Mr. Dorrough’s History Class

Chapter 27 Standards Guide: Achievements of The Maya, Aztecs, and Incas

Key Terms

• solar year
• steles
• huipiles
• corbel vault
• glyph
• dialect
• pictograph
• suspension bridge

Essential Questions

1. What important breakthroughs id the Maya make in the fields of mathematics, and astronomy?
2. Describe these aspects of Mayan culture: art, weaving, architecture, writing, and language.
3. In what ways was Tenochtitlan proof of the Aztecs’ achievements in technology and architecture?
4. Did the Aztec calender have a practical or religious purpose? Explain.
5. How did the Aztecs express themselves through poetry, music, dance, art, and language?
6. Describe the Incan achievements in engineering, medicine, and art.
7. How did the Incas compensate for their lack of a written language?

Standards Addressed

7.7 Students compare and contrast the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the Meso-American and Andean civilizations.

7.7.3 Explain how and where each empire arose and how the Aztec and Incan empires were defeated by the Spanish.

7.7.4 Describe the artistic and oral traditions and architecture in the three civilizations.

7.7.5 Describe 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.