What were the differences between the Maya, Aztecs and Inca? – How It Works (2024)

FAQs

What were the differences between the Maya Aztecs and the Incas? ›

The Aztecs led a more brutal, warlike lifestyle, with frequent human sacrifices, whereas the Maya favoured scientific endeavours such as mapping the stars. The Inca were based much further south in the Andean region (home to modern-day Peru and Chile) and were accomplished builders.

The Mayans lived in city-states, each with its own independent ruler. These city-states often engaged in warfare, alliances, and trade with each other. The Aztecs, on the other hand, had an empire ruled by a single Emperor, with Tenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico City) as the capital.

What were the major differences between the societies of the Aztec, Inca, and Maya and the Indians of North America? North American Indians were fewer in number, more widely dispersed, and did not have the population size or organized social structures of the Maya, Aztec, or Inca societies.

The Mayans worshipped one god, but the Incas worshipped many. The Mayans prayed mainly to the sun god, but the Incas prayed to hundreds of gods. The Mayans used complex calendars to plan activities, but the Incas practiced divination. The Mayans performed human sacrifices, but the Incas did not.

The Aztecs were fiercer. They warred, captured enemies, practiced cannibalism at times, and believed in sacrifices. The Incas, however, were more peaceful. They did not provide sacrifices to their gods.

Five facts about the Incas are: they built the mountain city of Machu Picchu, they worshipped the Sun, they created the largest empire in the world at that time, they had no writing but used quipu (string and knots), and they had a very efficient postal system which used their excellent road system.

The major difference between the Aztec and Inca civilizations is that the Aztecs had a form of writing, while the Inca did not. The Aztecs used a complex system of hieroglyphs, which is a system of picture writing. Contrastingly, the Incas used a system of knotted strings known as quipus for keeping records.

The Incas micromanaged their economy and did not center their public religion on human sacrifice. The Aztecs gave more freedom regarding the economy and needed many human sacrifices, which fueled warfare. However, they did both use tribute labor and worshipped sun deities.

The Aztec Calendar also incorporated a series of symbols and images that represented the gods, natural elements, and other aspects of Aztec culture. The Mayan Calendar, on the other hand, was a more complex system of timekeeping that was based on a combination of solar and lunar calendars.

The civilizations of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca that once flourished in Central and South America shared common elements. People practiced farming, developed social structures, raised armies, and worshipped many gods. The three civilizations were as diverse as the terrains in which they lived.

Did the Aztecs and Mayans fight? ›

No, not if by “the Aztecs” we mean the Aztec Empire, before the Spaniards came. There were Aztec garrisons on the Maya frontier, and very likely plans to attack. But then the Aztecs themselves were attacked - by the Spaniards.

The word "Maya" is used to describe the Maya civilization and other non-linguistic aspects of their culture, while the word "Mayan" is used to describe the languages that are spoken by them. The word "Mayan" is often incorrectly used as an adjective to describe the people from the ancient civilization.

The Aztec and Mayan civilizations were different but they were more similar. The Aztecs and Mayans were more similar in their location, religion, writing system, government, social structure, gender roles, technology, and sporting activities.

While Egyptians were isolated, Mayans were heavily influenced by surrounding peoples. The Egyptians were more flexible both socially and religiously, and the Egyptian environment was much more stable and predictable.

While both the Aztecs and Incas had similar social hierarchies consisting of the elite, government officials, and commoners, the Aztecs had no structured form of government only paying tributes to officials compared to the Incas' military ran bureaucracy.