a system that counts 5 cycles of time. This is very similar to the Gregorian calendar system that counts days, months, years, centuries and millennia. The Maya system also does this, but the difference is in the name and magnitude of the various cycles. Like Maya mathematics, the Long Count calendar system counts by 20s. The exception is in the third cycle, because 18 x 20, which equals 360, more closely approximates a Haab cycle or solar cycle of 365 days, rather than multiplying 20 x 20, which equals 400. The calendar system of Mayan according to archaeological and historical evidence clearly shows that the Lunar Series of mythical dates were calculated backward — that is, they were often determined from the date on which the monument was erected using a specific formula to calculate the age of the moon. There is a relationship between rulers of specific sites and the lunar-month count at those sites because many cases the month count changed after a new ruler came to throne. Analysis of the month count shows a relationship between the month count and the ruler who dedicated the monument. The Lunar Series are part of the calendar calculations. The connection to changes in Maya rulers seems to suggest that rulers initiated new calculation methods on their accession. It is known from Classic Maya society that artists and scribes played an important role in the Classic-period royal courts. The capture of scribes, with fingers broken to prevent their service to their ruler, is recorded at Piedras Negras and Bonampak (Johnston, 2015). A similar connection to the ruler can be assumed for other members of the court, who were responsible for astronomical and calendrical calculations (Fuls, 2007). The following inscriptions on those monuments form the most detailed sources for the ancient history of the Maya:  Lunar series from Palenque, Temple of the Sun Tablet. Drawing by the author, (Robertson M. G., 1991) https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ancient-mesoamerica/article/calculation-of-the-lunar-series- on-classic-maya-monuments/E34DF56C86A1FA3D7A55C36521BC65C5/core-reader# Coba, Stela 1 (A1–D17). Drawing: COB:St. 1 from Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions, vol. 8, part 1:COBA, reproduced courtesy of the President and Fellows of Harvard College. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ancient-mesoamerica/article/calculation-of-the-lunar-series- on-classic-maya monuments/E34DF56C86A1FA3D7A55C36521BC65C5/core-reader#  Note: TYR = related to the tropical year. By Martin and Grube, 2000 Technology The Mayans developed various tools for crops and building elaborate cities using ordinary machineries and tools. The following were scientific ideas and tools they developed to help them in everyday life (Serafica, Pawilen, Caslib, Jr., & Alata, 2018): 1. Hydraulics system with sophisticated waterways to supply water to different communities. 2. Looms for weaving cloth and devised a rainbow of glittery paints made from a mineral called mica. 3. One of the first people to produce rubber products 3,000 years before Goodyear received its patent in 1844, before Charles Goodyear. 4. Mayans use a writing system known as Mayan hieroglyphics. 5. They were skilled in mathematics and created a number system based on the numeral 20. 6. Maya people developed different preparative strategies to obtain inorganic– organic hybrid materials based on the discovery of a set of greenish pellets from ancient plaster at the La Blanca archaeological site (Guatemala) provides evidence that the Maya people used a material similar to Maya Blue also outside of pottery, murals, sculptures or religious context. 7. Maya architecture is unlike any other style in the world. Maya engineers developed structural mechanics for multi-story buildings. 8. Maya arts soared while Europe stumbled through the Dark Ages (O'Kon, 2012). 9. Invented the blast furnace 2,000 years before it was patented in England.  10. While the Maya did not develop minted currency, they used various objects, at different times, as "money." These included greenstone beads, cacao beans and copper bells. Education and Culture The Mayan literacy stands out from most other indigenous literacies of America. The following are the reasons (Holbrock, 2016): 1. The average Mayan family size was about 5 to 7. 2. They used three different ways of recording: codices, collections of hieroglyphic symbols written on paper and cloth or animal skin, some samples of these have still survived. 3. Only noble families were allowed to go to school so commoner children got taught at home. 4. Maya invented of one of the earliest known writing systems on Earth, and thus have an ancient history of writing. Strategies and concerns for language revival via literacy are found in the Guatemalan context. 5. Mayan literacy involves not just alphabetic reading and writing, but also visual symbols. 6. Corn leaves are used to create crosses that adorn people’s homes on Catholic holidays. 7. Ancient Maya numerals are used to number modern books. 8. Extraordinary degree of knowledge of astronomy and mathematics are possessed by the Mayans. 