Inca Civilization

Stretching 2,500 miles in magnificent, sunny, present-day Peru, the Inca Empire had a short life of only about a hundred years. When the Spanish conquered the Inca in 1532, they were a small ethnic group based in Cuzco, ruling more than 12 million from 100 different cultures and speaking at least 20 languages.
The Inca's were a polytheistic empire. They were a civilization that used various forms of worship. They practiced ceremonies, animistic beliefs, varied forms of belief in objects having magical powers, and worshiped nature. They believed highly in the worship of the sun, which was lead by the priests of the last native pre-Columbian conquerors of the Andean regions of South America. 
The head of all Inca rule was the Sapa Inca. The Sapa Inca was considered a descendant of  the god Inti (god of the sun), and therefore was regarded as a semidivine being. He had power of everything. Sapa Inca would always marry one of his sisters to keep the royal bloodline. She was then referred to as the pricipal wife,or, more commonly, The Queen. Sapa Incas had many other wives as well, and even sometimes hundreds of children; but only the sons of the principal wife were eligible to inherit the throne.In order for a son to earn the position, they had to show their worthiness to their father.
The most striking contribution of Incan's to society today is in architecture. The number and size of Incan architecture, even in ruins, is overwhelming. Sites such as Macchu Picchu, perched in a saddle 10,000 ft high between two Andean peaks, gives us an idea of what Incan urban planning must have been like. They would carve everything out of rock and stone. Their fortress Sacsahuaman that guarded Cuzco, that included fighting towers, underground passages, habitations and an intricate system of water distribution, took 30,000 workmen over 70 years to complete.

 

Aztec Civilization

The beautiful region of Northern Mexico was home to the Aztecs, who are believed to have originated as a nomadic hunting and gathering tribe. They arrived in Mesoamerica at the beginning of the 13th century, from their magnificent capital city, Tenochtitlan. The Aztecs emerged as the dominant force in central Mexico, developing an complex social, political, religious and commercial organization that brought many of the region’s city-states under their control by the 15th century.

One of the Aztec empire's contributions to society was that they happened to be one of the first to have mandatory education for everyone. In the years ahead, education was going to become more and more important around the world. Many countries had education for the upper classes, but for the Aztec's, education was important no matter what your gender or rank. They also invented the use of antispasmodic medicine. This is medicine to prevent muscle spasms, and relax muscles, which may have had a major impact and helped in surgeries. The Passion flower, which still grows in Mexico today was and still is used as an herbal remedy, and was believed to help with insomnia, epilepsy, and high blood pressure.

The Aztec religion is the Mesoamerican religion of the Aztecs. Like other Mesoamerican religions, it had elements of human sacrifice in and a large number of religious festivals which were held according to patterns of the Aztec calendar. Religion was the center of all of the societies in Mesoamerica.

 The empire fell tragically in 1521 when invaders led by the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes overthrew the civilization by force and captured Tenochtitlan, bringing the end to Mesoamerica’s last great native civilization.

Olmec Civilization

The ancient Olmec civilization is considered to be one of the greatest Mesoamerican civilizations. This civilization came and went way before the Aztecs even came, and yet they still have left a clear mark on the people of Mexico, and far more!
Olmec was centered  in stunning San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan, around the Gulf of Mexico, which at the time happened to be the largest city in Mesoamerica due to trade. It was believed to be a religious and political place that housed thousands and created and used an elaborate water and drainage system.  The city is often remembered because of the gigantic stone heads that have been found here. The Olmec's carved their carvings with Jade, stone, and basalt from volcanoes.
It's believed that they were early adopters of the complex religious system that the Mayans and the Aztecs would used. Temple mounds, a variety of gods, and possibly even human sacrifice were used by the Olmec civilization. The calendar used for centuries in Mexico may also have originated with the Olmec's. Their astronomy was also carried over to many society's to come. They were probably obsessed with timing of certain religious rituals, as the Mayans and Aztec were also.

Maya

The Mayan Empire, centered in  beautiful, present day Guatemala, made many useful contributions to today's society. Around sixth century A.D., the Mayans reached their peak in power and mighty influence by excelling in agriculture, pottery, writing, designing their own calendar, and also left behind an impressive amount of architecture and artwork. On your journey to this magnificent fallen empire, you will take a step back in time to this advanced civilization. As most ancient society's were, the Mayans were very religious people. They created several temples to their gods. These temples were very similar to Egyptian pyramids as seen below. Their gods were based on the agricultural year, such as the sun, moon, harvest, rain, etc. At the top of society were the kings,

 high-priests, and scribes.

temple used in Mayan worship

In the ruling class, primogeniture was a system used to choose new leaders. This was when new kings gained power due to blood relation. The current king passed down his position to his son. After the birth of a heir, the king performed a blood sacrificial ceremony by drawing blood from his own body as an offering to his ancestors. As a new king took the throne, human sacrifices would take place, and the unlucky victim would be prisoners that were collected during war.

Ancient Mayan art is one thing you should make sure to look at and pay attention to the incredible detail, it will not disappoint! The art was made out of many natural materials such as clay and stucco to make models, paintings on paper and plaster, and wood carvings. Many of the greatest art pieces were the sculptures of the kings or religious figures.

 One of the many achievements of the civilization is their ability to thrive in the tropical environment. Most ancient civilizations flourished in drier environments because of easy access to centralized management of irrigation which formed a basis for society. Here, it could have been easy to fall apart, but they surprisingly did not. This tropical environment is absolutely stunning, and will just add to the beauty of the trip.