Pre-Columbian Americas: Peoples, Empires, and Contact

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the lecture notes on the Americas before and after European contact.

Maize (corn)

A staple crop that supported settled agriculture and the rise of civilizations across the Americas.

Chinampas

Aztec floating gardens on Lake Texcoco used to create arable land and sustain a large population.

Chapultepec aqueduct

Aztec water system providing an uninterrupted water supply to Tenochtitlan.

Tenochtitlan

Aztec capital built on a lake island in Texcoco; renowned for canals, causeways, temples, and markets.

Mexica

The people who founded the Aztec empire and became its dominant group.

Aztec Empire

The state formed by the Mexica through the Triple Alliance; exercised tribute and warfare to control central Mexico.

Triple Alliance

Coalition of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan that formed the core of the Aztec Empire.

Tonalpohualli

A 260-day sacred calendar used by Mexica for ritual and life events.

Teotihuacan

Ancient Mesoamerican city predating the Aztecs; famous for monumental architecture and influence.

Pyramid of the Sun

Massive pyramid at Teotihuacan, built long before the Aztecs.

Huitzilopochtli

Aztec sun and war god; patron deity of the Mexica.

Quetzalcoatl

Feathered serpent deity, wind god, and culture hero within Aztec cosmology.

Aztec sacrifice

Ritual practice in which captives were offered to the gods, often involving heart extraction.

Tlacotin

Aztec term for slaves; typically captives or debtors who could gain freedom and had certain rights.

Inca Empire (Tahuantinsuyu)

Andean empire spanning a large portion of South America, centered in Cuzco, with extensive roads and administration.

Cuzco

Inca capital and political center located in the Andes.

Machu Picchu

Inca site in the Andes; a fortress-city noted for advanced stonework.

Mita (Mit’a)

Inca labor tribute requiring public works, military service, and tax payments in crops or textiles.

Terrace farming

Agricultural method of carving terraces into mountains to enable crop cultivation and reduce erosion.

Inca road system

About 25,000 miles of roads with rope bridges connecting the empire for movement of people, goods, and troops.

Qullqa

Inca storehouses along roads where goods were stored and distributed by the state.

Chaco Canyon

Ancestral Puebloan site in New Mexico; home to Pueblo Bonito and large multi-room settlements.

Mesa Verde

Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings including Cliff Palace; noted for hundreds of rooms and kivas.

Anasazi

Ancient Southwestern culture known for cliff dwellings and pueblos; precursors to later groups.

Cahokia

Mississippian city near present-day St. Louis; 10–20 thousand people; notable earthen mounds and urban planning.

Secotan

Algonquian-speaking coastal group in North Carolina noted for their land use and trade networks.

Huron (Wyandot)

Iroquoian-speaking people of the Great Lakes region; described by early observers as tall and robust.

Iroquoian languages

Language family in northeastern North America that includes Huron, Cherokee, and related groups.

Iroquois misnomer

European label for a collection of diverse Iroquoian-speaking groups, not a single tribe.

Aztec markets

Vast market centers in Tenochtitlan where a wide range of goods was bought and sold.