9. Nowadays, the Maya hip hop scene that is currently growing around Lake Atitlán, Guatemala seeks to educate Maya youth about their culture by way of lyrics in Mayan languages as well as references to historical Maya texts such as the Popol Wuj and the Chilam Balam. This musical genre combines ancestral local knowledge, accessed by way of pre-Colombian texts and sacred fire ceremonies, with popular music in a manner that attracts Maya youth who may otherwise receive little formal education about their own Maya culture (Bell, 2017). 10. Music was linked to religion and was created by rattles, whistles, trumpets, drums, flutes, copper bells and shells. 11. Human sacrifice was not an everyday event but was essential to sanctify certain rituals, such as the inauguration of a new ruler, the designation of a new heir to the throne, or the dedication of an important new temple or ball court. The victims were often prisoners of war (Jarus, 2017). 12. Mayan rulers (kings) who are served by attendants and advisers managed the production and distribution of status goods which they used to enhance their prestige and power. They also controlled some critical (non-local) commodities that included critical everyday resources each family needed, like salt (Jarus, 2017). 13. Maya laborers were subject to a labor tax to build palaces, temples and public works. A ruler successful in war could control more laborers and exact tribute on defeated enemies, further increasing their economic (Jarus, 2017). Aztec Civilization (Flourished between 13th CE to 1521 CE) The name Aztec most commonly refers to Nahuatl-speaking people who dominated the Basin of Mexico, and indeed much of central and southern Mexico, in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries (Berdan, 2016). Location Most Aztec towns were founded between AD 1100 and 1350 when the Aztec people immigrated into the central Mexican highlands. They established new settlements and dynasties leading to a system of autonomous city‐states. The construction of a royal palace marked the official founding of a new city or town, most of them city‐state capitals. In 1430, three Aztec peoples – the Mexica, Acolhua, and Tepanecs – formed a tributary empire, known as the Triple Alliance or the Aztec Empire. Two of their capitals, Tenochtitlan (Mexica) and Texcoco (Acolhua), became the preeminent cities of the Valley of Mexico. By the time Spanish conquerors arrived in 1519 this empire had conquered much of Mesoamerica, and Tenochtitlan had grown into a city of 200,000 (Smith, 2008). This map shows the political boundaries of the Aztec Empire. https://aztecprojectempire.wordpress.com/maps/ Agriculture The Aztecs had modest beginnings, serving as mercenaries or warriors for other nations. In time, their reputation as fierce warriors grew and they built a city-state. Since other indigenous nations had already settled around the lakes on more desirable land, the only way for the Aztecs to accommodate a growing population was to develop around the small island. The Aztecs expanded Mexico-Tenochtitlán by building chinampas, or artificial islands. Though the Aztecs did not invent chinampas (they were already being used by other native nations when the Aztecs founded their city) they made the most of them. To build the chinampas, the Aztecs first formed rectangles of varying sizes — usually 91 meters long and from 4 to 9 meters wide — by staking out the area and fencing it with reeds. The fenced-off area was then filled with mud, lake sediment and various organic materials, until it rose above the water level of the lake. Then trees were planted to “anchor” each chinampa. Most residents of Mexico-Tenochtitlán lived on chinampas, where they also grew their crops. Lake channels surrounded all four sides of each chinampa and were wide enough for a canoe to navigate. These channels provided crop irrigation and an easy way to transport products to market (Medina, 2014). https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-americas/chinampas-floating-gardens-mexico-001537 According to Medina (2014), the following are other important scientific ideas they developed for food sustainability: 1. Due to the abundance of water and sunlight, as well as a temperate climate, the chinampas were highly productive, producing up to four crops a year, and about two-thirds of the food consumed in the city. 2. They grew maize, beans, tomatoes, pumpkins, chilis, flowers and medicinal herbs. 3. Aztecs disposed of all kinds of organic wastes in the chinampas, such as food leftovers and agricultural residues, which fertilized the crops, an intensive recycling of nutrients. 4. The most valuable fertilizer used on the chinampas was human excrement or feces. 5. Human urine was used as a mordant (fixative) in the dyeing of fabrics, and, thus also considered a resource. 6. Aztecs consumed animal protein from turkeys, ducks, deer, fish, and other wild animals. 7. They also raised a breed of dog they called itzcuintli for human consumption, feeding them food leftovers. 