Mesoamerican and European History

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts related to the Aztec, Mayan, and Inca empires, as well as significant aspects of European history like the Renaissance, High Middle Ages, and Crusade Movement, based on lecture notes.

Aztec Empire

Located in modern-day Mexico, it was the last and largest Mesoamerican state, existing from the 13th to the 15th century, known for practicing human sacrifice and being unstable.

Chinampas

Marketplaces within the Aztec Empire.

Tenochtitlan

The capital city of the Aztec Empire.

Triple Alliance

A military conquest by the Aztec Empire that subdued most of Mesoamerica in 100 years.

Mayan Civilization

An earlier civilization than the Aztec and Inca, characterized as a chiefdom rather than a singular state or empire.

Inca Empire

Existing from the 15th to the 16th century, it was more of a bureaucracy than the Aztec Empire and demanded resources as tribute rather than people, though human sacrifices were still practiced.

Mita System

An Inca system of government-hired labor where people served as laborers for farms, herding, military service, construction, and mining.

Gender Parallelism

A social structure in both the Inca and Aztec empires where women and men had parallel lines of authority and status, indicating a non-patriarchal society with better treatment of women compared to Afro-European areas.

European Renaissance

A period from the 14th to the 15th century characterized by a renewed interest in Greco-Roman art and secular topics.

Tlacaelel

A historical figure (1398-1480) associated with the practice of human sacrifice to provide energy to the sun.

Parliament

Composed of the clergy, landowning nobility, and urban merchants, referred to as the three great estates.

Quipus

Knotted cords used by the Inca to record population and other numerical information.

High Middle Ages

A period around 1000 CE marked by growth and expansion in Europe.

Mexica

A seminomadic people who migrated from northern Mexico and founded the capital city of Tenochtitlan.

Crusade Movement

Began in 1095, these were wars authorized by the Pope aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and other holy places.