Terms Flashcards
State
Form of gov. w/ an internally specialized & hierarchically organized decision-making apparatus. Generally has 3+ administrative levels.
Empire
Union of dispersed territories, colonies, states, and unrelated peoples under one sovereign rule.
Estuary
A low area along a coast where the wide mouth of a river meets the sea and the waters of the two mix.
Codex
Hand-painted book on bark paper or animal skins folded like a screen.
Brazier
An open pan or ceramic vessel used for holding hot coals.
Magnetite
Black iron oxide that can be polished to a lustrous surface.
Danzante
Dancer; a life-size carving of a captive or a prisoner of war depicted in bas-relief on stone slabs at San Jose Mogote and Monte Alban, Oaxaca.
Zapotec
A Mesoamerican cultural tradition generally associated with the Valley of Oaxaca.
Olmec
The Aztec name for the late prehispanic inhabitants of the Gulf Coast region of Mexico.
Laguna
Lagoon. Humanmade depressions, burrow pits, ritual bathing.
Pectoral
A large ornament worn across the chest, especially for defensive purposes.
Bajo
A broad, flat, clay-lined depression in the Maya Lowlands that fills with water during the rainy season.
Stucco
A type if plaster, often made of like, used for decoration.
Facade
The face, or front, of a building.
Stela
An erect stone monument that is often carved.
Patrilocal
Describing a residence pattern in which married couples live with or near the husbands family.
Tlachtii
The Aztec word for their ritual ballgame.
Talid-Tablero
An architectural style characteristic of Teotihucan during the Classic period, in which recessed rectangular panels (tablero) are separated by sloping aprons (talud).
Lintel
A horizontal beam of wood or stone that supports the wall above a doorway or window.
Sacbe
The Mayan word for a raised causeway constructed of stone blocks and paced with gravel and plaster.
Acropolis
A raised complex of palaces and courtyards, especially in Mesoamerica and Greece.
Epigraphy
The study of inscriptions.
Long Count
The Classic Maya system of dating that records the total number of days elapsed from an initial date in the distant past (3114 BC). The system is based on multiples of 20.
Ramon
A tree that grows abundantly in the tropical forests of the Maya Lowlands and bears an edible fruit, called the breadnut.
Chinampa
An agricultural field created by swamp drainage or landfill operations along the edges of lakes.
Sarcophagus
A stone coffin, usually decorated with sculpture and/or inscriptions.
