AMSCO AP World History Chapter 14 Vocab Flashcards

15815596244	Great Sun	In the Mississippian culture, the chief who ruled each large town and stood at the top of the class structure.	0
15815596245	Toltec	Civilization in Mesoamerica that lasted from roughly 950-1100 CE. They established a capital at Tula following migration into the central Mesoamerican plateau, and are known for their strong militaristic ethic.	1
15815596246	Aztec	An empire that served as a successor state to the Toltecs that developed in what is now the Lake Texcoco region between 1200-1529 CE. Was formed by hunter-gatherers from the north who migrated into central Mexico. They're best known for their impressive capital city Tenochtitlan on Lake Texcoco and their frequent use of human sacrifice.	2
15815596247	tribute system	A system used by the Aztecs to exert short-term dominance in which conquered peoples were forced to pay tribute, perform military service, and surrender lands.	3
15815596249	Inca	A large empire in the Andes that stretched from modern-day Peru to modern-day northern Chile which lasted from roughly 1100-1572 CE. It's best known for its labor system, its agrarian economy, and extensive road system.	4
15815596250	Pachacuti	The son of a local tribal ruler that conquered the Chanca people and assumed control from his father in 1438 CE, giving himself this name, meaning "shaker of the earth." His military victories transformed the Inca into a full-fledged empire.	5
15815596253	Cahokia	The largest town of the Mississippian civilization, located in modern-day Illinois. At its peak in 1250 CE, 40,000 people lived there; it was mainly a trading city.	6
15815596260	matrilineal society	A society in which one's social standing was determined by the woman's side of the family.	7
15815596262	Quetzalcoatl	The Mayan and Aztec god of wind and knowledge, often depicted as a feathered serpent; one of the primary gods of the Mayan/Aztec pantheon.	8
15815596264	human sacrifice	The act of killing one or more humans, usually as an offering to a deity, as part of a ritual.	9
15815596265	Quechua	The native language of the Inca, and a language still spoken by the native peoples of Peru.	10
15815596269	quipu	A system of knotted strings used by the Inca to record numerical information for trade and engineering and for recording messages to be sent throughout the empire.	11
15815596270	waru waru	Raised agriculture beds used by the Inca with channels that captured and redirected rain to avoid erosion during floods and store water during dry periods.	12
15815596271	pochteca	A special merchant class in the Aztec Empire that traded in luxury goods. They stood below the land-owning nobles, scribes, craftspeople/traders, and above peasants and soldiers.	13
15815600134	Chichen Itza	an ancient Mayan city located on the Yucatan Peninsula	14