History Main / Mayincatec

* The LostTribe of Aztecs in ''Film/YellowhairAndTheFortressOfGold'' kill intruders by dipping them in molten gold, which carries strong overtones of the ''El Dorado'' ceremony of the Muisca people of Colombia.

* The LostTribe of Aztecs in ''Film/YellowhairAndThefortressOfGold'' kill intruders by dipping them in molten gold, which carries strong overtones of the ''El Dorado'' ceremony of the Muisca people of Colombia.

* In the movie ''Film/{{Unrest}}'' (2006) all the horrible events are due to the curse unleashed by an Aztec goddess, after a cave was discovered with 40,000 bodies sacrificed in his honor ... in Brazil, far from Mexico (and even the figure of 40,000 skeletons product of human sacrifice is too exaggerated even for the Aztecs)

* In ''VideoGame/DeadfallAdventures'', the final chapter of the game takes place in Guatemala, in and around Xibalba, the Mayan "city of the dead". The game's mythology is correct regarding the city and its rulers, but here it's a real place, with a failed expedition of conquistadors (and their sailing ships, [[ItMakesSenseInContext high in the mountains]]), one of whom's diary you can read.
* In ''VideoGame/AgeOfWonders3'', the [[LizardFolk Draconians]], particularly their cities, have this design.
* Bloodseeker from ''VideoGame/{{Dota 2}}'' has a vaguely Aztec motif. His gods require cubic furlongs of blood just to be satiated, and Bloodseeker contributes to that by shedding other heroes' blood and transferring its energy to his gods.
* The jungle levels in the second installment of ''VideoGame/TheLostVikings'', which include distinctive ruins riddled with traps and spear-throwing savages, and a shaman who needs to collect some ingredients for supposed time travel.
* ''VideoGame/MetalSlug'': the very first thing Marco and co. see in the series is a gigantic Olmec head in the background at the start of the first game's first level. ''Metal Slug 5'' features Aztec-like shamans and their temple full of traps.
* ''VideoGame/HorizonZeroDawn'': the Carja tribe displays many of these traits. Their capital city Meridian is a hybrid of several South American styles of architecture, and before the beginning of the game they were also said to have offered ritual sacrifices to the sun on behalf of their ruler, who is known as the Sun-King. Their priesthood is also frequently seen wearing elaborate headdresses.
* ''VideoGame/MarlowBriggsAndTheMaskOfDeath'' is set in the ruins of one of these civilizations. Ruins that are being dug up by a giant mining operation.
* Ogre of ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' is based on the real-life Aztec god of war Huitzilopochtli. The story claims that he's created by the AncientAstronauts eons ago.
* ''Videogame/Wizard101'' has Azteca, which was [[RealitySubtext appropriately enough]], released in [[MayanDoomsday late 2012]].
* In ''Videogame/{{Starbound}}'', one of the playable alien races are the Avians, a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin bird-like]] civilization with all the Mayincatec trappings, that is deeply religious, usually doing blood sacrifices for their god Kluex.
* ''VideoGame/PathOfExile'' has the ancient Vaal civilization, one of the first civilizations to develop on Wraeclast and the first to discover thaumaturgy and the use of Virtue Gems. The Vaal made extensive use of human sacrifice and BloodMagic, developed advanced {{Magitek}} technology, and built great cities and pyramids. The ''Incursion'' update brings these traits to the fore and centers around raiding the TempleOfDoom Atzoatl for its treasures. Alva, your NPC companion for incursions, has a very strong conquistador style to her design.
* In the HD remake of ''VideoGame/DuckTales'', the lock mechanism to access the Incan TempleOfDoom in the Amazon stage is an Aztec calendar stone.
* ''VideoGame/TheSims4: Jungle Adventure'' has Selvadorada, where your Sim can go to find "Omiscan" ruins in an ''Franchise/IndianaJones''-esque fashion.
* In ''VideoGame/IllusionOfGaia,'' the first two main dungeons see you venturing into the ruined Incan city of Machu Picchu and then after traveling halfway across the ocean on the Incan ship of gold, visiting the Nazca lines, which are revealed to be [[AncientAstronauts a landing strip for the Moon Tribe's flying Sky Garden]] (never mind the fact that Machu Picchu and the Nazca lines are actually quite close to each other in Peru in reality, while they're on different ''continents'' in the game- [[AWizardDidIt the Comet did it]]).
* ''VideoGame/CurseOfTheDeadGods'' is a Rogue Like based on the premise of exploring the single Aztec temple where their gods still have power since Cortez destroyed their faith. They have just enough power left to 1) sustain TheHorde of Undead guarding their treasure, and 2) curse any explorer searching for it. Of course, curses are subjective...
* ''VideoGame/{{Gift|2001}}'': The world of Paztec.
* Sauria in ''[[VideoGame/DinosaurPlanetRare Dinosaur Planet]]'' and ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'' is a combination of this and {{Prehistoria}}.

* ''Webcomic/WapsiSquare'' establishes a link between Mayan and Egyptian culture via Atlantis. Quite surprising for what started out looking like a Friends-style webcomic sitcom. The Long Count Calendar (See main article above) is key to the plot.

* You can see traces of Mesoamerican culture here and there in ''Webcomic/NahastLandsOfStrife''.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' receive an Olmec head of Xtapolapocetl in one episode. It frequently reappears as a FreezeFrameBonus. In an aversion of this trope, when Maggie sees the head, she [[BrainyBaby points to a card saying Aztec]], and Lisa corrects her, saying "Not Aztec. Olmec. Ol-mec."
** In "The Mysterious Voyage of Homer", Homer's spiritual experience is mostly based on the American Southwest but with a few Mesoamerican trappings added, such as an Aztec-looking pyramid.

