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