The four characteristics of civilizations are: art, social organization, trade, and math and science. The civilizations in both of these regions had all of these, but they were developed differently with a tie to the environment. The environments of the Mesoamerican region and the Andean region were very diverse, and likewise, affected the development of these civilizations in different ways.

Mesoamerica was the birthplace of such societies as the Aztecs and the Mayas. It had a tropical climate and fragile soils. These civilizations were located in the Valley of Mexico and had very swampy lands. Nevertheless, for every environmental challenge that opposed them, they came up with another solution. Both the Aztecs, and the Mayas built terraces into the hillsides, and used chinampas to increase the amount of useable land for farming. These civilizations relied on irrigation works as well to help support their large population.

The Andean...