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

13149582888	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
13149582889	Toltec culture	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
13149582890	Topiltzin	Religious 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
13149582891	Quetzalcoatl	Toltec deity; Feathered Serpent; adopted by Aztecs as a major god.	3
13149582892	Tenochtitlan	Founded circa 1325 on a marshy island in Lake Texcoco; became center of Aztec power.	4
13149582893	Tlalo	Major god of Aztecs; associated with fertility and the agricultural cycle; god of rain.	5
13149582894	Huitzilopochtli	Aztec tribal patron god; central figure of human sacrifice and warfare; identified with old sun god.	6
13149582895	Nahuatl	Aztec language	7
13149582896	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.	8
13149582897	Pochteca	Merchant class in Aztec society; specialized in long-distance trade in luxury items.	9
13149582898	Calpulli	Clans in Aztec society; evolved into residential groupings that distributed land and provided labor and warriors.	10
13149582899	Pachacuti	Inca ruler (1438-1471); began the military campaigns that marked the creation of the Inca Empire	11
13149582900	Ayllus	Households in Andean societies that recognized some form of kinship; traced descent from some common, sometimes mythical ancestor.	12
13149582901	Twantinsuyu	Inca word for their empire; region from Colombia to Chile and eastward into Bolivia and Argentina.	13
13149582902	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.	14
13149582903	Temple of the Sun	Inca religious center at Cuzco; center of state religion; held mummies of past Incas.	15
13149582904	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.	16
13149582905	Mita	Labor extracted for lands assigned to the state and the religion; all communities were expected to contribute; an essential part of Inca control.	17
13149582906	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.	18
13149582907	Yanas	Incan class of people who were removed from their ayllus and served permanently as servants, artisans, or workers for the Inca or nobility.	19
13149707544	Twantinsuyu	Word for Inca Empire; region from present-day Columbia to Chile and eastward to northern Argentina	20
13149707545	Topic Yupanqui	extended fathers conquest seized northern coastal kingdom of chi mar and pushed into equator	21
13149707546	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.	22
13149707547	Temple of the Sun	Inca religious center located at Cuzco; center of state religion; held mummies of past Incas	23
13149707548	Inca socialism	A 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
13149707549	Aztecs	Also 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
13149707550	Huitzilopochtli	Aztec tribal patron god; central figure of cult of human sacrifice and warfare; identified with old sun god	26
13149707551	Chinampas	Raised fields constructed along lake shores in Mesoamerica to increase agricultural yields.	27
13149707552	Chicken Itza	One of the most well known cities for growing maize and the cacao bean.	28