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Stearns: Chapter 12: Americas on the Eve of Invasion Flashcards

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13149582888IndianMisnomer 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
13149582889Toltec cultureNomadic 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
13149582890TopiltzinReligious leader and reformer of the Toltecs in 10th century; dedicated to god Quetzalcoatl; after losing struggle for power, went into exile in the Yucatan peninsula.2
13149582891QuetzalcoatlToltec deity; Feathered Serpent; adopted by Aztecs as a major god.3
13149582892TenochtitlanFounded circa 1325 on a marshy island in Lake Texcoco; became center of Aztec power.4
13149582893TlaloMajor god of Aztecs; associated with fertility and the agricultural cycle; god of rain.5
13149582894HuitzilopochtliAztec tribal patron god; central figure of human sacrifice and warfare; identified with old sun god.6
13149582895NahuatlAztec language7
13149582896ChinampasBeds 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.8
13149582897PochtecaMerchant class in Aztec society; specialized in long-distance trade in luxury items.9
13149582898CalpulliClans in Aztec society; evolved into residential groupings that distributed land and provided labor and warriors.10
13149582899PachacutiInca ruler (1438-1471); began the military campaigns that marked the creation of the Inca Empire11
13149582900AyllusHouseholds in Andean societies that recognized some form of kinship; traced descent from some common, sometimes mythical ancestor.12
13149582901TwantinsuyuInca word for their empire; region from Colombia to Chile and eastward into Bolivia and Argentina.13
13149582902Split inheritanceInca 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.14
13149582903Temple of the SunInca religious center at Cuzco; center of state religion; held mummies of past Incas.15
13149582904TambosWay stations used by Incas as inns and storehouses; supply centers for Inca armies; relay points for system of runners used to carry messages.16
13149582905MitaLabor extracted for lands assigned to the state and the religion; all communities were expected to contribute; an essential part of Inca control.17
13149582906Inca socialismAn 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.18
13149582907YanasIncan class of people who were removed from their ayllus and served permanently as servants, artisans, or workers for the Inca or nobility.19
13149707544TwantinsuyuWord for Inca Empire; region from present-day Columbia to Chile and eastward to northern Argentina20
13149707545Topic Yupanquiextended fathers conquest seized northern coastal kingdom of chi mar and pushed into equator21
13149707546ToltecsNomadic 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.22
13149707547Temple of the SunInca religious center located at Cuzco; center of state religion; held mummies of past Incas23
13149707548Inca socialismA view created by Spanish authors to describe 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.24
13149707549AztecsAlso known as Mexica, they created a powerful empire in central Mexico (1325-1521 C.E.). They forced defeated peoples to provide goods and labor as a tax.25
13149707550HuitzilopochtliAztec tribal patron god; central figure of cult of human sacrifice and warfare; identified with old sun god26
13149707551ChinampasRaised fields constructed along lake shores in Mesoamerica to increase agricultural yields.27
13149707552Chicken ItzaOne of the most well known cities for growing maize and the cacao bean.28

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