7 Civilization Essay Lavenia Hunter
Mayan, Aztec, and Inca Civilizations Essay Prompt and
Passages Write an informative essay that discusses why the societies in the following articles were influential in both the past and the present.
Include evidence from what you have read. Manage your time carefully so that you can: ● Read the passages
● Plan your essay
● Write your essay
● Revise and edit your essay Your written response should be in the form of a multiparagraph essay. Remember to spend time reading, planning, writing, revising, and editing.
Mayan Civilization
1
Long before the rise of the Inca and Aztec Empires, Mayan civilization flourished in Central America. The Maya first settled in the region as early as 1500 BC, growing maize and living in small agricultural communities. But by about AD 200, these villages were becoming cities. At its height, Mayan civilization included more than 40 cities, each with a population of 5,000 to 50,000 people. The cities had huge stone buildings, including palaces, pyramids, and temples. Each citystate was ruled by a king. 2
Mayan society was hierarchical, divided by both class and profession. Below the king was a class of nobles; a middle class was composed of priests and commoners; at the lowest level were slaves. The Maya were never an empire. Although the cities shared the same culture, each operated independently. They traded goods with each other, including salt, shells, cotton, corn, rubber, incense, feathers, jade, flint, obsidian, and granite were carried in huge dugout canoes along rivers and around coasts. They also fought wars, but these were on a small scale, one city against another. 3
For many centuries, the Maya prospered. They studied the stars and developed sophisticated and accurate calendars; practiced elaborate (if gory) religious rituals and worshiped a crowded pantheon of gods and goddesses; they developed complex
Passages Write an informative essay that discusses why the societies in the following articles were influential in both the past and the present.
Include evidence from what you have read. Manage your time carefully so that you can: ● Read the passages
● Plan your essay
● Write your essay
● Revise and edit your essay Your written response should be in the form of a multiparagraph essay. Remember to spend time reading, planning, writing, revising, and editing.
Mayan Civilization
1
Long before the rise of the Inca and Aztec Empires, Mayan civilization flourished in Central America. The Maya first settled in the region as early as 1500 BC, growing maize and living in small agricultural communities. But by about AD 200, these villages were becoming cities. At its height, Mayan civilization included more than 40 cities, each with a population of 5,000 to 50,000 people. The cities had huge stone buildings, including palaces, pyramids, and temples. Each citystate was ruled by a king. 2
Mayan society was hierarchical, divided by both class and profession. Below the king was a class of nobles; a middle class was composed of priests and commoners; at the lowest level were slaves. The Maya were never an empire. Although the cities shared the same culture, each operated independently. They traded goods with each other, including salt, shells, cotton, corn, rubber, incense, feathers, jade, flint, obsidian, and granite were carried in huge dugout canoes along rivers and around coasts. They also fought wars, but these were on a small scale, one city against another. 3
For many centuries, the Maya prospered. They studied the stars and developed sophisticated and accurate calendars; practiced elaborate (if gory) religious rituals and worshiped a crowded pantheon of gods and goddesses; they developed complex