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Offering Gold figurines were
left by the Incas as offerings
to the Sun and Earth.(^3) GODS
The Aztecs and Mayans worshipped many
gods and goddesses, whose statues they
kept in pyramid temples. They believed
that the gods made the sun rise in the
morning, the rain fall, and the crops
grow. For the Incas, the Sun, Moon, and
Earth were themselves gods. Inti, the sun
god, was the most important of them.
Mayan records Mayan books were painted on paper made
from fig tree bark, which folded up like a concertina.
Calendar This book is a
calendar, used by Aztec priests
to predict the future.
Shield Aztec
warriors wore
colourful
costumes and
carried shields
decorated
with feathers.
Funerary urn Burned bones
of Aztec warriors who died
in battle were buried in urns.
Sacrificial knife Aztec priests
used stone knives to cut out
the hearts of prisoners of war.
Stone mask Carved stone
masks were placed as
offerings in Mexican temples.
Quipu The colour,
size, number, and
position of the
knots all had
a significance
to the Incas.
Eye shapes were
often part of the
knife’s decoration
Aztec signs for
different days
Knots were used
for counting
This mask is from
Teotihuacán – an
earlier civilization
than the Aztecs
Tezcatlipoca, an
Aztec god of war
and strife
Gold was the
“sweat of the
sun” to the Incas
Chac carries a ball
of incense, which
was burned at
religious ceremonies
3
4
5
(^4) KEEPING RECORDS
These civilizations had various ways
of keeping records. The Aztecs used a
picture writing system, with pictures
standing for words and ideas. The Maya
had a more complex system, with signs
standing for sounds. The Incas did not
write, but kept records using lengths of
knotted string, called quipus.
(^5) RITUALS
People believed that the gods needed
to be given offerings to ensure their
continued goodwill. The most precious
offering was human life, and the Aztecs,
Maya, and Incas all practised human
sacrifice. The Aztecs and Maya went to
war to capture prisoners, whose hearts
were offered to the gods.
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