Unit 7 vocab 7th grade 4/29/26

ceremonial center

a large plaza in a city center, surrounded by temples and palaces, where religious rituals and other public ceremonies took place

hieroglyphic

writing that uses pictures as symbols

Maya

the people of an important Mesoamerican civilization that lasted from about 2000 B.C.E. to 1500 C.E.

Mesoamerica

the region extending from modern Mexico through Central America

ritual

a set of actions that is always performed the same way as part of a religious ceremony

sacrifice

a gift of an animal for slaughter to honor the gods

slash-and-burn agriculture

a farming technique in which vegetation is cut away and burned to clear land for growing crops

social pyramid

a social structure in the shape of a pyramid, with layers representing social classes of different rank

Aztecs

a Mesoamerican people who built an empire in central Mexico that flourished from 1428 to 1519 C.E.

causeway

a solid earthen roadway built across water or low ground

conformity

uniform behavior according to a set of social or cultural rules or beliefs

mercenary

a professional soldier who is paid to fight for another country or group

plaza

a public square or open area in a city where people gather

Tenochtitlán

the capital city of the Aztec Empire

ayllu

an Incan clan (group of related families), the basic unit of Incan society.

communal

shared by a community or group

Incas

people of a culture in the Andes Mountains of South America that arose in the 1400s C.E. and lasted until 1532

oracle

a person through whom a god or spirit is believed to speak about the future

dialects

a regional variety of a language

glyphs

a symbol for a word, idea, or sound in a hieroglyphic system of writing

pictographs

a drawing that stands for a word, phrase, or name

solar year

the time it takes Earth to travel once around the sun

steles

a vertical stone slab or pillar with carvings or inscriptions

suspension bridges

a bridge held up by cables anchored at each end

trephination

a type of surgery in which a hole is made in the skull