Meso-America

 Entire area of Central America from Southern Mexico up to the boarder of South
America

The 3 famous civilizations that gave great contribution to science are:

1. Maya
2. Aztec
3. Inca

1. Maya – The Maya civilization was the most advance of pre-Columbian civilization
Paper and pictorial script or often referred to as Maya hieroglyphs
- It is used to record all knowledge on paper, which the folded harmonica-style into books.
The Dresden Codex
- It contains predictions of solar eclipses for centuries and a table of predicted position of
Venus and bears testimony to the advanced stage of Maya astronomy.
- The lack of astronomical instruments was overcome by aligning stars with two object that
were separated by a large distance, a technique that achieve great accuracy of angular
measurement.
The position value number system with zero
- It is the greatest scientific achievement of the Maya.
- It was adapted for use with the calendar that regulated all life in Maya society.

2. Aztec – The Aztecs were an advanced and prosperous civilization who built beautiful
and sophisticated cities.
Aztec Calendar
– It’s the calendar system used by Aztecs. 365 day calendar called Xiuhpohualli or the
year count and 260 day ritual calendar called Tonalpohualli or day count.
-It calculates the end of the world as December 21, 2012
 Other contributions of Aztec are:
Chocolates – The cacao beans
- Cocoa beans were also used as a currency and as a tribute (tax) from peoples ruled by Aztecs.
The oily layer floating in the chocolate drink (cocoa butter) was used to protect the skin against
the sun

Invention of canoe
- A dugout canoe was very useful for navigating the canals and lake surrounding Tenochtitlan.
These canoes were made from hollowed-out logs burned by fire. Aztec carpenters also made a
flat-bottomed boat similar to a raft, consisting of planks of wood tied together with tight fibers.

Antispasmodic Medication
- Aztecs used the passion flower (believed to help relieve insomnia, epilepsy, and high blood
pressure) to create antispasmodic medication. This drug would then be given to patients before
surgery to relax muscles and prevent muscle spasms.

Mandatory education
- The Aztec Empire is one of the few older civilizations that featured mandatory education at
home and in schools. Every child was educated, no matter his or her social status, whether
noble, commoner or slave. The Aztec culture expected well-behaved people so children were
taught to be humble, obedient and hardworking.

Chinampa – irrigation system

- Aztec agriculture in the heart of the empire used chinampas for their crops. Chinampa is a
method of farming that used small, rectangular areas to grow crops on the shallow lake beds in
the Mexican valley. These islands then provided rich soil for crops with easy access to water.

3. Inca – It is the largest empire in pre-Columbian America, and in the early 16th century it was
the largest empire in the world.

Inca contributions are:

Quipu
- A quipu, or knot-record (also called khipu), was a method used by the Incas and other ancient
Andean cultures to keep records and communicate information. In the absence of an alphabetic
writing system, this simple and highly portable device achieved a surprising degree of precision
and flexibility.
 Inca textiles
- Inca textiles were made using cotton (especially on the coast and in the eastern lowlands) or
llama, alpaca, and vicuña wool (more common in the highlands) which can be exceptionally fine.
It was here that the finest cloth was made by male specialists known as qumpicamayocs or
'keepers of the fine cloth'.

Road paved with stones

- Inca roads were built without the benefit of sophisticated surveying equipment using only
wooden, stone, and bronze tools. Flattened road beds - often raised - were usually made using
packed earth, sand, or grass. The more important roads were finished with precisely arranged
paving stones or cobbles.

Stone buildings that surmounted earthquakes

- Over 500 years ago, when Incan workers built Machu Picchu, they devised an ingenious building
technique to prevent building collapse during Peru's frequent earthquakes. It worked a little like
an ancient form of Legos: Every stone fit together perfectly without any mortar.

Irrigation system and technique for storing water

- These systems were primarily used for the irrigation of the agricultural terraces and for bringing
fresh drinking water from fountains and clear mountain streams to the Inca cities. Most of these
aqueducts were built close to mountain sides.

Calendar with 12 months

- The Inca used their calendar to mark religious festivals as well as the seasons so they
could plant their crops at the correct time of the year. They studied the sun and the stars
to calculate their calendar.

First suspension bridge

- Constructed from grass and other natural materials, the swaying bridges were especially
suited to the Incas as they never invented wheeled transport. The bridges were maintained
by the communities nearby, as part of the Inca taxation system.