Final answer:
The Inca civilization of South America did not have a written language; our knowledge of them comes from their arts and crafts. In contrast, the Maya civilization developed a sophisticated written language used by their society.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Inca civilization of South America had no written language, so our knowledge of their civilization comes from their arts and crafts. Unlike the Inca, the Maya civilization developed a written language around 750 to 500 BCE, a combination of alphabetic/phonetic and pictographic/hieroglyphic languages. This writing system was used by various strata of society, including the priesthood and urban elite, and is found on stone slabs, pottery, sculptures, and in codices. However, the Inca are known for their extraordinary road systems that rivaled those of the Romans. The Aztec, another Mesoamerican civilization, like the Inca and Maya, had a significant impact on the cultural development of the region and prized the arts, but their system of writing was not fully developed compared to that of the Maya.