Problem solving of Native

American Cultures

Mayan Agriculture

This is a picture of a Mayan temple

The Mayans drained the swamps to grow food on the land.

They were able to grow corn on the land.

Other Mayan Accomplishments

They created a 365 day calendar (19 months- 18 months of 20 days and 1 month of 5 days)

They developed an advanced number system, including zero.

Mayan Calendar

The Mayans invented a system of hieroglyphics- writing that uses pictures to represent words

Aztec Agriculture The Aztecs made

their capital, Tenochtitlan, in the middle of a lake.

The Aztecs dug canals and filled in parts of the lake to create farmland

They used floating gardens, called Chinampas to plant crops

The used drawbridges to keep their enemies out of the city.

Picture of Aztec floating gardens

Another picture of chinampas

Lake Texcoco- Tenochtitlan

Incan Agriculture

Incans lived in the Andes Mountains so farming was tough

They carved flat terraces into the mountains to farm

The terrace walls kept the rains from washing the soil off the terraces.

Picture of terrace farming

Another picture of terrace farming

Incan survival in the Andes

The Incans stayed connected in their 3,000 miles of empire by sending messengers on foot to relay messages.

They were able to build temples that withstood earthquakes by using huge stone blocks that fit perfectly together. They were about 200 tons each!

The Incans were also very advanced in medicine. They performed successful brain surgery!

Incan temple

Another Incan temple

Questions

What did the Mayans do to farm in the swamps?

What else did the Mayans do? How did the Aztecs farm in the middle

of a lake? How did the Incas farm in the middle of

the Andes mountains?

The End