Incas Mayans Aztecs?

Question

What are some accomplishments the Incas Mayans Aztecs made that made them seem like a advanced civiliaztion?

Answer 1

These people were civilized, but none were advanced civilizations, rather they were generally stagnant civilizations.

It is difficult to have an advanced civilization without the wheel. They didn't have one. That meant the primary purpose of roads was negated, because without wheels or draft animals or riding animals.

It is probably on technology that they fell short. It is not as if they had not technology, but consider the function of the wheel, not only on vehicles, but on pulleys and gears and so many different things that we take for granted.

It needs to be noted that we are denied much of what we should know about these civilizations because of zealots such as Bishop Landro. Forcing christianity down the throats of "savages" was taken to be a blessing.

But neither should it be thought that these were not war like people. They were. It happened that European nations with a minimum of technology other than a horse managed to defeat or infect mass numbers of people. It is not something to be praised, the destruction of a civilization, but that it happened  fit with the darwinism of the time. No one understood the disease problem inadvertently given to natives.

There could be no development of a market system.(and please, markets developed long before modern economic theory).

Civilization per se involves social structure, hierarchies. But civilizations that practiced mass murder as part of their basic social systems tend to be less advanced that others. Rome was a great civilizing power in its time, but it would perhaps stretch it to say they were advanced as we understand it now.

But the Roman Empire included a love of art, a love of songs and complex music structure, engineering in a formal planned way, complicated only by the lack of arabic numerals.

The Romans gave us  civil law -- upon which almost all western law is based, the 10 commandment crackpots to the contrary. Roman law was codified and published so that all could see it and refer to it. It is a natural progression that the Christian church would base its canon law on the Roman system.

All of these civilizations reached a maximum point and then regressed, either losing power or being defeated and put to ruin. The Mayans are a typical case. Their earliest buildings were their greatest. The next period was of middle quality and style. The last period, which should have been the best, was largely crude in both style and construction method.

This says nothing bad about the people or the civilizations. If a few vital steps are missing, a civilization is stopped. It was true in much of Africa.

Reading almost anything by Jared Diamond will give you a greater sense of respect for this group of our ancestors and why they failed against European civilization. Or did they?

What has happened is that the descendants of the earlier inhabitants are still with us and within them, much of the culture and civilizations of their ancestors. They certainly have no problem in coping with the most advanced systems when given an opportunity to do so, or at least not blocked.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

They had weapons and they went to war...what every advanced civilization does.

Answer 4

why do you question there being advanced civilizations.

The Inka were in South America. they governed an empire that  stretched the whole Andes mountain range. They had a road network that rivals the Romans.

The Maya . The only people in History to build a complex civilization in a rain forest environment.

Civilization is defined as being present when the following aspects are present

1 a writing system

2 Hierarchal government system

3 complex agricultural systems

4 Technological innovations

5 Monumental architecture