Meso America Flashcards
Meso-American
region of Central America and southern North America that was occupied by several civilizations, especially the Maya, in pre-Columbian times
Glyph
a hieroglyphic character or symbol; a pictograph
Olmec
a member of a prehistoric people inhabiting the coast of Veracruz and western Tabasco on the Gulf of Mexico (c. 1200–400 bc), who established what was probably the first Meso-American civilization.
Aztec
a member of the American Indian people dominant in Mexico before the Spanish conquest of the 16th century.
Hernan Cortes
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire
Montezuma
last Aztec emperor of Mexico
Yucatan Peninsula
The Yucatán Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucatán Channel. The peninsula lies east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
Tikat
an ancient Mayan city in northern Guatemala. It flourished ad 300–800.
Chinchenitza
a site in northern Yucatán, Mexico, the center of the Mayan empire after ad 918 until about 1200. Its pyramids, temples, and other structures have been partly restored.
Lake Texcoco
Lake Texcoco was a natural lake within the Anáhuac or Valley of Mexico.
Chinampa
Chinampa is a type of Mesoamerican agriculture which used small, rectangular areas of fertile arable land to grow crops on the shallow lake beds in the Valley of Mexico.
Quipu
an ancient Inca device for recording information, consisting of variously colored threads knotted in different ways.
Chavin
An early pre-Incan civilization that flourished in northern and central Peru from about 900 to 200 bc, known for its carved stone sculptures and boldly designed ceramics.
Inca
a member of a South American Indian people living in the central Andes before the Spanish conquest.
Andes
a major mountain system that runs the length of the Pacific coast of South America. It extends more than 5,000 miles (8,000 km), with a continuous height of more than 10,000 feet (3,000 m). Its highest peak is Aconcagua.
