Two ancient American civilizations, the Mayans and Aztecs, may seem the same in our minds, but in reality, there were many differences amongst them. They were the two empires that existed in Mesoamerica. The Mayan and Aztec civilizations were both located in Mexico, but the Mayan territory was the southern part of Mexico, and the Aztec’s had the central area. There are many differences in similarities between the Aztecs and Mayans, but I will talk about just a few.
Trade:
Both the Mayans and Aztecs did their own share of trading, but the area of trade for the Aztecs was much larger than that of the Mayans. They both traded cacao and salt extensively. The Aztecs had three different sectors for their trade system. The first was professionals who dealt with luxurious items. The second was the regional merchants, who dealt with more agricultural items The last sector was small-scale producers who did not do much trading and produced mainly for themselves. The Mayans did not have nearly the systematic set up for trade as the Aztecs had.
Tribute:
The Aztecs had a tribute system much earlier than the Mayans. The Aztecs had four types of tribute. The first was the tribute they were forced to pay to Spain. The second was the textiles, cloth or woven’s, paid to the conquered states. The third was the payment that nobles gave to their local rulers. The last tribute was the nobles taxation to the common citizens. When the Mayans eventually developed a tribute system, they had two types. The first was labor and food from the citizens to their nobles. The second was the precise tribute from their conquered neighbors.
Religion:
Both the Aztecs and Mayans had a polytheistic religion. They had gods of agriculture, so farming was very important to both civilizations to please the gods. The Aztecs were always trying to please their gods by participating in war, but the Mayans thrived for peace. The two civilizations shared one same god; the Aztecs called him Quetzalcoatl, and the Mayans called him Kukulcan. They both also worshipped many other deities.
Calendar:
The Aztec and Mayan calendars had some similarities and differences. The Mayans were much more precise with recording dates. They both had ritual day cycles; the Aztecs was called Tonalpohuall, and the Mayans was called Tzolkin. The Aztec calendar kept two different aspects of time; one counting of days, and one counting of years.
Even though they were both located in Mexico, the Aztecs and Mayans had many similarities, but many differences also. It is amazing to read about the different civilizations and how they organized their people.
I like how you split this up into sub-categories! It is very organized this way and easier to understand!
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