Characteristics Of Inca Architecture

The Mayan, Aztec, and Inca civilizations brought major accomplishments to the world today. These accomplishments established them as advanced societies during their time without the influence of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Some of these accomplishments ranged from agriculture to architecture and on to writing and trade. Such as, the Mayans with their agriculture system of chinampas and there monumental temple/pyramids, the Aztecs with their trading in the city of Tenochtitlan, and the Incas with their road and bridge system connecting the whole empire.

Their complex societies include advanced architectural works in the buildings of their pyramids and home all without the use of a wheel or machinery and built on the backs of human labor. A great example of this would be the Incan city of Machu Picchu. Additionally, their mathematical skills and astronomical calculations is astounding since their accuracy is verified in modern times. The Olmec’s were first to establish such calendar according to appropriate farming seasons and would later be adopted by the Mayans who will come to perfect their calculations and calendar. One common denominator for all of these complex societies was their large-scale agriculture production especially in corn or maize. Depending on their geography they cultivated their crops differently. The Aztecs created chinampas that allowed the lake water to irrigate their crops, whereas the Inca people farmed on terraced land within the mountains or the Olmec’s who built aqueducts to irrigate their

The Mayan, Aztec and Incan civilizations each contributed major accomplishments to the world today. These accomplishments established them as advanced societies during their time. The Incans built a large road system, devised a complex irrigation system and developed their own language. The Mayans constructed the largest structure known until modern times, made drastic accomplishments in mathematics, studied astronomy and formed a calendar. The Aztecs built well-organized cities and developed a writing system based on pictures.

In history we the people have found to realize that the Maya, Aztec, and Inca culture was one of the most incredible findings of their accomplishments. The Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations were really smart in topics of engineering, writing, agriculture and astronomy. Also all three had their beliefs, and good with agriculture. All three cultures used great technologies in their agriculture like slash and burn, terrace farming. They all hunted for religion, they had a huge belief with the people spread throughout each region. They all had a lot of interest in the use of chocolate in the region, and cultivation. They all were pretty much the same just different beliefs.

Perhaps more than 12 million people contributed to the creation of sprawling cities, terraced farmlands, extended roadways, and golden palaces. The Inca empire covered nearly 2,500 miles and included regions of present-day Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, and Argentina. Although, like other native peoples throughout the Americas, they did not have their own written language or the use of the wheel, the Incas were extremely intelligent engineers. They built huge stone structures without mortar and designed suspension bridges that crossed deep mountain

So, as stated before in this essay, the Incas and Mayans had quite a few things in common but they were much more different than similar. Although both civilizations failed, at one point they flourished greatly. They were intelligent and paved the way for things liken mathematics, architecture,

There were several ancient civilizations that built their cultures around their geography. The Incas were among one of those ancient civilizations. They had amazing ingenuity to make use of their environment. The Incas built agriculture terraces and they had a complex irrigation system. And some crops that we use today. The physical environment of the Incas affected and shaped their civilization.

The mayans, aztecs, and the incas were all advanced for their time. The mayans had a math system. The aztecs took over the highest cities in the area. And the incas had control of 1,250 miles of the western coast of south america.

The most significant physical geographical factor that contributed to the development of the ancient South American society of the Incas was the Andes Mountains. The Inca Empire had villages and cities throughout the Andes Mountains. Some of these settlements were as low as sea level and their capital, Cusco, was at an altitude of 11,200 feet. The Andes are considered some of the longest and highest mountain ranges. In fact it’s tallest peak, Mount Aconcaqua, in Argentina, tops out at 22,841 feet (Zimmermann, 2013). Despite the fact that people were traversing mountains the people flourished creating trails, aqueducts and agricultural practices that still exist today.

1. Before Francisco Pizarro began the Spanish conquest in 1532, the Incan empire dominated the Andes Mountain region. An emperor who demanded strict obedience ruled the land. All business was run by the state, which could draft citizens for its projects. The Inca, terracing the landscape and irrigating the crops, farmed the mountainsides. The Inca were brilliant engineers, whose roadways included bridges. The city of Machu Picchu is an example of their skill with tools like the plumb bob and wooden roller, which they used for in heavy construction. Hundreds of years after their civilization was subdued by the Spanish, the descendants of the once-dominate Incas make up about 50 percent of Peru’s population.

Ancient Society benefited from their skills as builders and artists. In Source four, “ They constructed thousands of miles of roads to link all parts of their vast empire.” This shows that South America, Inca Empire makes fine resistant buildings. The Incas are most popular for their architecture and constructed finely done buildings. Also, in the Western part of South America it was difficult to farm there. The Incas had plenty of solutions.

Before the legendary empires of the Romans and the Greeks, there were other prospering civilizations thriving in parts of Central America and parts of Mexico. The Mayan, Incan and Aztec civilizations were a few of the greatest ancient civilizations in history, but they each had distinct characteristics that helped them prosper into the great empires that they became. Each had their own fascinating ways of food production, governing system and culture. The Mayans were established first out of the three and settled in modern-day Mexico. Then came the Aztecs and they also settled in modern-day Mexico and the Incas were the last of the three and they settled in the Andes Mountains and what is now Peru. All three had very successful and long-lasting civilizations until they were taken out by a natural cause or foreign invaders. Even though the Mayan, Aztecs and Incan empires had their distinct characteristics of what made them great, only the Incan empire would be able to succeed in today’s world because of their unique governing system and their advancements in military and infrastructure.

The Aztec and Inca were two diverse civilizations that prospered in Mesoamerica and South America. Both of these ancient civilizations had unique ways of governing their people and living their lives. The Aztecs and Incans both had many similar features, such as their large capitals at the center of their empires, their focus on agriculture, and their large peasant classes which allowed these empires to thrive in the Americas. They also had their share of differences including the level of control over their empire, the Incan government’s control of trade, and the Aztecs’ use of slavery.

The Inca also made stone walls that would withstand tremendous earthquakes. They invented 20,000 miles of road. Also, Human labor was the coin of the Inca empire.

The Incan people were extremely skilled at constructing structures. In Machu Picchu, there were about two hundred buildings which included residences, temples, storage, and other public buildings. They had rectangular floors, steep thatched roofs, and trapezoidal doors. Some of them called masmas had three walls. The buildings either had one or two stories. They did not use any mortar to hold the bricks. Instead, they used cut stones, geometry and joints. Structures were so well built that they withstood earthquakes and many centuries. No other civilization in the ancient world could cut and assemble stone blocks so perfectly.