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

11479611707	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
11479611708	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
11479611709	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
11479611710	Quetzalcoatl	Toltec deity; Feathered Serpent; adopted by Aztecs as a major god.	3
11479611711	Tenochtitlan	Founded circa 1325 on a marshy island in Lake Texcoco; became center of Aztec power.	4
11479611712	Tlaloc	Major god of Aztecs; associated with fertility and the agricultural cycle; god of rain.	5
11479611713	Huitzilopochtli	Aztec tribal patron god; central figure of human sacrifice and warfare; identified with old sun god.	6
11479611714	Nezhualcoyotl	Leading Aztec king of the 15th century.	7
11479611715	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
11479611716	Pochteca	Merchant class in Aztec society; specialized in long-distance trade in luxury items.	9
11479611717	Calpulli	Clans in Aztec society; evolved into residential groupings that distributed land and provided labor and warriors.	10
11479611718	Pachacuti	Inca ruler (1438-1471); began the military campaigns that marked the creation of the Inca Empire	11
11479611719	Ayllus	Households in Andean societies that recognized some form of kinship; traced descent from some common, sometimes mythical ancestor.	12
11479611720	Twantinsuyu	Inca word for their empire; region from Colombia to Chile and eastward into Bolivia and Argentina.	13
11479611721	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
11479611722	Temple of the Sun	Inca religious center at Cuzco; center of state religion; held mummies of past Incas.	15
11479611723	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
11479611724	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
11479611725	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
11479611726	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
11479772073	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	20
11479872546	Virachoca	the primary Inca god.	21
11479873542	Topac Yupanqui	Pachacuti's son and successor from 1471 to 1493; conquered northern coastal kingdom of Chimor by seizing it's irrigation system; extended Inca control into the southern area of what is now Ecuador.	22
11479886727	Moctezuma II	(1466-1520) Aztec ruler from 1502 to 1520; he was the emperor of the Aztecs when Cortés and his army conquered the empire. He was taken prisoner and killed during battle with the Spanish army.	23
11479899597	Huacas	holy shrines; mountains, stones, caves, rivers, tombs, temples, etc; places of worship and prayer	24
11479906761	Tiahuanaco and Huari	Two large cities found on Lake Titicaca which were part of the Moche culture (200 - 700 C.E.).	25
11479922154	Chichen Itza	an ancient Mayan city located on the Yucatan Peninsula	26