THE PRE-COLUMBIAN CIVILIZATIONS
In the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors arrived in the New World. They discovered two ancient
civilizations in Central America, the Aztecs and the Maya, and one in South America, the Incas.
The Aztecs were farmers. They lived in the valley of Mexico and their capital was Tenochtitlán. It
was a big city with a population of 200,000 people. The Aztecs did not have money and used cacao
beans and feathers to buy things. They built big pyramids to honour the sun and the moon and other
gods. They also used the pyramids for ceremonies of human sacrifice.
Cacao bean:
grano de
cacao
Feather:
pluma
Hernán Cortés captured the Aztec emperor Moctezuma II in 1521 and the Aztec civilization
disappeared. It’s still possible to visit the great ruins of Teotihuacán near Mexico City and to climb
the Pyramid of the Sun, the third largest pyramid in the world.
To climb:
escalar, subir
The Maya lived in Southern Mexico,
Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El
Salvador. Their civilization was the most
advanced in the New World and, unlike the
Aztecs, they had a written language. The
Maya worshipped the Sun, the Moon, the
rain and the maize god. Like the Aztecs,
they were farmers, used cacao beans and
feathers for money and believed in human
sacrifice. The Maya had no big capital city,
but you can still see many important Mayan
pyramids and temples in Central America,
for example, Chichen Itzá and Palenque in
Unlike: a
diferencia de
Maize: maíz
Mexico and Tikal in Guatemala.
The Inca civilization developed in the Andes Mountains around 1200. Their capital was Cuzco. In the
15th century they began a great period of expansion, creating one of the largest empires in the
world. The Incas formed a powerful central government, and they are believed to practice human
sacrifices, like the Aztecs and the Maya. Their main spoken language was the Quechua. There are
still many people in these regions who speak Quechua to this day.
In 1533 the Spanish arrived in South America, and Francisco Pizarro managed to conquer this huge
empire. To this day, many descendants of the Incans still inhabit the nations of Chile, Bolivia, Peru,
and Ecuador. These people still speak Quechua, the official Incan language, and still practice Incan
culture.
Read the sentences and write an A if they are related to the Aztecs, an M if they talk
about the Maya, or an I if they’re about the Incas. Some of them may have more than one
letter!
a) Francisco Pizarro managed to conquer this huge empire. _________
b) They practiced human sacrifices. ___________
c) They lived in Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El
Salvador._______
d) Their capital was Tenochtitlán. __________
e) They spoke Quechua. __________
f) They used cacao beans and feathers for money. __________
g) They developed in the Andes Mountains. ___________
h) Hernán Cortés captured emperor Moctezuma II. _________
i) Some of their monuments are Chichen Itzá and Palenque in Mexico. ______
j) Their capital was Cuzco. ___________
k) They created one of the largest empires in the world. ________
l) They had a written language. _________
To manage:
conseguir,
lograr
To inhabit:
habitar
The Mayan ball game
The Mayans are one of the first peoples to develop and
play professional sports. One of the most important sports
played by the Mayans was called Pok-a-tok.
Using a solid rubber ball, which was
about the size of a basketball,
teams battled one another. The goal
of the game was to pass the ball
around, without having it touch your
hands, and then get the ball to pass
through one of the rings. Since the
rings were so high and players were
not allowed to use their hands, it
was extremely difficult to get the
ball through a ring. In fact, when a
player managed to get a ball
through a ring, that usually ended
the game. The game ended
otherwise when the ball touched the ground. The Mayan Ball Game was a solemn experience, filled
with ritual importance. The winners of the game were treated as heroes and given a great feast.
The penalty for losing a game was unusually severe: death. The leader of the team who lost the
game was killed. This fit in with the Mayan belief that human sacrifice was necessary for the
continued success of the peoples' agriculture, trade, and health.
Rubber:
goma. caucho
Since: ya que
In fact: de
hecho
Otherwise:
por lo demás,
de otra
maners
Penalty:
castigo, pena
To fit in:
concordar
True or false? Correct the wrong sentences:
a) The players were able to touch the ball with their hands during the game. _______
b) The goal of the game was to pass the ball through one of the rings of the court. ___
c) It was very easy to pass the ball through a ring. _______
d) The ball game had a little importance._______
e) The leader of the team who lost the game was killed. _______
The
Mayans
became
excellent
scientists in many different fields,
including medicine, astronomy, and
mathematics. They studied the
movement of the stars and planets across the sky, and were able
to predict celestial events such as eclipses.
The Mayan
calendar
They also developed an accurate calendar of 360 days, which
they used to plan their harvests, and religious ceremonies.
Answer these questions:
a) In which fields did the Mayans become excellent scientists?
b) Could they predict eclipses?
c) What’s the difference between the Mayan calendar and the one that we used
today?
d) What did they use the calendar to?
Realizado por Elena Martín Gordón (IES Doñana, ALMONTE)
Accurate:
preciso