Workbook Page 3 Class Notes

Olmec, Maya, Aztec and Inca The Olmec lived along the Gulf Coast in what is now Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Belize. Mayan pyramids were very large- some reached 200 feet. A theocracy is a society run by religious leaders. Mayans used the position of the starts, sun and moon to create a calendar.

The city of Tenochtitlan was unusual because it was a large island that was connected to the shore by man-made land bridges. The Aztecs used people they conquered as slaves- and sometimes human sacrifices. The Inca were able to control its large empire by building over 10,000 miles of roads. The Inca were able to farm on mountainous land by cutting terraces, flats level land, into the mountainside. Machu Picchu is the religious center of the Inca Empire.