* The Sun Warriors in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' resemble the Aztecs. WordOfGod says they added a few [[FarEast Asian]] traits into them.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Superjail}}'' had an episode where they uncover the ancient city of [[PunnyName Pummel-onia]], a Mayincatec shrine to war and fighting. They even have a god of war in ceremonial dress that was trapped in animal form.
* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''WesternAnimation/XMen'': Beast and Jubilee are travelling around Peru, and come across an isolated tribe. Beast immediately notes that they are Mayan, not Inca, and about 3,000 miles south of where they should be.
* On ''WesternAnimation/TheAngryBeavers,'' in the episode "Moronathon Man," Norbert ingests a potion that makes him stupid. (Meanwhile, Dagget becomes a super-genius, because the potion ''couldn't'' make him any stupider.) [[NoodleIncident Somehow]], Norbert ends up on an island, where he sits atop a Mayan or Aztec pyramid, being worshipped by people who think he's a god, and fed fruit. The worshippers bow down and repeat his mantra: "DUUUUUUHHHH!!!!"

* The [[TempleOfDoom Mystic Ruins]] and [[FloatingContinent Angel Island]] in the ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' series. The ancient Knuckles Clan are based on the ancient Mayans and some are named after Central and South American locations. Sega paid a few developers around $250,000 ''each'' to go down to Mexico and base Mystic Ruin after the Mayan temples.
* ''VideoGame/TombRaider'': The City of Vilcabamba is based on the real-life last outpost of the Inca. It contains a gold idol modelled on a Tumi, a ceremonial knife used in sacrifices, as well as an Aztec sun stone.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfJuarez'', a Western-themed FPS has the protagonists seeking and finding Aztec treasures.
* ''VideoGame/{{Fahrenheit}}'' (Released in America as ''Indigo Prophecy''): BigBad The Oracle is [[spoiler: a Mayan priest who performed human sacrifice, magically living on into the present day.]] The other BigBad is suspiciously [[Film/TheMatrix Matrixish]] Artificial Intelligences the Maya fight against. It's a ''weird'' game.
* ''VideoGame/{{Inca}} 1992'', [[{{Creator/Sierra}} Sierra On-Line]]. Inca and Conquistadors at war in space!

* ''VideoGame/RiseOfLegends'' has the Cuotl, a race of jungle dwelling natives led by [[AncientAstronauts alien gods]], who use animate stone jaguars and snakes as combat units.