8. They have invented the canoe, a light narrow boat used for travelling in water systems. Astronomy A new study on one of the most important remaining artifacts from the Aztec Empire, a 24-ton basalt calendar stone, interprets the stone’s central image as the death of the sun god Tonatiuh during an eclipse, an event Aztecs believed would lead to a global apocalypse accompanied by earthquakes. Many scientists believe the heart of the stone to be the face of Tonatiuh (pronounced toe-NAH-tee-uh), atop which Aztecs offered human sacrifices to stave off the end of the world. Researcher Susan Milbrath, a Latin American art and archaeology curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History, offers the new, ominous interpretation of this symbol in the February print edition of the journal Mexicon. The Spanish buried the 12-foot-wide calendar stone, also known as the Sun Stone, face down before it was uncovered in 1790. Aztecs and Mayas tracked the sun’s movements to predict future events, such as weather patterns and astronomical cycles. The Aztecs sacrificed a prisoner on the calendar stone on the date 4 Olin, the day they believed the world would end. The day repeats every 260 days in their calendar cycle. With succession of the cycle, another prisoner was sacrificed and the sun rose again the following day and Tonatiuh lived on (Mavrakis, 2017). Evidence suggests the sun god's face was unpainted or colored black, like the sun darkened during an eclipse. Florida Museum graphic by James Young, with images from el commandant and keepscases/ wikimedia commons / cc-by-sa-3.0.https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/ominous- new-interpretation-of-aztec-sun-stone/ Technology According to experts, there are six large regions in the world that are the cradles of civilization. In Mesoamerica, Aztec was one of the strong state due to its military power, its religion, and its tribute system, the following were the skills and knowledge of Aztecs used in their everyday living (Calvo, 2020): 1. They developed their own calendar of 18 months of 20 days each. 2. Built large cities and huge pyramids and temples. 3. Developed a farming system called chinampas that they used to grow crops on shallow lake beds. 4. They used cacao to make chocolate as their currency. 5. Their weapons included blowguns, bows and arrows, spears flung with a spear-thrower for greater distance, and slings made of braided yarn. 6. Scholars believe that sleds, levers, or ropes must have been used to move heavier loads 7. Wooden drawbridges could be raised to allow boats to pass. 8. The ball game, called ulama, was played with a rubber ball that could be propelled only using the hips. 9. Aztec homes were built of adobe around a courtyard and religious shrine, and furnished with reed mats and low tables. 10. The kitchen was equipped with a hearth fire and jars or bins for foods preserved by salting or drying in the sun. 11. There were also grindstones for making corn flour.  12. The flour was then cooked into a porridge called atole or made into tortillas that were cooked on a flat stone griddle. Tortillas are still central to the cuisine of the region. 13. Aztec cloth was generally made of plant fibers, such as cotton or fiber from the maguey cactus. 14. Incas and Aztecs were skilled at making highly decorated pottery and ceramics. 15. As fishermen, Incas and Aztecs employed a variety of techniques including angling, nets and harpoons. 16. Aztec canoes, used for fishing and transportation, were made from hollowed- out tree trunks. Education and Culture All Aztec children attended school through mandatory education, though their curricula varied by gender and social class, the following were stated in the Aztec social structure (Aguilar & Moreno, 2018): 1. Each calpulli (large house) had a school for commoner children known as a telpochcalli (house of youth). 2. The purpose of the telpochcalli was to train young men to be warriors, and boys generally began their training at the age of 15. 3. Noble children and exceptionally gifted commoner children attended the calmecac (schools, where they received training to become priests and government officials). 4. While military training was provided, the calmecac offered more academic opportunities than the telpochcalli. 5. Children typically began attending the calmecac between the ages of 6 and 13. 6. The schools imposed harsh punishments on their students for misbehavior and the calmecac were especially strict because noble children were held to a higher standard than commoner children. Aztec students being disciplined by their teachers at school (Codex Mendoza). https://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/aztec-and-maya- law/aztec-social-structure Aztec society was hierarchical and divided into clearly defined classes. The following are some of their cultures (Cartwright, 2015): 1. The nobility dominated the key positions in the military, state administration, judiciary, and priesthood.  2. Traders could become extremely wealthy and powerful, even their prosperity was based on their class, and most citizens remained simple farmers. There was a limited opportunity for individuals to better their social position, especially in the military and religious spheres. 