Teotihuacan
A powerful city-state in central Mexico (100-75 C.E.). Its population was about 150,000 at its peak in 600.
Chinampas
Raised fields constructed along lake shores in Mesoamerica to increase agricultural yields. (p. 301)
Maya
a family of American Indian languages spoken by Mayan peoples
Toltecs
Powerful postclassic empire in central Mexico (900-1168 C.E.). It influenced much of Mesoamerica. Aztecs claimed ties to this earlier civilization. (p. 305)
Aztecs
(1200-1521) 1300, they settled in the valley of Mexico. Grew corn. Engaged in frequent warfare to conquer others of the region. Worshipped many gods (polytheistic). Believed the sun god needed human blood to continue his journeys across the sky. Practiced human sacrifices and those sacrificed were captured warriors from other tribes and those who volunteered for the honor.
Tenochtitlan
Capital of the Aztec Empire, located on an island in Lake Texcoco. Its population was about 150,000 on the eve of Spanish conquest. Mexico City was constructed on its ruins. (p. 305)
Tribute System
A system in which defeated peoples were forced to pay a tax in the form of goods and labor. This forced transfer of food, cloth, and other goods subsidized the development of large cities. An important component of the Aztec and Inca economies.
Anasazi
a Native American who lived in what is now southern Colorado and Utah and northern Arizona and New Mexico and who built cliff dwellings
Khipu
System of knotted colored cords used by preliterate Andean peoples to transmit information. (p. 312)
Ayllu
in Incan society, a small community or family group whose members worked together for the common good of the peoples.
Mit'a
Andean labor system based on shared obligations to help kinsmen and work on behalf of the ruler and religious organizations. (p. 312)
Moche
ugly, Civilization of north coast of Peru (200-700 C.E.). An important Andean civilization that built extensive irrigation networks as well as impressive urban centers dominated by brick temples. (p. 313)
Wari
Andean civilization culturally linked to Tiwanaku, perhaps beginning as colony of Tiwanaku. (p. 314)
Tiwanaku
Name of capital city and empire centered on the region near Lake Titicaca in modern Bolivia (375-1000 C.E.). (p. 315)
Inca
a member of the small group of Quechuan people living in the Cuzco valley in Peru who established hegemony over their neighbors to create the great Inca empire that lasted from about 1100 until the Spanish conquest in the early 1530s
Vertical Integration
absorption into a single firm of several firms involved in all aspects of a product's manufacture from raw materials to distribution
Calpulli
Aztec clans that supplied labor and warriors to leaders
Mita
the syllable naming the third (mediant) note of any major scale in solmization, in the Incan empire, the requirement that all able-bodied subjects work for the state a certain number of days each year.
Parallel Descent
In Incan society, descent through both the mother and father
Inca
a member of the small group of Quechuan people living in the Cuzco valley in Peru who established hegemony over their neighbors to create the great Inca empire that lasted from about 1100 until the Spanish conquest in the early 1530s
Machu Picchu
Incan city,built of stone not from the mountain it's on,crossbeam at the entrance weighs several tons,still standing peru
Quipu
calculator consisting of a cord with attached cords