%%* ''VideoGame/PitfallTheMayanAdventure''.
* ''VideoGame/{{Zuma}}'' is a color-chain matching game given a Mayincatec design theme. The aesthetic is mostly Mayan, but it references both Aztec (Ehecatl, Centeotl, Tlaloc, Quetzalcoatl) and Mayan (Kukulkan) gods. There is even a passing mention to the Mixtec, another unrelated Mesoamerican civilization.
* ''VideoGame/BanjoTooie'' has Mayahem Temple, where sports like archery and kickball are practiced. In RealLife, while Mayans played Mesoamerican ballgames, they never practiced target shooting (and especially didn't worship a target shooting god).
* ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresII'':
** The game does largely avert the trope, but [[NecessaryWeasel has to use it to a certain extent to make the game function properly]], such as using Eagle Warriors as a common unit to Mayans and Aztecs rather than just Aztec. Also, while both civilisations have exactly the same architectural style, this is due to putting its societies into aesthetic groups: East Asians (Chinese/Japanese/Koreans/Mongols), Western Europeans (British/Celts/Franks/Spanish), Eastern Mediterraneans (Byzantines/Saracens/Persians/Turks) and Central Europeans (Huns/Goths/Vikings/Teutons) all look the same too. Both Aztec and Maya wonders are pyramids, but are in totally different shapes that are accurate to their respective cultures.
** Further avoided by the programmers since they did consider adding an Inca civilization in the x-pack, but decided to drop it when they found that it would require a completely different architectural style (the other reason was that they already had trouble designing two playable factions with no cavalry, and felt that they couldn't do a third that would come as different enough from either of them).
** In the Aztec campaign the real life Tlaxcalans, [[UnreliableNarrator whom the narrator describes as "wicked",]] are built using the Aztec civ. [[JustifiedTrope Understandable]] because the Tlaxcala were [[GeniusBonus also Nahuatl speakers]], with the same religion and weapons.
** On the other hand, the campaign also has the line "even the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl demands more sacrifices" and the Aztecs taking the Spanish for gods, at least initially. But also the Aztecs winning by adopting cavalry and gunpowder, so...
** The Aztec units' dialogue seems to be some kind of Mayan language, possibly [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign not-completely-accurate]] Yucatec. Mayan units do speak accurate K'iche' Mayan, though.
** Giving the name "Eldorado" to the Mayan Unique Technology is inexcusable. This seems to pursue the Mayas for some reason: When the fan-made x-pack ''Forgotten Empires'' (later [[AscendedFanon officialized]] as ''The Forgotten'') gave civilizations a second UT, the Mayans got one called "Tlatoani" - the title used by ''Aztec'' emperors. When fans complained, it was changed to "Obsidian Arrows", which also makes more sense as a name for the technology (a boost in archer damage to buildings).
** ''Forgotten Empires''/''The Forgotten'' does include an Inca civilization. It uses the same Mesoamerican building style and eagle warriors (who get even more obvious Aztec skins than in the previous x-pack), but it also has ''two'' unique units (Kamayuks and Andean slingers), units that speak Quechua, and in the final version the player even begins every game with [[EverythingsBetterWithLlamas a free llama]].
* ''VideoGame/AgeOfMythology'': The Atlantean civilization partially has this aesthetic when it was added as a playable culture in ''The Titans'' expansion pack, for example their trading caravans use llamas. This is probably based on a theory that the Atlanteans were the first to reach the Americas and build colonies there.
* Refreshingly averted in ''VideoGame/Medieval2TotalWar'' Americas Campaign. The Aztecs and Mayas are both playable and are shown to be very different but with some overlapping features, for instance both worship the Feathered Serpent but call him Quetzalcoatl and Kukalkan respectively.
** The Inca are nowhere to be found because the map doesn't go south of Guatemala, but the Tarascans are present and they originated in the Andes.
** While the Aztecs are [[SmallReferencePools the only Nahuatl speakers]] most people know, the Tlaxcalla and Chichimeca are also present.
* ''VideoGame/EmpireEarth 2'':
** The three civilizations represent the Mesoamerican civilizations, sharing the same design for buildings, units, and wonders (including two pyramids), differing in their unique units (Bola Throwers, Eagle Warriors, Jaguar Warriors, etc.) and minor combat bonuses.
** The tutorial campaign features the Aztecs actually beating Cortes and eventually establishing a nation parallel to the United States, while the Incas become a fascist nation allying with Nazi Germany.
* The Mayan Pantheon was added to ''VideoGame/{{Smite}}'' in order to fill the role of a Mesoamerican culture. However they avert this trope by being faithful to the surviving records of real world Mayan mythology. Though worth mentioning is that one of the playable characters- the winged serpent god Kukulkan has an alternate costume referencing Quetzalcoatl, his more popularly depicted Aztec counterpart.
* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' has Angry Aztec, with a llama in the middle of a tropical jungle in an island with no mountain high enough to match those of the former Aztec domains in historical Mexico. The level itself is mostly a desert. While Mexico does have coastal dunes, llamas reside in the mountains that are nothing like the Aztec themed desert of the work at hand.
* K. Rool's new outfit in ''[[VideoGame/MarioSuperstarBaseball Mario Super Sluggers]]'' has a marked pre-Columbian influence.
* Huitzil from ''VideoGame/DarkStalkers'' is a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Mayincatec space robot]].
* The RTS/civilization game ''Theocracy'' is set in and around the Aztec empire. In the campaigns you play the Aztecs or other nearby tribes.
* One of the scenes in ''VideoGame/{{Sanitarium}}'' takes place in a very Mayincatec village, where the villagers are terrorized by a bloodthirsty rampaging Quetzalcoatl. Except it's really your nemesis, so there's an excuse for out of character behavior. Also, you are at the time Olmec, a stone warrior god. Also, [[spoiler: it all only exists within your mind]].
* ''VideoGame/TaiyouNoShindenAstekaII'' [[note]]a.k.a. ''Tombs and Treasure''[[/note]] is a first-person graphical adventure game that has the ruins of Mayan city Chichén Itzá as a setting.
* ''VideoGame/OutRun 2006'' has a Mayincatec race track. It ends with the atlantes from Tula, Hidalgo sitting next to the pyramids of Teotihuacán a few miles north from Mexico City, after crossing the pyramid of Chichén-Itzá in the Yucatán peninsula, which is next to the Major Temple in downtown Mexico City, and throughout the track you'll see Olmec heads from the southern Gulf Coast.
* ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheTombRaider'' has this as the theme of Lara's adventure trying to stop the Mayan apocalypse she started by taking a mystic dagger. It especially becomes a plot point midway through the game, after she finds the hidden Mayan city of Paititi in Peru, that's been kept far away from civilization since the Conquistadors. She outright hangs a lampshade on it when she begins finding Aztec, Mayan, and even Inca relics and ruins hundreds of miles from the extents of their historical empires, noting they shouldn't be there.

* The ruins of ''VideoGame/LaMulana'' appear to be located in Latin America and at first appear to be the work of ancient indigenous people. The boss Palenque is based on a famous Maya bas-relief often interpreted by cranks as evidence of AncientAstronauts. The final year of the Aztecs' fifth age (2012) figures in one of the puzzles.\\
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Unusually, the mix of South American cultures is explicitly explained in the [[AllThereInTheManual backstory]]; the ruins of La-Mulana are the birthplace of ''[[ThePrecursors all civilizations.]]'' Every area contains elements of different cultures and mythologies, suggesting that theses cultures actually borrowed theological, architectural, and mythological elements from La-Mulana. Lemeza notes this in [[http://la-mulana.com/en/blog/al-005.html one of his lectures on the Wiiware remake blog.]] Being an [[AdventurerArchaeologist archaeologist]], he is quick to point out the images, structures and elements, seen in multiple ancient cultures including the Mayan, Teotihuacan, Aztec, Tiwanaku, Inca, and even ''Persian'' civilizations.
* ''Shadowbane'' has a bunch of lizardmen who inhabit heavily Aztec influenced ruins. While the blood sacrifice aspect isn't played up much, the game lore say that they were up to something pretty bad - that is, until the centaurs killed off their priesthood.
* Walled City in ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'' has a very clear Mayincatec look, complete with the pyramids, though its inhabitants don't have any Mayincatec traits. It is a likely cross between this and Asian architecture, which may explain the presence of dragon heads near the Arwing. Likewise, Cloudrunner Fortress is a blend of Greek, Japanese and Mayincatec elements.
* Kehjistan in ''[[VideoGame/{{Diablo}} Diablo 2]]'' combines Mayincatec building elements with South Asian jungles. It is also the seat of power of a monotheistic, very Christian influenced world religion, and most of it has a very DarkestAfrica feel. They do practice blood sacrifice - to the prime evil Mephisto, probably without even knowing it.
* Various ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' games have played with this trope, but mostly avert it. The Aztec, Maya, and Inca are portrayed as different factions and typically have very different focuses--the Aztecs are an aggressive warmonger with a religion focus, the Inca are based around powerful infrastructure and food production, and the Maya are oriented towards scientific discovery through observatories. ''VI'' adds the relatively obscure Mapuche to the mix for good measure.