3. Nepotism prevailed but, at the same time, promotions could be obtained on merit as well as demotions from incompetence. 4. In practice, though, the vast majority of the Aztec population would have remained in the social group of their immediate family throughout their lives. 5. Rank and reputation were by far the most important considerations for those who wished to rise in society and, above all, ownership of land continued to be the greatest indicator of a person's status. 6. Aztec society was clearly stratified and had many levels, but the common bonds of perpetual warfare and an ever-present religion ensured a sophisticated and functional social apparatus was created which was both cohesive and inclusive. Whether this society, already evolving as the trading class became more influential in areas traditionally reserved for the aristocracy, could have developed and prospered had it not collapsed following the invasion from the Old World. Inca Civilization (Flourished in South America between 1425 CE - 1532 CE) The Inca Empire was the last native state to develop in South America before sixteenth century European invasions introduced foreign culture, religion, and disease (Covey, 2008). Location The Inca Empire was located on the western side of South America (spreading from north to south) more specifically in the Andes Mountains. The Coastal Deserts and the Amazon Jungle of Peru. The main city where the Incas began to build their empire was Cuzco (located 10,000 feet above sea level) in Peru and from there they extended their empire along many neighboring countries to what today we know as Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina and Chile (Camilla, 2020). Geographic location of the Inca civilization. At its peak, it managed to stretch from Colombia to Chile, although its center was always Cuzco in Peru. It covered the Pacific Coast, the Andes Mountains and the Amazon Jungle of the region. https://www.sutori.com/story/inca-empire--YhYJNUQ98ECxTnbyG2LfoWCS Agriculture The flat grounds made in the mountains along with the terraces for agriculture are still used in the production of crops in the Andes mountains of Peru today and copied in similar locations around the world. The following are their agricultural practices (Camilla, 2020): 1. Their complex irrigation systems still work to perfection and help these crops, to still be produced and consumed today with the same processes used by the Incas. 2. Incas developed a freeze and dry system that until today helps the world maintain a constant fresh source of food supply even when it is not the season to grow certain crops. With the invention on this process, many of the crops initially only cultivated by the Incas, like potatoes and tomatoes were later taken to other parts of the world like Europe and are now everyday products worldwide. Astronomy The Incas possessed considerable celestial knowledge and, as solar worshippers, they chose to incorporate and display orientations and features of the Sun, their god, in their many temples and shrines throughout the empire. The huacas (shrine) of this study point to a society that was both infatuated with the Sun and possessed the technical ability to use their celestial knowledge with any structure or carving they so desired. They marked solar events such as sunrise and sunset at June and December solstices with orientations in shrines and temples, and also by constructing solar pillars on the horizon. Pillars such as these enabled them to manage crops and festivals throughout the year with a precise calendar. These examples and more point to a society that had mastered an astronomically related system of time management that very well suited their needs (Gullberg, 2019). Inca developed two calendars, the night time calendar and the day time calendar. The daytime calendar counted approximately 365 days and was very important for them because it helped them keep track of their mining and agricultural activities. The night time calendar was based on the moon’s cycles, so it only had 328 days. This calendar was used to mark the days in which the festivals were celebrated (Camilla, 2020). With their calendar, the Inca’s tracked the movement of the sun, the moon and the stars. Solstice, equinox and another celestial phenomenon were recorded, registered and predicted using it. https://www.sutori.com/story/inca-empire--YhYJNUQ98ECxTnbyG2LfoWCS Technology The Inca Civilization managed to surpass modern expectations in many ways, with the limited knowledge and resources that they had, they managed to excel in many different areas. Among many important achievements were (Camilla, 2020): 1. Architecture - One of the major contributions of the Inca Empire was architecture. Machu Picchu, as all the other constructions made by Incas (with materials such as stone, clay and mud layers) was a perfectly designed structure built by combining natural landscapes with stones. The Incas cut stone with such precision that each block fit exactly with its neighboring stone. 