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

12299671446	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
12299671447	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
12299671448	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
12299671449	Quetzalcoatl	Toltec deity; Feathered Serpent; adopted by Aztecs as a major god.	3
12299671450	Tenochtitlan	Founded circa 1325 on a marshy island in Lake Texcoco; became center of Aztec power.	4
12299671451	Tlalo	Major god of Aztecs; associated with fertility and the agricultural cycle; god of rain.	5
12299671452	Huitzilopochtli	Aztec tribal patron god; central figure of human sacrifice and warfare; identified with old sun god.	6
12299671453	Nezhualcoyotl	Leading Aztec king of the 15th century.	7
12299671454	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
12299671455	Pochteca	Merchant class in Aztec society; specialized in long-distance trade in luxury items.	9
12299671456	Calpulli	Clans in Aztec society; evolved into residential groupings that distributed land and provided labor and warriors.	10
12299671457	Pachacuti	Inca ruler (1438-1471); began the military campaigns that marked the creation of the Inca Empire	11
12299671458	Ayllus	Households in Andean societies that recognized some form of kinship; traced descent from some common, sometimes mythical ancestor.	12
12299671459	Twantinsuyu	Inca word for their empire; region from Colombia to Chile and eastward into Bolivia and Argentina.	13
12299671460	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
12299671461	Temple of the Sun	Inca religious center at Cuzco; center of state religion; held mummies of past Incas.	15
12299671462	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
12299671463	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
12299671464	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
12299671465	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
12299676387	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