* ''[[VideoGame/SoldierOfFortune Soldier Of Fortune II]]'' has a level in Colombia that has Mayan temple ruins, which is [[ArtisticLicenseGeography a gross failure in geography]].
* In ''[[VideoGame/TonyHawkProSkater Tony Hawk's Underground 2]]'', one of the sections of the Pro Skater level has an ancient temple with native [=NPCs=] holding spears and wearing headdresses.
* The SealedEvilInACan in ''VideoGame/{{Shivers}}'' originated from an unspecified ancient Central American civilization.
* [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Game Freak]] loves America so much, they've dedicated at least one {{mon|s}} to each continent. The Kanto region gives us Zapdos, a thunderbird. Natives of Johto can get Natu, a quetzal, that evolves into Xatu, a totem pole. And in Unova, which ''is'' in the United States, you get Sigilyph, which looks like a living Nazca Line drawing.
* ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'' features the Ixa'Takans, a primitive Mayincatec FantasyCounterpartCulture complete with with an invasion by the very Spain-like Valuans.
* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'' has "mystical" ruins created by Mayans mysteriously appear after the publication of a book of such rumors. [[spoiler: Those ruins never existed before that. ''The book's release brought them into reality.'']]
* ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}'' has every Mayincatec trope in the book. Human sacrifice, priests with feather headdresses worshiping evil gods, [[TempleOfDoom underground trap-filled stone temples]], and even a gold city. Oh, and throw in an Olmec head for good measure.
* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' frequently includes Mesoamerican and South American gods in its Demonic Compendium, but they are almost always well-researched and specifically tied to their cultural origin. Of particular note, ''VideoGame/SoulHackers'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' (which takes its demon designs from the former) use Quetzalcoatl's "pale-skinned Caucasian priest" form rather than the too-literal (but inaccurate) "snake with wings" of the original series and the ''Persona'' subfranchise (Quetzalcoatl's "feathered serpent" form is actually Gucumatz, another name for the Mayan version of Quetzalcoatl, Kukulcan, and is depicted as a separate demon in the games.)
* Averted in the Real-Time Strategy game ''VideoGame/AmericanConquest''. All three civilizations have unique bonuses, building architecture and units.
* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun: The Lost Age'' has the city of Contigo, which is in this style. Bizarrely, it's also the birth hometown of [[spoiler: Ivan, who lives in Kalay and looks European, and Hama, who lives near Xian and looks Chinese. And they're siblings.]]
* The Lost Kingdom park in ''VideoGame/ThemeParkWorld'', which name-drops Incan, Mayan, and Aztec cultures simultaneously.
* One of the new characters to be featured in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' is Kotal Kahn, who looks like a straight example of this trope at first glance, but he is an overall faithful representation of [[Myth/AztecMythology Huitzilopochtli]], and his name bears resemblance to Quetzal'''coatl'''. Although in his backstory he actually ends up [[BeenThereShapedHistory playing the role of]] the ''Mayan'' war god, Buluc Chabtan.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E4IncaMummyGirl Inca Mummy Girl]]", where the titular mummy was a victim of human sacrifice.
* ''Series/TheCrystalMaze'': a game show that featured an Aztec Zone which was full of sand, temples and BambooTechnology.
* ''Series/NickArcade's'' Ancient Tomb level from The Video Zone.

* ''Series/TheFeatheredSerpent'', an Creator/{{ITV}} historical drama from the 1970s featuring Creator/PatrickTroughton as the bloodthirsty high priest.

* ''Series/HorribleHistories'':
** In an aversion, the Mayans have not been featured at all, but the Aztecs and Incas are accurately treated as two distinct cultures.
** Played straight with the hairstyles, of all things. Incan women are shown wearing {{Horned Hairdo}}s, when it was the Aztec women who wore their hair like that.
** Also played straight in the sets: The Inca set from one series was used as an Aztec one in the next.
* During his time aboard the ISS, Larry in ''{{Series/Numb3rs}}'' makes himself a ''quipu'', a recording device used by Andean South American cultures (e.g. the Inca) consisting of threads of llama or alpaca hair encoded by knots in a base ten system. It was primarily used to record numerical data for tribute payments. Unfortunately, Larry, who appears to know much about them, claims they were used by Aztecs (from ''North'' America). Furthermore, he claims to have encoded his memories on them, even though right now it's only being speculated that the quipu were used for more than numerical data and no other meaning has been decyphered.
* The episode "Love Interrupted" of ''Series/CriminalMindsBeyondBorders'' has a delusional Belizean SerialKiller that mixes Mayan and Aztec beliefs.