2. Metallurgy - Incas had the capacity to mine and work with different minerals such as gold, silver, iron, copper and emeralds. These natural resources were used to build temples, make jewelry, drinking cups, statues of their gods, weapons and other tools needed in their daily life. 3. Quipus - The Inca civilization didn’t develop a writing system but they created the quipus, an element made by knotting different colored strings allowing them to keep track of important events that needed to be remembered or passed on. 4. Bridges and Roads - The Incas developed an advanced transportation system that allowed them to communicate different areas of the empire giving them the chance to move goods and people from side to side. The same bridges that made transportation and communication easy for them worked as a defense mechanism against intruders because by burning the bridges down they eliminated the possibility of an invasion. 5. Aqueducts - Due to water scarcity in the dry season, the Incas built an advanced water system that provided them with drinkable water and that proved that they had advanced engineering capacities. Some of their standout engineering achievements in Machu Picchu. https://www.tcsworldtravel.com/article/inca-ancient-masters-of-stonework-and-civil-engineering Education and Culture The Incas did not have any type of writing. That is why all the information about their form of education comes from the chronicles written by the Spaniards during the conquest and the colony. Likewise, the information was transmitted orally, the following are some of key aspects (Ticket, 2019):  1. The youth school was called ‘Yachaywasi ‘ (House of Knowledge). There were several in the Inca Empire although the main one was in the current city of Cusco. 2. The children of the nobles received Quechua language instruction in the first year of education. 3. The third year they received education on the interpretation of the quipus. The quipu was the only tool with which it was possible to keep an accurate record of the population and of the products that were produced and stored. 4. The education in the Incan lasted 4 years and began at approximately 12. 5. As there was no written system, education was based on hearing and memorizing. 6. The teachers who taught were called ‘Amautas’. They taught with practice, repetition and experience. 7. Inca education had high developments in various sciences such as astronomy, medicine, mathematics and surgery. 8. In mathematics, the Incas made their constructions based on physical geometric calculations. Thus, the walls of Machu Picchu, Tipón, Sacsayhuaman, Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Choquequirao, remain untouched until today. SUMMARY Mesoamerican civilization was developed in parts of Mexico and Central America before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century with a great culture. Some areas shifted from hunting and gathering to agriculture, this happened as the climate warmed with the end of the Ice Age. Late Formative and Classic periods lasted until c. AD 900 which include the Maya and the civilization centered at Teotihuacán; later societies include the Toltec, Aztec and Inca. People from Mesoamerica have each their own education and culture, religion, calendar and even technology that was primarily used in agriculture. SUGGESTED READINGS AND WEBSITES https://www.jstor.org/stable/26309234 https://ourworld.unu.edu/en/the-aztecs-of-mexico-a-zero-waste-society  https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/technology-rainwater-survival- maya https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2020.01160/full https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343338937_Traditional_Herbal_Medicine _in_Mesoamerica_Toward_Its_Evidence_Base_for_Improving_Universal_Health_Co verage https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378874115301549 GLOSSARY Terms Definition Agriculture Agriculture is the art and science of cultivating the soil, growing crops and raising livestock. It includes the preparation of plant and animal products for people to use and their distribution to markets. Agriculture provides most of the world's food and fabrics (National Geographic Society, 2022). Astronomy Science that encompasses the study of all extraterrestrial objects and phenomena. Until the invention of the telescope and the discovery of the laws of motion and gravity in the 17th century, astronomy was primarily concerned with noting and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, and planets, originally for calendrical and astrological purposes and later for navigational uses and scientific interest (Friedlander, 2022). Civilization A civilization is a complex human society, usually made up of different cities, with certain characteristics of cultural and technological development. In many parts of the world, early civilizations formed when people began coming together in urban settlements (National Geographic Society, 2022). Culture The customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group (Merriam-Webster, 2022). Education the knowledge and development resulting from the process of being educated (Merriam-Webster, 2022). REFERENCES Aguilar, & Moreno. (2018, November 8). Aztec Social Structure. Tarlton law Library. 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