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| 6728187370 | Indian | misnomer created by Columbus referring to indigenous New World peoples; still used describe Native Americans | 0 | |
| 6728191640 | Toltecs | nomadic peoples from beyond 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 | |
| 6728203114 | Aztecs | 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 | |
| 6728210414 | Tenochtitlan | founded circa 1325 on a marshy island in Lake Texcoc; became center of Aztec power | 3 | |
| 6728210415 | Calpulli | clans in Aztec society; evolved into residential groupings that distributed land and provided labor and warriors | 4 | |
| 6728215618 | Chinampas | beds of aquatic weeds , mud, and earth placed in frames made of cane and rooted in lakes to create "floating islands"; system of irrigated agriculture used by Aztecs | 5 | |
| 6728225630 | Pochteca | merchant class in Aztec society; specialized in long-distance trade in luxury items | 6 | |
| 6728229331 | Inca socialism | interpretation describing Inca society as a type of utopia; image of the Inca empire as a carefully organized system in which every community collectively contributed to the whole | 7 | |
| 6728229333 | Inca | of clans (ayllu) centered at Cuzco; created empire in the Andes during the 15th c; also title of the ruler | 8 | |
| 6728235696 | Pachacuti | Inca ruler (1438-1471); began the military campaign that marked the creation of an Inca empire | 9 | |
| 6728237754 | Huayna Capac | Inca ruler (1493-1527); brought the empire to its greatest extent | 10 | |
| 6728241689 | Split inheritance | Inca practice of ruler descent; all titles and political power went to successor, but wealth and land remained in hands of male descendants for support of dead Inca's mummy | 11 | |
| 6728258291 | Curacas | local rulers who the Inca left in office in return for loyalty | 12 | |
| 6728264875 | Tambos | way stations used by Incas as inns and storehouses; supply centers for Inca armies; relay points for system of runners used to carry messages | 13 | |
| 6728267557 | Quipu | system of knotted strings utilized by the Incas in place of a writing system; could contain numerical and other types of information for censuses and financial records | 14 |
