#separator:tab #html:false #tags column:4 Mesoamerica Region of Mexico and Central America where several great civilizations arose ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Olmec Earliest known Mesoamerican civilization, about 1200-400 BCE, known for giant stone heads ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Colossal heads Huge carved stone heads made by the Olmec ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Mother culture Nickname for the Olmec, who influenced later peoples ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Maize (corn) The most important crop in Mesoamerica ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Maya Civilization of southern Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, with city-states and writing ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Classic Maya The peak of Maya civilization, about 250-900 CE ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Tikal Large Maya city in Guatemala with tall temple pyramids ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Chichen Itza Maya city in Yucatan with the pyramid El Castillo ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Palenque Maya city in southern Mexico known for its Temple of the Inscriptions ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Pakal the Great Long-ruling king of Palenque ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Maya glyphs Writing system combining pictures and sounds ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Maya calendar Used interlocking cycles including a 260-day count and a 365-day year ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Long Count Maya system for counting days from a starting date ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Maya zero Maya used a symbol for zero in their math ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Maya astronomy Observed Venus, the Sun and Moon carefully ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Popol Vuh K'iche' Maya sacred book with creation stories ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Cacao Maya and Aztec used cacao beans for chocolate drinks and as money ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Ball game Mesoamerican game with a rubber ball played in stone courts ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Maya collapse Many southern lowland cities were abandoned after about 800-900 CE ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Teotihuacan Huge city near Mexico City with the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon, flourished 100-550 CE ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Toltec Culture whose capital, Tula, flourished after Teotihuacan ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Aztec (Mexica) People who founded Tenochtitlan around 1325 ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Tenochtitlan Aztec capital on an island in Lake Texcoco, now Mexico City ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Chinampas Floating garden plots the Aztec built in shallow lakes ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Causeway Raised road across water, used to reach Tenochtitlan ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Templo Mayor Great temple in the center of Tenochtitlan ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Moctezuma II Aztec ruler when the Spanish arrived in 1519 ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Hernan Cortes Spanish conquistador who led the conquest of the Aztec Empire ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas La Malinche Nahua woman who served as Cortes's interpreter ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Triple Alliance Aztec league of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Tribute Goods demanded from conquered peoples ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Nahuatl Aztec language, still spoken by many today ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Tlaxcalans Neighbors of the Aztecs who allied with the Spanish ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Fall of Tenochtitlan (1521) Spanish and allies captured the city after a long siege and an outbreak of smallpox ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Quetzalcoatl Feathered serpent god ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Huitzilopochtli Aztec god of the sun and war ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Tlaloc Aztec god of rain ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Codex Folded book painted by Aztec or Maya scribes ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Inca Empire Largest empire in the Americas, in the Andes, peaked in the 1400s-1500s ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Cusco Inca capital in Peru ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Pachacuti Ruler who began the Inca's great expansion in the 1430s ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Sapa Inca Title of the Inca emperor ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Machu Picchu Inca mountain estate in Peru, built about 1450 ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Quipu Inca record-keeping device of knotted strings ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Inca road system Thousands of miles of roads across the Andes ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Chasqui Inca relay runners who carried messages ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Mit'a Inca labor service owed to the state ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Terrace farming Stepped fields on mountainsides in the Andes ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Potato Crop first domesticated in the Andes ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Llama Pack animal of the Andes ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Alpaca Animal raised for soft wool in the Andes ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Quechua Language of the Inca, still spoken by millions ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Atahualpa Last independent Inca emperor, captured by Pizarro in 1532 ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Francisco Pizarro Spanish conquistador who defeated the Inca ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Inca bridges Rope suspension bridges woven from grass ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Norte Chico (Caral) One of the oldest civilizations in the Americas, in coastal Peru, about 3000 BCE ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Chavin Early Andean culture known for temple center Chavin de Huantar ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Nazca Peruvian culture famous for giant desert line drawings ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Nazca Lines Huge figures of animals and shapes etched into the desert ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Moche Peruvian culture known for pottery and gold work ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Tiwanaku Andean city near Lake Titicaca ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Lake Titicaca High-elevation lake on the Peru-Bolivia border ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Mound Builders Ancient peoples in what is now the US who built earthen mounds ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Cahokia Largest city north of Mexico before 1492, near St. Louis ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Ancestral Puebloans Southwestern builders of cliff dwellings ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Tainos Indigenous people of the Caribbean who met Columbus ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Land bridge theory Idea that early people crossed from Asia to the Americas over Beringia ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Beringia Land that once connected Siberia and Alaska ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Clovis points Stone spear tips found at sites across North America ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Domestication Mesoamericans bred corn from a wild grass called teosinte ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Turquoise and jade Highly valued stones in Mesoamerica ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Obsidian Volcanic glass used for sharp tools ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas Sacrifice Religious offerings, including human offerings, were part of Aztec and Maya ritual ancient-civilizations-of-the-americas