* Music/NeilYoung's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOR0zLL7UlU Cortez The Killer]] is all sorts of confused. It mentions Cortez, Montezuma and human sacrifice - so Aztecs, right? But the very next verse (yep, right after the stuff about ''human sacrifice'') we have "[[NobleSavage Hate was just a legend/ And war was never known]]". So maybe not [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy the Aztecs]]. The Inca certainly "lifted many stones"... but they never met Cortez. The Incas, being the biggest empire with the ''biggest and best equipped army in the Americas'' before the Europeans showed up, don't seem to have "never known" about war, either.

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'':
** In the plane of Alara, which has been splintered into different shards each lacking two of the colors of mana. Naya has Red, Green and White mana but no Blue or Black, resulting in a sunlit jungle world with no need for progress and ambition. Its inhabitants are content to worship giant beasts as gods, down to occasional HumanSacrifice, and are fairly hedonistic. They are deliberately modeled after the Aztec and these aspects of their culture, but as the world as a whole lost their drive for more complex civilizations and has in fact lost their former empires they also resemble the Maya in this regard.
** Ixalan is a more complete world, and has ''two'' factions that more properly resemble their real world counterparts: the Sun Empire, modeled after the Aztec with a few Incan trappings, and the River Heralds, a group of merfolk that is the local analogue of the Maya.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'': Aztlan. Something of an invoked trope in that it's explicitly noted in-universe that the Aztlan powers-that-be have deliberately thrown random motifs from old Latin-American cultures together to create a national identity to suit their own ends. One of the narrators of the Aztechnology sourcebook sarcastically notes that most of the Aztlan leadership are descended from European ancestors and have little to no grounding in the "ancient culture" they've "revived" at all.
* ''TabletopGame/InNomine'' -- based on the conflicts of gods and devils -- features Quetzalcoatl, Mictalantechtli, Huitzilopochtli and other [[Myth/AztecMythology Aztec gods]].
* ''TabletopGame/WraithTheOblivion'' is unusual in having sympathetic Aztec ghosts. The Flayed Lands - the Dark Kingdom ruling over Central America, sometimes referred to as "the Dark Kingdom of Obsidian" when others bundle the North and South American Dark Kingdoms into it - operated on a semi-theocratic system that allowed them to reap [[{{Mana}} Pathos]] freely from mortal devotion. Unfortunately, wraiths fleeing Stygia saw this system and were all sorts of horrified - Renegades because it reminded them of the empire they were fleeing, Heretics because of the associated sacrificial practices - and went all Cortez. The destruction of the Flayed Lands is part of what set off [[WorldWreckingWave the Third Great Maelstrom]], so nobody won there.
* Several Aztec gods are featured in the ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'' sourcebook: "Pantheons of the Megaverse". "World Book 9: South America Two" features the Empire of the Sun, a Magic- ''and'' Technology-using state ruled by the actual Incan gods. In addition, they also have several Nazca influences, not due to poor research, but rather an alliance and assimilation with the ancient Nazca Line Makers and their descendants.
* One of the pantheons player characters can choose from in the tabletop RPG ''TabletopGame/{{Scion}}'' is the Aztec one. It features Mictlantecuhtli, God of death and the underworld, who is a sadistic SOB even by the standards of Myth/AztecMythology, and that is saying something. The "Aztlanti" pantheon are not the only Central American pantheon; they're just one of the last ones left following the war with the Titans. Others are still around, but not nearly as powerful. The Atzlanti signature character, Dr. Aaron Tigrilla, is fairly sympathetic -- he was a surgeon who got around that "necessary blood sacrifice" bit by sacrificing the leftovers of heart surgery to Tezcatlipoca. As you can imagine, this didn't go over too well when the board found out. He eventually becomes the god of extirpation, and works to patch up soldiers in the war against the Titans [[note]]and dealing with the annoyance of his closest compatriot being a ''little'' too quick to MercyKill them[[/note]].
* There are several examples of this in ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', as well. Firstly, the characters used to represent the language of Old Realm are pretty much directly based off of Mayan hieroglyphs. Also, the First Age was either completely loaded down with this trope, or it was mostly limited to the areas in the Southeast around Rathess, depending on your edition.
* The Lizardmen in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'', FantasyCounterpartCulture of the [=Mayincatec=]. Culturally they're closer to the Maya, with the interest in astronomy and prophecies and the like; however one of their major gods is based on Quetzalcoatl, and the jewelry they often carry is more Aztec-inspired, as is their focus on blood sacrifice. To complete the hat-trick, they have a habit of mummifying dead rulers and displaying them as relics, which is taken from the Inca (said mummified remains are haunted by Slann's spirit and are the most powerful magic users in the setting).
** Meanwhile, [[TabletopGame/WarHammer40000 in the grim darkness of the far future]], the Rainbow Warriors space marine chapter are [[DependingOnTheWriter inconsistently]] depicted as taking after native South American cultures. Also interesting to note is that the ubiquitous [[ChainsawGood chainsword]] used by the space marines and occasionally other factions is (probably coincidentally) extremely similar in both concept and appearance to the iconic macuahuitl, a wooden paddle with obsidian razor blades embedded in the sides, used throughout Pre-Columbian South America, most notably by the feared Jaguar Warriors. Just as obsidian is terrifyingly sharp but far too brittle to make an entire sword out of, the chainsword's teeth are usually made from [[SharpenedToASingleAtom mono-molecular]] materials that would be difficult if not impossible to forge into a single blade of usable length, not to mention easily breakable and costly to repair, which the Adeptus Mechanicus compensates for by attaching many tiny ones to a larger device.
* ''TabletopGame/EmpireOfThePetalThrone'', (1975) published by Creator/{{TSR}}. It's set in the world of Tekumel, created by M.A.R. Barker (see the entry in Literature).

