Science and Technology during Pre-Columbian Times

Flashcards covering the scientific and technological advancements of the Olmec, Mayan, Aztec, and Inca civilizations during Pre-Columbian times.

First Americans

The people who were the first to live in America, also known as Native Americans or American Indians.

Olmec Civilization

The first great Mesoamerican civilization that thrived along the Southern gulf coast of Mexico, specifically in Veracruz and Tabasco, from about $1200$ to $400$ BC.

Olmec

A name in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztec, which means “rubber people.”

Castilla elastica

The plant source from which the ancient Olmecs and Aztecs extracted latex to create rubber.

Ipomoea Alba

A local vine whose juice was mixed with latex as early as $1600$ BC to produce rubber.

Colossal heads

Olmec monuments made from basalt that symbolize thrones.

Mayan Civilization

A diverse group of indigenous people who inhabited parts of present-day Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

Venus

The most important astronomical object to the Mayan people.

Mayan Ritual Calendar

A Mesoamerican calendar that used a count of $260$ days and assigned one of $20$ day names to each day.

Glyphs

The symbols used in the Mayan written language, consisting of about $800$ characters representing words or syllables.

Vigesimal system

A number system developed by the Mayans that contains $20$ essential digits.

Mayan Number Symbols

Representations where a dot is worth $1$ unit, a bar is worth $5$ units, and a shell symbolizes zero.

Tenochtitlan

The Aztec city established in $1325$ AD, which is known today as Mexico City.

Chinampas

An agricultural technique involving small, rectangular areas of fertile land built on shallow lake beds in the Valley of Mexico.

Machu Picchu

A surviving archeological site of the Inca civilization built as a retreat place for an emperor.

Tawanantinsuyo

The name the Incas used for their empire, meaning the “Land of the Four Corners.”

Quecha

The official language of the Inca empire, which originated in the city of Cuzco.

Coca leaves

Leaves used by the Incas to lessen hunger and pain, for religious purposes, and as an anesthetic during surgeries.

Cumpi

The finest grade of Incan cloth reserved for the emperor and nobility.

Inca Stone-working

A craftsmanship where building stones were fitted together so perfectly without mortar that a razor blade could not fit between them.

Inca Calendar

A lunisolar system where $12$ lunar months (falling $11$ days short of a $365$ day solar year) were maintained in parallel with a solar calendar.

Quipu

Mnemonic devices made of knotted strings of various colors used by the Inca to record numerical data, history, and literature.

Inca Skull Surgeries

Medical procedures performed to alleviate fluid buildup and inflammation caused by head wounds.

One pace

The most basic unit of distance in the physical measurement system of the Inca.