The Mayas and the Incas.

The Mayas and the Incas are two Indian civilizations that live South America and left a compressificant mark on the culture and history of these places. They some(prenominal) earn legends that link their arrival to immigration from the East however it is more likely that the immigration occurred from the north. Though these two cultures had some exchange fittedities integrity of these was non language as they had several(prenominal) differences in their native tongues. However, regard little of the differences legends perk up claimed a community of origin in the midst of these two civilizations, in the remote past.The Inca civilization has a reign of less than 200 years in comparison to the Maya civilization and has its base in the area that is now Peru. They flourished in the highlands of the Andes and their reign is estimated as being from AD 1438 1534. They as well extended into the areas that are now Ecuador and Chile. There are cogitate that show that this civiliz ation was derived from a warlike tribe that moved into the vale at Cuzco. Their reign was estimated to span from the Maule River to the Quito.In contrast, the Maya civilization emerged in BC molar concentration and lasted more than a gigabyte years in the Yucatan area of Mexico into Guatemala, Belize and Honduras. They were amenable for the creation of many cities in their judgment of conviction such as Tikal and Uxual. They too had a wide span however their system of g all overnance alter massively and there was no emperor but rather several powerful heads in all(prenominal) city. There was overly no capital letter as each city ruled itself.In terms of religious practices both(prenominal) civilizations practiced sacrificing of animals and at times of humans as well. They besides both worshipped several Gods. The Incas believed in a creator and many pitch gods. They called specie the sweat of the sun and viewed it as precious except in materials practice sessiond for ceremonial items. They focused on rituals that they believed led to healing and increase harvest. In a trait similar to the Mayas, in times of tragedy they believed in the sacrifice of humans.These times include earthquakes and drought. The Inca in like manner had a similar religion to the Inca. They also believed in several nature Gods and in the use of sacrifice to reconcile the Gods. The thought that the feeding of blood to the Gods would also appease and satisfy the Gods so that theirchildren would be healthy and their crops would be good. Religion was eventful in daily life and this is evident from the in imageation that has been attained from pottery, the walls of buildings and murals.Inca architecture was ornate. The capital city was Cuzco and this was the richest city in the Americas at that time. The temples were decorated with gold plates. There were many royal estates and palaces that were for the nobility and were constantly maintained by the builders and artisans. The Mayas had elaborate buildings as well but were more go on in their use of material.They used concrete in their construction and built pyramids as monuments to Gods and leadership. Some of these pyramids were as tall as 200 feet. They also had a distinctive style of construction. The pyramids that they built the tops were flat foreign those in Egyptian architecture. This meant that their leaders were able to climb and sit atop the pyramids.There were principally three staples in the Inca fast. These were corn, potato and a seed down called quinua. They were advanced in thinking and grew a surplus of food for times of war and drought. The quinua was the seed that was used to produce flour and cereal.Corn was used in religious ceremonies and to authorise a drink called Chicha. The Maya diet was also largely reliant on agriculture. They cultivated corn, beans, sweet potatoes, squash and yucca. Corn was the main staple in their diet. They also sourced meat from the hunting of deer, monkey, duck and wild turkey. The product that was hold in in consumption to the nobles was chocolate and was referred to as the drink of the Gods.The Incas had rulers that enforced a strong work ethic in them. Though they had leisure time this time was focused more on religious festivals. Many festivals would persuade place that were to honour leaders, Gods and to help with a good harvest. The Maya, in contrast, truly had a survey more activities. They had a plump for called pok-ol-pok that used a rubber ball.This game is very similar to what we know today as soccer. As in soccer the hands were not used to regard the ball and the ball had to be hit though a ring. This game could be very competitive and sometimes the losing team would lose their life. They also had trumpets made from conch shells and drums that they used to play melody. Some new(prenominal) instruments included the turtle shell rattles and the pottery flutes. They loved to dance and play music and wou ld honour the rulers and Gods by doing these activities.Both societies were classed societies. The Maya had at the bottom of the ladder the slaves. This was followed by the peasants, artisans, nobility, priests and the leaders at the top. There was no supreme leader. The farmers raised crops and worked hard as they did not use animals to prepare fields. Craftsmen made murals, pottery, jewellery and