Meso America Flashcards
Meso-American
region of Central America and southern North America that was occupied by several civilizations, especially the Maya, in pre-Columbian times
Glyph
a hieroglyphic character or symbol; a pictograph
Olmec
a member of a prehistoric people inhabiting the coast of Veracruz and western Tabasco on the Gulf of Mexico (c. 1200–400 bc), who established what was probably the first Meso-American civilization.
Aztec
a member of the American Indian people dominant in Mexico before the Spanish conquest of the 16th century.
Hernan Cortes
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire
Montezuma
last Aztec emperor of Mexico
Yucatan Peninsula
The Yucatán Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucatán Channel. The peninsula lies east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
Tikat
an ancient Mayan city in northern Guatemala. It flourished ad 300–800.
Chinchenitza
a site in northern Yucatán, Mexico, the center of the Mayan empire after ad 918 until about 1200. Its pyramids, temples, and other structures have been partly restored.
Lake Texcoco
Lake Texcoco was a natural lake within the Anáhuac or Valley of Mexico.
Chinampa
Chinampa is a type of Mesoamerican agriculture which used small, rectangular areas of fertile arable land to grow crops on the shallow lake beds in the Valley of Mexico.
Quipu
an ancient Inca device for recording information, consisting of variously colored threads knotted in different ways.
Chavin
An early pre-Incan civilization that flourished in northern and central Peru from about 900 to 200 bc, known for its carved stone sculptures and boldly designed ceramics.
Inca
a member of a South American Indian people living in the central Andes before the Spanish conquest.
Andes
a major mountain system that runs the length of the Pacific coast of South America. It extends more than 5,000 miles (8,000 km), with a continuous height of more than 10,000 feet (3,000 m). Its highest peak is Aconcagua.
Quechua
a member of an American Indian people of Peru and parts of Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador.
Sacrifice
an act of slaughtering an animal or person or surrendering a possession as an offering to God or to a divine or supernatural figure
Francisco Pizzario
Francisco Pizarro González was a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition that conquered the Inca Empire.
Stone Heads
Massive heads constructed of stone
Maize
A distant reflective of corn
LongCount
a system of dating in the Maya calendar according to the time in numbers of baktuns, katuns, tuns, uinals, and days elapsed since an arbitrary point prior to 3000 b.c.
Machu Pichu
a fortified Inca town in the Andes Mountains in Peru that the invading Spaniards never found. It is noted for its dramatic position, perched high on a steep-sided ridge.
Copan
an ancient Mayan city, the ruins of which are in western Honduras near the Guatemalan frontier.
Cusco
a city in the Andes in southern Peru; pop. 348,900 (est. 2007). It was the capital of the Inca empire until the Spanish conquest in 1533.
Popol Vuh
the sacred book of the Maya from the sixteenth century, names this mountain Paxil and recounts that it was filled with maize
Caral
was a large settlement in the Supe Valley, near Supe, Barranca province, Peru, some 200 km north of Lima
Calender
a plan for carrying out a process or procedure, giving lists of intended events and times
Observetory
a room or building housing an astronomical telescope or other scientific equipment for the study of natural phenomena.
Pyramids
One of a number of monumental structures built by the Aztec civilization in the shape of a pyramid with a rectangular base.
