Education

The New World civilizations of the Maya, Aztecs, and Incas

The outstanding cultural achievements of the pre-Columbian civilizations are often compared with those of Old World civilizations. The ancient Mayan calendar, which surpassed Europe’s Julian calendar in accuracy, was, for example, a great accomplishment demonstrating the extraordinary degree of knowledge of astronomy and mathematics possessed by the Maya. Equally impressive are the sophistication of the Incas’ calendar and their highway construction, the development of the Mayan complex writing system, and the magnificent temples of the Aztecs. It is unfortunate that archaeological findings and written documents hardly shed sufficient light upon education among the Maya, Aztecs, and Incas. But from available documents it is evident that these pre-Columbian civilizations developed formal education for training the nobility and priests. The major purposes of education were cultural conservation, vocational training, moral and character training, and control of cultural deviation.