Unit 7 Exam Review: Mesoamerica and the Aztec Empire

Comprehensive vocabulary and key concept flashcards for the Unit 7 exam review covering the history, culture, and conquest of the Aztec Empire.

Mesoamerica

A historical and cultural region in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica.

Polytheism

The belief in or worship of more than one god.

Presentism

The tendency to judge past actions, events, and culture by modern-day values, standards, and perspectives.

Colonialism

The policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country/region, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.

Mexica

The name the Aztecs called themselves, pronounced meh-SHEE-kah.

Aztl%%121n

The mythical homeland to the north where Aztec ancestors originated.

Huitzilopochtli

The patron god of the Aztecs (god of war and the sun) who sent the sign of an eagle on a cactus to guide their settlement.

Tenochtitlan

The Aztec capital city founded in $1325\,CE$ and built on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco.

Chinampas

Often called "floating gardens," these were artificial islands created for agriculture by layering mud, vegetation, and reeds in shallow lake beds.

Pipiltin

The social class at the top of Aztec society, consisting of the nobility and the Emperor ($Tlatoani$).

Tlatelolco

Tenochtitlan's sister city and the site of the largest market in the Aztec Empire.

The Fifth Sun

The name the Aztecs used for the current age of the world, following the destruction of four previous Suns.

Templo Mayor

The "Great Temple" pyramid complex in the center of Tenochtitlan dedicated to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc.

Tlaloc

The Aztec god of rain and agriculture.

"Gold, Glory, and God"

The three main reasons for Spanish exploration in the Americas: wealth, fame, and spreading Christianity.

La Noche Triste

"The Night of Sorrows" (June 30, $1520$), when the Aztecs successfully drove Hern%%121n Cort%%121s and his forces out of Tenochtitlan.

Smallpox

The European disease that decimated the Aztec population, killing leaders and warriors and shattering morale.

Cuauht%%121moc

The last Aztec emperor, who was captured on August 13, $1521$, after the final siege of Tenochtitlan.

The Columbian Exchange

The exchange of goods, crops, animals, and diseases between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Maize

The most important Aztec crop, also known as corn.