* The [[TempleOfDoom Mystic Ruins]] and [[FloatingContinent Angel Island]] in the ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' series. The ancient Knuckles Clan are based on the ancient Mayans and some are named after Central and South American locations. Sega paid a few developers around $250,000 ''each'' to go down to Mexico and base Mystic Ruin after the Mayan temples.
* ''Aztec'': an early videogame from the Apple II era. The Franchise/IndianaJones-like protagonist had to explore the Tomb of Quetzalcoatl in search of a jade idol, facing beasts, snakes, spiders, traps and fearsome blowgun-toting warriors rendered in all their '80s graphics glory.

* ''Greendog'': the protagonist is a cool surfer dude unfortunately cursed with an amulet that prevents surfing. He must track down a lost Aztec civilisation and recover six pieces of treasure in order to lift the curse.
* ''VideoGame/TombRaider'': The City of Vilcabamba is based on the real-life last outpost of the Inca. It contains a gold idol modelled on a Tumi, a ceremonial knife used in sacrifices, as well as an Aztec sun stone.

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[[quoteright:300:[[ComicBook/RobynHood https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aztec_sorcerer_2.png]]]]

* Hagaan Dazs Ice cream ran a campaign attributing the conquest of the Mayans and incidentally, the bringing of chocolate to Europe to Cortez.[[note]]Chocolate trading didn't come until later, as chocolate was a horrendously bitter drink that was of no interest to the conquistadors.[[/note]]
* In the trailer for ''Beverly Hills Chihuahua'' while Papi talks about how his ancestors fought with Aztec warriors, it shows an aerial view of Machu Pichu, an Incan city.

* A startling GeckoEnding to ''Manga/MajinTanteiNougamiNeuro'' has Yako investigating her father in Brazil, and meeting a tribe of {{Yakuza}} Aztecs.
* ''Manga/{{Nazca}}'' is about reincarnations of ancient Incan warriors. In Japan. Wielding steel swords. Using scenery of the past Incan empire based on Spanish colonial buildings.

* ''Anime/TurnAGundam'' had the heroes passing by a country that seems to be a blend of Mayan, Incan, and Hispanic influences.

* The ancient Ord tribe whose semi-ruined temples ([[spoiler:well, ''entirely'' ruined temples by the time the BigBad has messed them up]]) are featured in ''Anime/ExplorerWomanRay'' seems to be pretty much along these lines. It's claimed they used to worship the Sun and their temples have hidden treasure which no-one was able to find; their true secret is much more interesting.

* Episode 3 of ''Anime/FlintTheTimeDetective'' happens somehwere in a South America covered in gold and being invaded by conquistadores.
* Actually averted with the deck of Rex Goodwin, the BigBad of Season 2 of Anime/YuGiOh5Ds. His deck is strictly based on Inca mythology and doesn't touch a single aspect of Mayan or Aztec mythology.

* The Chaams in ''ComicBook/{{Thorgal}}: The Land of Qa''.
* The Zzutak Animators from early Creator/MarvelComics
* ''ComicBook/TheTick'' parodies this with [[http://home.jps.net/~lsnyder/7_tick.html#aztecs The Deertown Aztecs]] -- a former sports team that crashed in the jungle and now attempt to live their lives according to the only book they had: "Aztecs On My Mind." They have a temple pyramid complete with traps.
* In one of their early adventures the ''Comicbook/TeenTitans'' encounter the half-animal demons of the pyramid temple at Xochatan ...in the Andes. (For clarification: "Xochatan" sounds awfully Mexican and not remotely Andean.)
* [[ComicBook/TheAdventuresOfTintin Tintin]]: ''The Seven Crystal Balls'' and ''Prisoners of the Sun.'' The Incas are portrayed rather sympathetically, as even though they try to sacrifice the heroes, their interactions with outsiders have rarely been positive. Oh, and they suck at astronomy, as a plot point. On the whole Hergé, who got a lot of his information from ''National Geographic'' does not mix up the Inca with the Maya except with reference to the prophetic inscription mentioning the retribution that will befall the violators of Rascar Capac's tomb, which plays a large part in ''[[Recap/TintinTheSevenCrystalBalls The Seven Crystal Balls]]''. The Incas, unlike the Mayas and Aztecs, had no system of writing. The original version of ''The Seven Crystal Balls'', serialized in ''Le Soir'', also contained a lead disc with symbols "resembling Aztec or Inca signs", but Hergé excised the panel that showed it and texts that mentioned it when the album version was produced.

* ''ComicBook/{{Superboy}}'' Annual #3 (part of the Legends of the Dead Earth event) features a colony world called Aztlan whose settlers adopted a Mayincatec culture. One of the early colonists was a metahuman who inspired the others by fusing the myth of Quetzacoatl with the legend of Franchise/{{Superman}}, beginning a line of Supermen and Superboys who believed they were granted their powers by the god.

