Terms : Hide Images
| 38302213 | Indian | Misnomer created by Columbus when referring to indigenous American peoples; implies social and ethnic commonalty that did not exist among Native Americans; still used to describe Native Americans | 0 | |
| 38302214 | Toltecs | Nomadic peoples from beyond the northern frontier of sedentary agriculture in Mesoamerica; established capital at Tula after migration into central Mesoamerican plateau; strongly militaristic ethic, including cult of human sacrifice. | 1 | |
| 38302215 | 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 | |
| 38302216 | Tenochtitlan | Founded circa 1325 on a marshy island in Lake Texcoco; became center of Aztec power. | 3 | |
| 38302217 | Huitzilopochtli | Aztec tribal patron god; central figure of human sacrifice and warfare; identified with old sun god. | 4 | |
| 38302218 | Chinampas | Beds of aquatic weeds, mud, and earth placed in frames made of cane and rootedin lakes to create "floating islands"; system of irrigated agriculture used by Aztecs. | 5 | |
| 38302219 | Pochteca | Merchant class in Aztec society; specialized in long-distance trade in luxury items. | 6 | |
| 38302220 | Inca socialism | An 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 | |
| 38302221 | Inca | Group of clans (ayllu) centered at Cuzco; created an empire in the Andes during the 15thcentury; also title of the ruler. | 8 | |
| 38302222 | Split inheritance | Inca practice of ruler descent; all titles and political power went to the successor, but wealth and land remained in the hands of male descendants for support of dead Inca's mummy. | 9 | |
| 38302223 | Temple of the Sun | Inca religious center at Cuzco; center of state religion; held mummies of past Incas. | 10 | |
| 38302224 | 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. | 11 | |
| 38302225 | Mita | Labor extracted for lands assigned to the state and the religion; all communities were expected to contribute; an essential part of Inca control. | 12 | |
| 38302226 | Quipu | System of knotted strings used by the Incas in place of a writing system; could contain numerical and other types of information for censuses and financial records. | 13 | |
| 38302227 | Hernan Cortes | (1485 - 1547) Led expedition of 600 Spanish soldiers to coast of Mexico in1519; conquistador responsible for defeat of Aztec Empire; captured Tenochtitlan. | 14 | |
| 38302228 | Anasazi | Native American culture which thrived in the Southwest from 200 to 1200 C.E.;known for cliff dwellings and maize growing. | 15 | |
| 38302229 | Hopewell | Native American culture which centered in the Ohio valley from 200 to 500 C.E.; known for earthen burial and defensive mounds. | 16 | |
| 38302230 | Flowery death | Death while taking prisoners for the sacrificial knife. | 17 |
