Vocabulary of Aztec and Inca Empires

empire

major political unit in which the metropolis, or single sovereign authority, exercises control over territory of great extent or a number of territories or peoples through formal annexations or various forms of informal domination.

indigenous

(of people) inhabiting or existing in a land from the earliest times or from before the arrival of colonists.

Huitzilopochtli

Chief Aztec Deity who controls the sun, who demands blood for strength in exchange for making the sun rise each day.

Tenochtitlan

Capital City of the Aztec empire, located on an island in the center of Lake Texcoco, was larger than other European cities at the time.

tribute

payment made periodically by one state or ruler to another, especially as a sign of dependence.

chinampas

An ingenious system of irrigated agriculture adopted from the Teotihuacan people, it worked by building floating islands of gardens which yielded 4 corn crops a year as well as fruit, beans, and other vegetables.

textiles

High quality woven cloth.

THE Inca

The leader of the Inca empire passed down through patrilineal lines.

Cuzco

Capital of Inca Empire.

Capacocha

The Inca practice of human sacrifice, mainly using children.

Quechua

Spoken language of clans living near Cuzco, which became the uniting language of all of the Inca empire.

Mita

Labor system where communities were expected to take turns working on state and church lands, which caused material surplus.

quipu

A system of knotted strings to record numerical information.

terracing

make or form (sloping land) into a number of level flat areas resembling a series of steps.

animism/animistic

a belief system that holds that all things in nature are animated and have a spiritual essence.

mummy (NOT Egypt)

a body unusually well preserved.

mitmaq

The resettlement of loyal citizens into hostile territory and hostile people into loyal regions.