Ancient Civilizations: Aztecs, Maya, Incas!: With 25 Social Studies Projects for Kids

By Anita Yasuda and Tom Casteel

A full-color, compelling book for ages 7 to 10 offers a deep dive into the three sophisticated ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica—the Aztecs, Maya, and Incas— through hands-on STEAM projects, essential questions, and loads of fascinating facts!

Why were there more than 3,000 steps built at Machu Picchu? Why did the Aztecs roam Mexico for nearly 200 years before finding a place to settle? How did the Maya study the movements of the stars and the planets? Ancient Civilizations: Aztecs, Maya, Incas! With 25 Social Studies Projects for Kids takes kids ages 7 to 10 on a guided tour to experience the history, culture, economics, and daily life of the Aztecs, Maya, and Incas.

• Travel through humid rainforests, coastal zones, and rocky peaks to spot majestic ruins rising above the jungle, such as the Maya city of Tikal with its steep pyramids, the ruins of Machu Pichu, where the stones were cut so precisely that not even a knife can fit between them, and the Aztec temple Templo Mayor, where people once climbed the steps up the temple to be sacrificed to the Aztec gods.

• The daily lives from thousands of years ago are brought to life through fun illustrations, fascinating facts, essential questions, and hands-on STEAM projects such as constructing model bridges and pyramids, planting floating gardens, and translating hieroglyphics.

• Kids explore the knowledge that has filtered through the centuries from past civilizations and are encouraged to think critically and creatively to recognize the foundations on which people build modern societies.

About the Explore Ancient Civilizations set and Nomad Press

Ancient Civilizations: Aztecs, Maya, Incas! is part of a set of four Explore Ancient Civilization books that bring to life the vibrant cultures of the distant past. The other titles in this series are Ancient Civilizations: Egyptians!, Ancient Civilizations: Romans!, Ancient Civilizations: Greeks!.

Nomad Press books in the Explore Your World series integrate content with participation, encouraging readers to engage in student-directed learning. Combining content with inquiry-based projects stimulates learning and makes it active and alive. Nomad’s unique approach simultaneously grounds kids in factual knowledge while allowing them the space to be curious, creative, and critical thinkers.

All books are leveled for Guided Reading level and Lexile and align with Common Core State Standards and National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies. All titles are available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook formats.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nomad Press
• Release date: Nov 6, 2019
• ISBN: 9781619308329

Anita Yasuda

Anita Yasuda is the author of more than one hundred books for children. She lives with her family and her dog in Huntington Beach, California.

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CONTENTS

Glossary*Metric Conversions

Resources*Essential Questions*Index

Interested in primary sources? Look for this icon. Use a smartphone or tablet app to scan the QR code and explore more! Photos are also primary sources because a photograph takes a picture at the moment something happens.

TIMELINE

Archaeologists don’t always know the exact years the Maya, Incas, or Aztecs built or left their cities, so some years have the word circa, or its abbreviation c, in front of them. This word means approximately.

1800 BCE: The Maya civilization begins.

700 BCE: The Maya begin to create a writing system.

400 BCE: The Maya carve stone monuments that include dates.

300 CE: The Maya build the great city of Tikal. It was located in the rainforests of present-day Guatemala.

C. 900 CE: The Maya abandon their impressive cities.

C. 1100 CE: The Aztecs leave northern Mexico or the southwestern United States for land farther south.

C. 1200: Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire, is founded in what is now Peru.

1325: The Aztecs begin their rise to power and build their capital Tenochtitlan on an island in Lake Texcoco. The city is now under present-day Mexico City.

C. 1438: The Inca people establish the city of Machu Picchu in the Andes Mountains in Peru.

1502: Montezuma II becomes leader of the Aztec Empire.

C. 1510: The Incas abandon Machu Picchu.

1517: The first Spanish arrive in Mexico.

1521: Spanish forces, led by Hernán Cortés, destroy the Aztec capital at Tenochtitlan.

1533: Spanish forces, led by Francisco Pizarro, defeat the Incas.

1697: Spanish forces destroy the last Maya kingdom.

1790: Archaeologists discover the fifteenthcentury Aztec calendar stone under the central square of Mexico City.

1911: Hiram Bingham rediscovers Machu Picchu, which had been forgotten for centuries.

1973: Researchers make a breakthrough in understanding Maya hieroglyphs.

1981: David Stuart, a 15-yearold with an interest in the Maya, discovers that the Maya could write the same word in different ways.

1992: Rigoberta Menchú Tum, a Maya woman, wins the Nobel Peace Prize.

2017: More than 1.3 million people visit Machu Picchu.

2018: Archaeologists use lidar technology to discover new Maya ruins in Guatemala.

Many of the words and names in this book are hard to say, but you can hear them spoken online. Go to symbol next to your word to hear it spoken.

MERRIAM-WEBSTER

INTRODUCTION

LET’S EXPLORE THE AMERICAS!

Imagine you are hiking to a city built by one of the greatest civilizations in South America. Ahead of you, thick green vines crisscross the trail like webs. You walk slowly, pushing aside the vines with your hands. You see flashes of blue and gold tanagers. Your heart beats faster each time a howler monkey shrieks.

After many hours, the forest opens onto a rocky path as narrow as a new moon. You pass by steep drops. You scramble up stone steps. At last, you reach the city gate where your guide is waiting.

Over here, your guide calls, pointing to a narrow stone doorway.

WORDS TO KNOW

civilization: a community of people that is advanced in art, science, and government.

WORDS TO KNOW

Machu Picchu: an ancient Inca city on a high mountain in Peru, the ruins of which can still be seen and visited today.

ancient: from an early time in history.

Mesoamerica: an area that includes Central America and modern-day Mexico in North America.

Before you lies a sea of stone walls, staircases, and temples almost touching the sky. What is this fantastic place? It is Machu Picchu, an important Inca city on a high mountain in Peru. It was a 400-yearold secret, but now it’s yours to explore! What will you discover on your journey?

DID YOU KNOW?

Want to learn more fascinating facts? Look for this symbol of the Aztec Sun Stone showing the Aztec sun god, Tonatiuh.

In this book, we’ll explore the ancient Maya, Inca, and Aztec peoples. Hundreds of years ago, these three powerful civilizations ruled large parts of Mesoamerica and South America.