Maya City

The ancient Maya people of southern Mexico and Central America built an advanced civilization more than 1,000 years ago. Every Maya city had a large public square, palaces, and pyramids topped with temples.

Maya Writing
The ancient Maya used pictures and symbols to represent ideas or combinations of sounds. This form of writing is known as hieroglyphics. The Maya carved hieroglyphs into stone and wrote them down in books, such as this one.

Chichn Itz
In about 900 AD, the Maya abandoned many of their cities in Guatemala. Some Maya moved north into the Yucatn peninsula in Mexico, where they built new cities. This picture shows Chichn Itz, one of the last great cities built by the Maya.

Inca RuinsThe Inca Empire was a vast kingdom that thrived hundreds of years ago in South America.
One spectacular Inca city was Machu Picchu, located high in the Andes mountains. The abandoned remains of the city, shown here, were discovered in 1911.

Atahualpa
Atahualpa was the last ruler of the Inca Empire. He was killed by the Spanish in 1533.

Francisco Pizarro
Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire in the 1530s.

Great Temple of Tenochtitln

The Great Temple of the Aztecs was the center of their capital city, Tenochtitln. The city was conquered in 1521 by the Spanish and later became Mexico City.

Hernn Corts
Spanish explorer Hernn Corts conquered the Aztec Empire in 1521. He and his armies destroyed the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitln.

Great Sphinx The Great Sphinx is the most famous statue from ancient Egypt. It has a human head and a lions body. The Great Sphinx is about 4,500 years old and stands near three ancient pyramids in Giza, Egypt.

Queen Nefertiti Nefertiti was one of the most famous queens of ancient Egypt. She and her husband, Akhenaton, reigned in the 1300s BC, during the period known as the New Kingdom.

King Tutankhamun King Tutankhamun, also known as King Tut, ruled Egypt in the 1300s BC. He became king at about age 9 and died at about age 18. Although not an important king, he is famous because his tomb was discovered in 1922 with its treasures still inside. His mummy wore this gold mask.

Ancient Egyptian Empire Ancient Egypt reached its greatest extent during the New Kingdom, also known as the Egyptian Empire. The New Kingdom lasted from about 1550 to 1070 BC.

Confucius Confucius was a wise Chinese philosopher who was born more than 2,500 years ago. He taught his followers how to live a good and moral life, and his teachings are still studied today.

Great Wall of China The Ming dynasty built the Great Wall in the 1400s and 1500s. This long stone wall was designed to defend Chinas northern border from invasions. Today, it is a popular tourist site.