*Began by building small farming communities some of which later developed into cities.
*Almost all urban centers were built in tropical rain forests.
*They developed astronomy skills and calendar systems.
*They built observatories to watch stars.
*They built long highways across their large empire.
*At its height the Inca empire had a population of about 13 million people!
*The Inca had two classes: the nobility and the commoners.
*The Inca ruler totally controlled the lives of all his people. The Inca people believed that their ruler was the king of everything and that everything belonged to him.
*The Aztec first settled on a swampy island in the valley of Mexico.
*Had social classes
*Paid taxes
*Lived in settlements called "calpullis."
*The Aztec built large palaces,temples, and storehouses out of stone.
*The Aztec made beautiful jewelry, pottery,and carvings.
*They traveled around in canoes and walked on their three large causeways (raised walkways.)
*Had over 1,000 gods.
*Held ceremonies at which they sacrificed humans.
*When the Temple of the Sun in Tenochtitlan was dedicated to the gods of sun and rain, the Aztec sacrificed as many as 10,000 people.
*Some scholars believe the Aztec held wars just to capture people to be sacrificed to the gods.
*Aztec warriers fought without being afraid of dying. They thought that if they died in battle they would go and live in heaven with the gods.
*Prayed to their gods and their ancestors.
*Mummified dead rulers because they feared the ruler's spirit would harm them if they didn't.
*Inca only sacrificed humans during times of crisis, like floods or famines.
*King-priests performed sacrifices using animals, plants and people.
*Had many nature gods.
*The Priest-Kings pierced their skin and shed their blood believing that it would give good health and crops to their people.
*Traded salt, honey, jaguar pelts and finely decorated cotton for jade, colorful feathers and cocoa beans.
*Traded with people and tribes from other regions.
*Employed many carriers, usually slaves, to walk in long caravans for 250 miles or more.
*Brought colored feathers, jade and cocoa back from their trades.
*Had huge markets in their cities for merchants to trade goods.
*The government had large warehouses where they stored surplus food.
*The Inca government distributed food to the people.
*There was no free trade markets like the Aztecs.
*Wrote with hieroglyphs.
*Had a number system which included zero.
*Wrote with hieroglyphs.
*Had codices (written manuscripts or books.) They were written on bark and opened and closed like folding screens. Most codices were burned when the Spanish conquered the Aztecs.
*No known written language. Some scholars believe there must have been some written system that enabled the Inca to control such a large empire.
Puffins:
*Puffins stay in Iceland from late April to August to nest.
*The female lays one egg in a burrow she digs in the ground.
*The puffins leave Iceland to spend the winter out on the North Atlantic Ocean.
*Puffins can live for 20 years.
* About 6,000,000 puffins come to Iceland every year. That is 20 times the number of people who live in Iceland!
Icelandic Horses:
*The Vikings brough their horses in the late 800's A.D.
*There are about 80,000 horses in Iceland and they are pure-bred.
*Icelandic horses come in over 40 different colors.
*The Icelandic horse is very special because it can move with 5 different gaits: walk, trot, canter, pace and tolt. Most horses only have 3 gaits: walk, trot, and canter.
Whales:
*There are many different whales that live in the Atlantic Ocian near Iceland.
*One of the most common is the Minke Whale.
*The Minke is dark grey or brown on the top and white or pale grey underneath.
*The Minke whale has two blowholes.
In Iceland there are 13 Jolasveinar (Yule Lads) who are brothers and like to bring mischief in the days going up to Christmas. Starting on December 12th, the Yule Lads come out from near the volcanoes where they live, and they visit the people in the towns and villages.
December 12th - Stiff Legs
He is the first one to arrive. He loves to take milk from the sheep, but his stiff legs make it hard. In Icelandic he's called "Staurfotur."
December 13th - Gully Gawk
The second to come is Gully Gawk (Gully Guy). He likes the froth on the milk and keeps close to the cows.
December 14th - Shorty
The third yule lad is Shorty. He is small and likes to smack his lips while eating the leftovers in the cooking pans, especially if they are burnt or gone bad.
December 15th - Window Peeper
He is a "peeping tom" who flattens his nose against every window at the house to try to see something to steal or to watch the people inside the house!
December 16th - Pot Scraper
He takes the unwashed pots from the kitchen and scrapes the insides with his fingers and tongue and then leaves them looking clean!
December 17th - Bowl Licker
He is sneaky and finds bowls that have been left alone. Then he finishes all the food from them.
December 18th - Door Slammer
He likes slamming doors and making noise so he can bother people while they are trying to sleep.
December 19th - Yogurt (Skyr) Glutton
His favorite thing is dairy products, especially yogurt. If they are in closed containers he just breaks through the lid with his fist!
December 20th - Sausage Snatcher
He is very good at climbing up into the rafters to steal sausages where they are hanging after being smoked.
December 21st - Ladle Licker
Ladle Licker is so thin just like the ladles that he licks the food from.
December 22nd - Sniffer
He is the 11th Yule Lad and he has a huge nose! He uses it to sniff out his favorite food, fried bread, wherever it is being made.
December 23rd - Meat Hook
He has a long pole with a hook on the end. He puts the hook down the chimneys and hooks the meat that is hung on the rafters. He pulls it out of the houses so he can eat it.
December 24th - Candle Beggar
The last Yule lad is Candle Beggar. He loves candles of all kinds and can't make up his mind whether to eat them or watch their beautiful light.
Nowadays, the Yule Lads leave little presents for the children who have behaved all year. The children leave their shoes on their window sills and the Jolasveinar put in the little gifts. Any children who have been naughty get a potato or some other thing to remind them that they have to be good around Christmas. After Christmas the yule lads go back one by one to their home by the volcanoes.
*The capital of Iceland is Reykjavik.
*The money they use is the Iceland Kronur (Right now it takes about 68ISK. to make $1U.S.)
*The main languages that people speak in Iceland are Icelandic, Danish and English.
*The word "geyser" came from the place in Iceland where the Vikings first saw hot water shooting out of the ground.
*Iceland is a very new island (only about 20 million years old) made from volcanoes erupting under the ocean.
*Iceland makes its heat and electricity from all the hot water that is underground.
*People love to swim in Iceland! The pools are filled with the heated water from underground. Many of the pools are outdoors and people swim in them all year!
*In the summer, the sun shines in Iceland for 21.5 hours and it is dark for only about 2.5 hours.
*In the winter, the sun only shines for about 3.5 hours and it is dark for 20.5 hours!