* ''Franchise/IndianaJones'':
** The Hovitos underground temple from ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk''.
** The Maya-style temple in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull''. [[spoiler: The film has aliens living with the ancient Maya and teaching them about agriculture, never mind that the characters are in Peru, closer to the Inca than the Maya, and even so using Inca may have been inaccurate geographically speaking.]] The civilization is supposed to be an {{Expy}} of El Dorado located in {{The Amazon}} , with references to the Maya and other Mesoamerican cultures. The temple also included artifacts from civilizations all over the world. It should also be noted, that apparently Indy picked up Quechua riding with Pancho Villa!
* ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl'' features cursed Aztec gold with Aztec-style skull carvings. The figure carved on the treasure chest itself is the "Gateway God" from the Gateway of the Sun at Tiahuanaco, Bolivia, hundreds of years and half a continent away from the Aztecs.
** The treasure's backstory being an Aztec ransom paid to Cortes and then Cortes going back on his word and being cursed for it is actually closer to the story of Pizarro, Atahualpa and the Room of Gold than anything that happened during the Conquest of Mexico. The Aztecs didn't even use gold as a currency. Cortes had a long, mostly prosperous life after conquering the Aztecs (other than being barred from returning to Mexico), while Pizarro's pals were marred by infighting and assassinations, including Pizarro's own.

* In ''Film/PumaMan'' the villain wears a golden Aztec mask containing alien mind control circuitry. He is fought by Puma Man, a "man-god", sired by ancient alien Aztec pumas and equipped with a magical Aztec golden belt. Most of the real fighting is done by his mentor Vadinho, an Aztec priest to the space gods... who lives in a temple in the Andes. Inca territory. Gah!
* ''Film/TwentyTwelve'' draws heavy inspiration from the 2012 phenomenon, Mayanism and the Mayan Long Count Calendar. Naturally, they erroneously present the Aztec calendar instead of the actual Mayan Long Count Calendar. Surprisingly, the Mayans themselves never actually appear, though footage of the pyramids in Mesoamerica does briefly show up in the opening.

* ''Film/AVPAlienVsPredator'' takes place mostly within a typically Mayincatec pyramid... buried in Antarctica (thanks to AncientAstronauts). The experts who examined the temple seemed to think that it had features common to ancient cultures across the globe, (specifically Cambodian and Egyptian) but the main vibe was definitely Mesoamerican.
* BMovie ''Film/AztecRex''. Conquistadores led by Hernán Cortés meet Aztecs who worship two surviving Tyrannosaurus Rex. Houston Yeah!
* Through ''Film/FromDuskTillDawn'', the Whoopie Pie Twister goes from Mayincatec-inspired nightclub to vampire den to a full-blown Mayincatec sacrificial pyramid almost buried in the Mexican desert. All within a short distance of the Mexican-American border.

* In ''Film/HouseOfCards1993'', the language that Sally spoke with Selord is referred to as both Mayan and Nahuatl, two completely unrelated languages spoken by different civilizations.
* Literally in ''Film/ThatManFromRio''. The plot involves some priceless ancient statuettes made by a South American people called the "Maltecs".

* ''Captive Universe'': a [[GenerationShips Generation Ship]] is launched to the stars. The population of the ship is given a copy of the Aztec's culture which is depicted as brutal but ideal, from the designers point of view: it is very stable and crushes all curiosity and restlessness.

* ''Where's Waldo Now?'' has Waldo in the middle of a giant Aztec vs Conquistador battle. The Aztecs seemed to be winning. This may seem surprising, but during the ''Noche Triste'' (Sorrowful night), the 30th of June 1520, the population of Tenochtitlan (Mexico) rioted against the invaders and drove them out with heavy losses. Cortes came back with a vengeance...

* MAR Barker wrote five novels based in the world of [[TabletopGame/EmpireOfThePetalThrone Tekumel]], a world he created from aspects of virtually all Pre-Columbian Meso-American cultures. He created Tekumel for the same reason that Tolkien built Middle Earth: so that he could have a world to use as a linguistic playground. In Barker's case the languages he created were based on Indo-Asian and Meso-American languages, and the cultural mix is the result of deliberate choice, not lack of research.
* ''The Mask of the Sun'' by Creator/FredSaberhagen features Aztecs and Incas from alternate futures where each survived and prospered trying to tamper with history as '''we''' know it to create '''their''' (mutually incompatible) histories. And the titular mask is a device from one of those futures that gives its wearer precognitive hints.

* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' the leaders of the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Red Court]] follow the Maya/Aztec variant, [[GodGuise impersonating]] or replacing certain Mayan and Aztec gods - their King going by Kukulkan (a god who fits the concept of the Feathered Serpent deity that was shared with the Aztecs, in the latter as Quetzalcoatl, so it could be an InUniverse case of IHaveManyNames). Of course, as BloodMagic using vampires native to South and Central America, the sacrifices are only to be expected. And while Kukulkan/Quetzalcoatl didn't generally ask for human sacrifice, it's implied that the Red Court's leaders - who were extremely bloodthirsty - usurped the pre-existing gods, [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly exploiting the universe's rules on divinity to do so]].

* In his ''Literature/EarthTheBook'', Creator/JonStewart implies the collapse of the Mayan civilization due to Cortés. Except Cortés didn't have anything to do with the conquest of Yucatan. He focused his efforts on conquering the Aztec lands. It would be other Spaniards who would attack the Maya later. In fact, the Maya wouldn't fall until over 150 years later, and their civilization was already in decline even before the conquistadors got there. They're still around, by the way.
* ''[[Literature/SaveThePearls Revealing Eden]]'' features descendants of the Aztec Empire living alongside an Ecuadorian tribe, when in reality the Aztecs never expanded past Central America. One scene also features the stone terraces built by the Inca -- but somehow the Aztecs get the credit for building them.

** Speaking of which, being allowed to eat human meat was considered a ''privilege'' in actual Aztec culture. It was part of the rewards granted to a soldier who proved himself worthy of becoming an [[ElitesAreMoreGlamorous Eagle Warrior]], for example.

* Sauria in ''VideoGame/DinosaurPlanet'' and ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'' is a combination of this and {{Prehistoria}}.

