Ancient Americas People (Tribes &Kings)
The three major civilizations in the Americas were the Maya, Inca, and Aztec that existed between 2500 BCE to 1500 CE. The Maya civilization was located in Central America, including South Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. The Incas were located Peru, Bolivia, and Equador. Aztec civilization was located in the valley of Mexico.
The Maya civilization was made up of a large number of city-states, each having its own independent government. Every city-state was ruled by its own king. They believed their king was given the right to rule by the gods. The king worked as an intermediary between the people and the gods. The position of the king was usually inherited by the oldest son of a family and chosen from the
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If you broke a law you would appear in court where the local leaders or nobles served as judge. Sometimes the king would also serve as judge. The Maya did not have prisons. Punishments included death, slavery, fines, and sometimes they would shave the head of a person as to show a sign or shame. Murder and arson and acts against the gods were punished with death. If the victim of the crime wanted to pardon the accused, then the punishement may be reduced. The Maya civilization was centered around religion, gods, and goddesses. Religion touched their daily lives and they believed ina large number of nature gods. The main way we know about the Maya religion is through texts which describe the religious ceremonies and the belief of the Maya. Itzamma was considered the most important Maya god. Itzamma was the god of fire who created earth. He was the ruler of heaven as well as day and night. They Maya people believed he gave them the calender and writing. The next major god to them was Kukulcan, the god of the Itza people in the later part of the Maya civilization. Bolon Tzacab was the god of storms, wind, and fire who was said to have caused a great flood to come when the Maya