ANCESTORS

Before Europeans came to America, thre wre three important Indian civilizations: the Inca in Peru, the Maya and the Aztec in Mexico and Central America.

INCAS -THE PERUVIAN CRADLE

They lived in Peru. They were farmers and engineers. They created water irrigation systems because their land was dry and cool. Then they lived in the mountainous regions and cultivated corn, cotton, beans and the white potatoes. They domrsticated the llama and alpaca .


Tey were great architecs too. Important cities were Cusco and Machu Picchu.The spaniards called "The Inca Empire

THE MAYAS CIVILIZATION

MADRES MAYAS
The Mayas lived in Mexico and Central America. They were architecs and built large buildings and cities like Chichén Itzá and Uxmal. They were astronomers too. They invent the calendar with 18 months.

They also cultivated corn, sweet potatoes, peanuc, manioc, pineapples, avocados, cottons and papayas. Currently many countries in different parts of the world also cultivate these products.

Today there are still many Mayas that speak their native language in the south of Mexico and in the north of Guatemala.

THE AZTECS

They were warriors.They lived in Mexico and Central America after the Mayan Cvilization.The capital of the empire was tenochtitlán, were Mexico city is located today. When the scaniards came, there were silver and gold.T here werehuge pyramids, too, because they were great engineers.