Pre-Columbian CivilizationsCultures were flourishing thousands of years before Europeans arrived in the New World. Great empires such as the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas inhabited the vast lands of Central and South America. These three major powers controlled the country even before the birth of Columbus or Cortez. Although pre-Columbian civilizations and Europeans shared similar ideas, life was very different in the New World compared to that of medieval Europe. In the New World were the three main civilizations: the Aztecs, the Mayans and the Incas. Even though these civilizations originated from the same region, they all have different cultures and thoughts. Many similarities can be found, but differences can be spotted when cultures are examined in depth. The Aztec civilization covered most of present-day Mexico. It was made up of marauding bands of warriors who migrated from the north. The god of the sun and war for the Aztecs was Huitzilpochtli. The Mayan civilization was the oldest of the three, appearing around 2500 BCE in what is now Guatemala and covered the jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula. The Inca civilization began around 1200 AD. and was found in the Andes Mountains in what is now Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile. Like pre-Columbian civilizations, the medieval kingdoms of Europe had similar qualities, such as governmental structures. Spain, Portugal, England, and the rest of Europe used the feudal system to settle social differences. The king and queen were the heads of state, followed by princesses, princes, bishops and other church officials. Next come the merchants and artisans, followed by the humble serfs and peasants who work the land for the system. The discovery of the new world is what led to the fall of the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas. Europeans were vastly outnumbered when they arrived in the New World and could easily have been crushed by the warriors of these powerful pre-Columbian civilizations. Lack of knowledge and deception led to their downfall. The “Indians” stood stunned as they tried to understand what horses were and how it was possible that a man and a horse were not the same creature. La Malinche made the Aztecs believe that horses could speak and think for themselves and that Herénán Cortés was actually a god..