After the demise of the Mayan, Aztec, and Inca civilizations, where did the citizens of these countries go?

1. Descendants of the Mayans

First of all, it must be stated that the Maya has never been a country, but a cultural alliance similar to the ancient Greek city-state alliance. The Mayans are a branch of the Indians, also known as the "Mayans". In human history, the Mayan civilization was created, which is known as one of the three major civilizations in the Americas.

Archaeological research results show that the Maya culture mainly covered the Yucatan Peninsula, Chiapas and Tapasco in Mexico today, and parts of Central America.

According to the records of "Chilan Balan", Mayan culture lasted from the 16th century BC to the 10th century AD, and was divided into three periods: preclassic, classical and postclassical. The preclassic period was The rise of the Mayan civilization; the Classical period was the heyday of the Mayan civilization;

After entering the Postclassic period, the population explosion exceeded the environmental carrying capacity, the ecological environment was severely damaged, and the spread of diseases caused the Maya The culture gradually declined, and many large civilization centers were abandoned one after another. Archaeological research shows that by the 9th century AD, many castles that symbolized Mayan culture began to stop construction, such as Copan City, Palenque, Dekal, etc. By the 10th century, The construction of the last castle also stopped. The Mayans abandoned these settlements and moved north collectively. The Mayan culture disappeared in the tropical rain forests of the Americas.

However, the disappearance of the Mayan culture does not mean the disappearance of the Mayans. The Mayans are still one of the ethnic minorities in Mexico. Due to constant intermarriage, most of the descendants of the Mayans are now mixed.

2. Descendants of the Aztecs

As part of the ancient Indian civilization in Central America, the Aztec civilization was one of the three major civilizations in the Americas and was active in the 14th to 16th centuries. In Mexico, the Aztec Empire was established with the alliance of the three cities of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan.

The Aztecs had their own unique religious beliefs and made brilliant achievements in the fields of calendar, writing, astronomy, plant medicine, architecture, and education. Unfortunately, the Aztec empire was destroyed by the Spanish colonist Cortez's two invasions in 1519 and 19521.

After gaining absolute military superiority, the "civilized" barbarian Cortez carried out savage revenge on the Aztecs. Tens of thousands of Aztecs died because of various conflicts. They were massacred for various reasons, and at the same time, they destroyed the big cities that were symbols of the Aztec state, such as Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan, basically destroying the Aztecs;

Subsequently, the smallpox virus brought by the invaders spread rapidly among the Aztecs. Due to long-term isolation from the world, the Aztecs lacked antibodies to this deadly virus, and millions of them Many of the Aztecs died of the smallpox virus, and the number of the Aztecs dropped sharply from 15 million at their peak to 3 million. The invaders built a new city, Mexico City, based on the ruins of Tenochtitlan. The surviving Aztecs also continued to intermarry with foreigners, and their descendants became part of today's Mexicans. The species of Aztecs does not exist today.

3. Descendants of the Incas

The Inca civilization was an ancient South American Indian civilization. The word "Inca" is actually the honorific title of its supreme ruler, which means "Son of the Sun." This civilization reached its peak in the 15th century, with its capital in Cusco, Peru, and its sphere of influence roughly centered on today's Peru and Bolivia. It established a centralized system and a standing army of up to 200,000 people, and was the only one among the three major civilizations to establish The judicial system was used to safeguard the opportunistic interests of slave owners, and a comprehensive road network was established across the country leading directly to the capital Cusco in order to strengthen its rule over the country.

Unfortunately, after the death of Emperor Huayna Capa, who led the empire to its peak in 1531, his two sons launched a bloody battle for the throne. Spanish colonists Pizarro and others Taking the opportunity to invade, the Inca Empire was finally destroyed in 1572.

With advanced weapons and equipment, Spanish Pizarro staged the same plot against the Incas as Cortes against the Aztecs, quickly defeating hundreds of thousands of people organized by the Inca Empire in a short period of time resistance, and the Europeans also spread the deadly virus of smallpox to the Inca population. Half a century after the arrival of the Spanish, the population dropped sharply from 7 million to 500,000. Most of the surviving Inca people became coolies for the colonists all day long. Working in dark mines and farms, most of these people died during their work. Some of the Incas moved eastward into more desolate mountainous areas to escape colonial plunder, and eventually multiplied and became Quechua-speaking farmers in the Andes today. Approximately 45% of the Peruvian population.