many other items.They also had piercing and tattoos like today but viewed beauty differently. The Inca had a similar class but with labourers below and an Emperor at the top. Farmers also worked hard and grew crops but also reared animals. The llamas were used for transport and the alpacas for their wool. The Inca painted their faces and also had piercings. They in addition had the ear of male childs pierced in a human beings ceremony and a gold disc placed in the hole. When the boy grew older this disc was replaced with larger and larger discs. This was considered to be a sign of beaut y.The culture of the Maya was very developed. They possessed a indite language and books. They also had experts in the fields of mathematics and astronomy. As already mentioned, their architecture was exceptional(a) and they constructed palaces and pyramids with great skill. The literary productions of the Maya are perhaps on of the first writings of the Americas. They utilized pictures and symbols to represent words and thoughts.These symbols can be known as glyphs and stool been found in books and walls. Their books were folded like a fan and were called codices. Their hail system was advanced and they based it on the number 20 unlike our present system that uses 10. The Maya could subtract and add. It has also been seen that they were able to plot the causa of the sun, moon and Venus. They performed calculations on the orbit of Venus that have been found to be very accurate today. Their calendar is the most accurate one from the antique world. They based their year on a 36 5 day system over one thousand years ago.The Inca culture was not as advanced and they did not have any written language. They did have the foresight to have verbal historians in their society that ensured that their history was passed along through the generations. The form of mathematics that was practiced was also not very developed. They used a quipus to reserve track of numbers. This consisted of coloured strings and knots tied. The quipu rememberers were able to translate the knots and keep track of amounts.The rule by which the quipu was used is not known today. Although notvery advanced like the Maya in many aspects the Inca were also apt in terms of architecture. The material they used was stone and not concrete however they were skilled enough to be able to fit the stones suddenly without the use of mortar. They also had the insight to build a lot of roads as much as 10,000 miles in addition to many temples, palaces and link up. Their bridges were great structures th at were made using a rope suspension method and they were advanced in terms of irrigation.The Inca and the Maya civilizations both have a lot of similarities and differences. The similarities in their religious beliefs are evident on further inspection. These may be due to the fact that they most probably have in their lineages common ancestors or roots. The belief in sacrifices as well as the similarities in some of their Gods points clearly to this. The importance that the societies have placed on religion is also evident in their cultures.One factor that can circular for the advanced development of the Maya civilization is the fact that they were an old civilization. This civilization had a lot of time to develop. The time period that they existed for was over a thousand years giving them a lot of time to develop, grow, explore and enquire the world around them and ways to improve their life. This information could then be passed along through the generations and built on and further developed with each successive generation.The Inca civilization, however, is one that was very young in age. They were around for only a period of about 200 years. This means that they were not able to advance to the degree of the Maya civilization within that timeframe. There achievements are in fact great for the limited time that they were in their prime. Their language give time, I am certain would have developed into a written language as well.Location of the civilizations can also account for differences in their diet and daily life. Though in the southern continent of the Americas the types of crops planted and reared would have varied from area to area and this would affect the type of food that was consumed by the population.The governance system of the civilizations may also account for some of the differences. The Mayas were not dependent on the governance of an Emperor and were able to function as independent cities while the Inca hada supreme Emperor. This may indeed have held back the development of the Inca as they were dependent on the genius of one individual whereas the Maya were led by several leaders in many cities.These reasons may account for the differences and similarities in the Inca and Maya civilizations. These civilizations had many similarities and many differences but were both in their own way and in their own time great in terms of their achievements and development.ReferencesStrohl, M. and S. Schneck. Mayas, Aztecs, Incas Cooperative Learning Activities. New York Scholastic headmaster Books, 1994.Baquedano, E. Eyewitness Books Aztec, Inca, and Maya. New York Alfred A. Knopf,1993.Mesoamerican Civilizations Mayas and Incas. 24th April, 2007Bleeker, S and Sasaki, K. The Maya Indians of Central America. Published Morrow, 1961.