The Americas on the Eve of Invasion
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| 247356676 | Indian | misnomer created by Columbus when referring to indigenous New World peoples; implies social and ethnic commonalty that did not exist among Native Americans; still used to describe Native Americans | 0 | |
| 247356677 | Toltecs | nomadic people from beyond the northern frontier of sedentary agriculture in Mesoamerica; established capital at Tula following migration into central Mesoamerican plateau; strongly militaristic ethic, including cult of human sacrifice. | 1 | |
| 247356678 | Aztecs | the Mexica; one of the nomadic tribes that penetrated into the sedentary zone of the Mesoamerican plateau after the fall of the Toltecs; established empire after 1325 around shores of Lake Texcoco. | 2 | |
| 247356679 | Tenochtitlan | founded ca. 1325 on a marshy island in Lake Texcoco; became center of Aztec power. | 3 | |
| 247356680 | pipiltin | nobility in Aztec society; formed by intermarriage of Aztecs with peoples tracing lineage back to the Toltecs. | 4 | |
| 248410026 | Tlacaelel | advisor to Aztec rulers (1427-1480); had histories of Mexico rewritten; expanded cult of human sacrifice as effective means of political power. | 5 | |
| 248410027 | Huitcilopochtli | Aztectribla parton god; central figure of human sacrifice and warfare; identified with old sun god. | 6 | |
| 248410028 | calpulli | clans in Aztec society; evolved into residential groupings that distributed land and provided labor and warriors. | 7 | |
| 248410029 | chinampas | beds of aquatic weeds, mud, earth placed in frames made of cane and rooted in lakes to create "floating islands"; system of irrigated agriculture used by Aztecs. | 8 | |
| 248410030 | pochteca | merchant class in Aztec society; specialized in long-distance trade in luxury items. | 9 | |
| 248410031 | Inca socialism | an interpretation describing Inca socitey as a type od utopia; image of the Inca empire as a carefully organized system in which every community collectively contributed to the whole world. | 10 | |
| 248410032 | Twantinsuyu | Inca word for their empire; regionfrom Colombia to Chile and eastward into Bolivia and Argentina. | 11 | |
| 248410033 | Inca | group of clans (ayllu) centered at Cuzco; createdan empire in the Andes during the 15th century; also title of the ruler. | 12 | |
| 248410034 | Pachacuti | Inca ruler (1438-1471); began the military campaigns that marked the creation of an Inca empire. | 13 | |
| 248410035 | Topac Yupanqui | Inca rulers 1471-1493; ectended his father's cpnquests; siezed the northern coastal kingdom of Chimor and pushed into Equador. | 14 | |
| 248410036 | Huayna Capac | Inca ruler 1493-1527; brought the empire to its greatest extent | 15 | |
| 248410037 | split inheritance | Inca practice of ruler descent; all titles and political power went to successor, but wealth and land remained in the hands of male decendants for support of dead Inca's mummy. | 16 | |
| 248410038 | Temple of the Sun | Inca religious center at Cuzco; center of the state of religion; held mummies of past Incas. | 17 | |
| 248410039 | Curacas | local rulers who the Inca left in office in return for loyalty | 18 | |
| 248410040 | mitmac | Inca colonists in new religions; could be Quechua speakers used to pacify new conquest or conquered population moved to new homes. | 19 | |
| 248410041 | tambos | waystations used by Incas as inns and storehouses; supply centers for Inca armies; relay point for system of runners used to carry messages. | 20 | |
| 248410042 | mita | labor extracted for lands assigned to the state and the religion; all communitites were xpected to contribute; an essential part on Incan control. | 21 | |
| 248410043 | quipu | system of knotted strings utilized by the Incas in place of a writing system; could contain numerical and other types of informations for censuses and financial records. | 22 |
