Terms

Question 1

State

Answer 1

Form of gov. w/ an internally specialized & hierarchically organized decision-making apparatus. Generally has 3+ administrative levels.

Question 2

Empire

Answer 2

Union of dispersed territories, colonies, states, and unrelated peoples under one sovereign rule.

Question 3

Estuary

Answer 3

A low area along a coast where the wide mouth of a river meets the sea and the waters of the two mix.

Question 4

Codex

Answer 4

Hand-painted book on bark paper or animal skins folded like a screen.

Question 5

Brazier

Answer 5

An open pan or ceramic vessel used for holding hot coals.

Question 6

Magnetite

Answer 6

Black iron oxide that can be polished to a lustrous surface.

Question 7

Danzante

Answer 7

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.

Question 8

Zapotec

Answer 8

A Mesoamerican cultural tradition generally associated with the Valley of Oaxaca.

Question 9

Olmec

Answer 9

The Aztec name for the late prehispanic inhabitants of the Gulf Coast region of Mexico.

Question 10

Laguna

Answer 10

Lagoon. Humanmade depressions, burrow pits, ritual bathing.

Question 11

Pectoral

Answer 11

A large ornament worn across the chest, especially for defensive purposes.

Question 12

Bajo

Answer 12

A broad, flat, clay-lined depression in the Maya Lowlands that fills with water during the rainy season.

Question 13

Stucco

Answer 13

A type if plaster, often made of like, used for decoration.

Question 14

Facade

Answer 14

The face, or front, of a building.

Question 15

Stela

Answer 15

An erect stone monument that is often carved.

Question 16

Patrilocal

Answer 16

Describing a residence pattern in which married couples live with or near the husbands family.

Question 17

Tlachtii

Answer 17

The Aztec word for their ritual ballgame.

Question 18

Talid-Tablero

Answer 18

An architectural style characteristic of Teotihucan during the Classic period, in which recessed rectangular panels (tablero) are separated by sloping aprons (talud).

Question 19

Lintel

Answer 19

A horizontal beam of wood or stone that supports the wall above a doorway or window.

Question 20

Sacbe

Answer 20

The Mayan word for a raised causeway constructed of stone blocks and paced with gravel and plaster.

Question 21

Acropolis

Answer 21

A raised complex of palaces and courtyards, especially in Mesoamerica and Greece.

Question 22

Epigraphy

Answer 22

The study of inscriptions.

Question 23

Long Count

Answer 23

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.

Question 24

Ramon

Answer 24

A tree that grows abundantly in the tropical forests of the Maya Lowlands and bears an edible fruit, called the breadnut.

Question 25

Chinampa

Answer 25

An agricultural field created by swamp drainage or landfill operations along the edges of lakes.

Question 26

Sarcophagus

Answer 26

A stone coffin, usually decorated with sculpture and/or inscriptions.