1.4 - State Building in the Americas

Maya

A Mesoamerican civilization known for city-states, writing, calendars, and ceremonial centers, ruling before the Aztecs

Mexica

The ethnic group who built the Aztec Empire in central Mexico, who were previously hunter-gatherers

Aztec Empire

A powerful Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico, created by the Mexica people

Theocracy

Rule by religious leaders and rulings

Tenochtitlan

The Mexica capital city built on an island in Lake Texcoco

Chinampas

Raised agricultural plots built in shallow lake waters for intensive farming

Pachacuti

The Inca ruler who launched major imperial expansion in the 1400s

Incan Empire

A large empire in the Andean region formed by the unification of various small tribes

Mit’a system

An Inca labor system that required people to work on state projects

Carpa Nan

Massive roadway system constructed by the Inca

Temple of the Sun

Sacred Incan structure used to carry out religious duties

Animism

The belief that elements of the physical world could have supernatural powers.

Mississippian culture

The first large-scale civilization in North America

Matrilineal society

Social standing being determined by the woman's side of the family

Cahokia

Largest mound created by the mound-building culture of the Mississippian

Mesa Verde

Culture in southwestern United States that built multi-story homes into the sides of cliffs using bricks made of sandstone

Chaco

Another culture in southwestern United States that built large housing structures using stones and clay, some of which included hundreds of rooms