* ''Film/TwentyTwelve'' draws heavy inspiration from the 2012 phenomenon, Mayanism and the Mayan Long Count Calendar. Naturally, the apocalypse is this trope in nature. Surprisingly, the Mayans themselves never actually appear, though footage of their pyramids does briefly show up in the opening.

* ''Film/TwentyTwelve'' draws heavy inspiration from the 2012 phenomenon, Mayanism and the Mayan Long Count Calendar. Naturally, the apocalypse is this trope in nature. Surprisingly, the Mayans themselves never actually appear, though footage of their pyramids do briefly show up in the opening.

* ''Film/TwentyTwelve'' draws heavy inspiration from the 2012 phenomenon, Mayanism and the Mayan Long Count Calendar. Naturally, the apocalypse is this trope in nature. Surprisingly, the Mayans themselves never actually appear, though footage of their pyramids do briefly show up in the opening.

* ''VideoGame/CurseOfTheDeadGods'' is a Rogue Like based on the premise of exploring the single Aztec temple where their gods still have power since Cortez destroyed their faith. They have just enough power left to 1) sustain TheHorde of undead guading their treasure, and 2) curse any explorer searching for it. Of course, curses are subjective...

** The classic Creator/CarlBarks' DonaldDuck story ''Lost In the Andes'' has Donald and the nephews discover a lost, vaguely Inca-ish civilization where everything is cube-shaped or full of right angles, even the people and the wildlife. The natives are friendly, but consider it a terrible crime to produce anything ''round.'' Naturally, the nephews have brought bubble gum. HilarityEnsues.

* ''VideoGame/CurseOfTheDeadGods'' is a Rogue Like based on the premise of exploring the single Aztec temple where their gods still have power since Cortez destroyed their faith. They have just enough power left to 1) sustain TheHorde of UnDead guading their treasure, and 2) curse any explorer searching for it. Of course, curses are subjective...

* ''Aztec'': an early videogame from the Apple II era. The Franchise/IndianaJones-like protagonist had to explore the Tomb of Quetzalcoatl in search of a jade idol, facing beasts, snakes, spiders, traps and fearsome blowgun-toting warriors rendered in all their 80's graphics glory.

* ''VideoGame/MetalSlug'': the very first thing Marco and co. see in the series is a gigantic Olmec head in the background at the start of the first game's first level. ''Metal Slug 5'' features Aztec-like shamen and their temple full of traps.

* ''Inca 1992'', [[{{Creator/Sierra}} Sierra On-Line]]. Inca and Conquistadors at war in space!

In RealLife, the Maya, the Inca, and the Aztec (which is merely an exonym; the people called themselves Mexica) were all distinct Pre-Columbian cultures. The Maya and Aztec were comparatively close together (they both lived in what is now Mexico) and did engage in cultural exchange, but this is no reason to conflate them. Meanwhile, the Inca were thousands of miles away from them, their capital being in today's Peru, so conflating them would cross into CriticalResearchFailure territory. Their actual history is interesting and diverges from the trope quite a bit. However, keep in mind that the trope is frequently also valid in modern Latin America.

* In the movie ''Unrest'' (2006) all the horrible events are due to the curse unleashed by an Aztec goddess, after a cave was discovered with 40,000 bodies sacrificed in his honor ... in Brazil, far from Mexico (and even the figure of 40,000 skeletons product of human sacrifice is too exaggerated even for the Aztecs)

See Also: HollywoodHistory and VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory. Compare {{Spexico}}, LatinLand, TheCapitalOfBrazilIsBuenosAires and BananaRepublic, for when this happens to modern Latin American countries. Also compare InjunCountry and TipisAndTotemPoles for composite versions of Native American cultures from North America. The European equivalent is AncientGrome. See EgyptIsAncient is when you have Egpyt depicted as if it were still a land of Pharoahs and gods.

See Also: HollywoodHistory and VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory. Compare {{Spexico}}, LatinLand, TheCapitalOfBrazilIsBuenosAires and BananaRepublic, for when this happens to modern Hispanic or Latin countries. Also compare InjunCountry and TipisAndTotemPoles for composite versions of Native American cultures from North America. A European equivalent is AncientGrome.

* Mel Gibson's controversial ''Film/{{Apocalypto}}'' portrays the urban Maya as the TheEvilEmpire and a small Mayan village in the jungle as pure, innocent victims. There are obvious close parallels to ''Film/{{Braveheart}}''. He seemed to want to portray the Maya situation when part of the civilization collapsed and the cities had fallen into ruin and decadence, but he basically took every Aztec stereotype and gave them to the Maya. While they did practice human sacrifice and the period at the end of the classical era of the Maya was marked by increased warfare, neither are portrayed properly. It also has the priests offering the sacrifices to Kukulkan (Quetzalcoatl for the Aztecs), the one god in the Mesoamerican pantheon [[SadlyMythtaken that abhorred]] HumanSacrifice.

** The game does largely avert the trope, but [[NecessaryWeasel has to use it to a certain extent to make the game function properly]], such as using Eagle Warriors as a common unit to Mayans and Aztecs rather than just Aztec. Also, while both civilisations have exactly the same architectural style, this is due to putting its societies into aesthetic groups: Chinese/Japanese/Koreans/Mongols, British/Celts/Franks/Spanish, Byzantines/Saracens/Persians/Turks and Huns/Goths/Vikings/Teutons all look the same too. Both Aztec and Maya wonders are pyramids, but are in totally different shapes that are accurate to their respective cultures.