AP World History ch. 11

Misnomer created by Columbus when referring to indigenous American peoples; implies social and ethnic commonalty that did not exist among Native Americans; still used to describe Native Americans

Nomadic peoples from beyond the northern frontier of sedentary agriculture in Mesoamerica; established capital at Tula after migration into central Mesoamerican plateau; strongly militaristic ethic including cult of human sacrifice

The Mexica; one of the nomadic tribes that penetrated into the sedentary zone of the Mesoamerican plateau after the fall of the Toltecs; established empire after 1325 around shores of Lake Texcoco

Founded circa 1325 on a marshy island in Lake Texcoco; became center of Aztec power

Nobility in Aztec society; formed by intermarriage of Aztecs with peoples tracing lineage back to the Toltecs

Advisor to Aztec rulers (1427 - 1480); had histories of Mexico rewritten; expanded cult of human sacrifice as effective means of political terror

Aztec tribal patron god; central figure of human sacrifice and warfare; identified with old sun god

Clans in Aztec society; evolved into residential groupings that distributed land and provided labor and warriors

Beds of aquatic weeds, mud, and earth placed in frames made of cane and rooted in lakes to create "floating islands"; system of irrigated agriculture used by Aztecs.

Merchant class in Aztec society; specialized in long-distance trade in luxury items

An interpretation describing Inca society as a type of utopia; image of the Inca empire as a carefully organized system in which every community collectively contributed to the whole

Inca word for their empire; region from Colombia to Chile and eastward into Bolivia and Argentina

Group of clans (ayllu) centered at Cuzco; created an empire in the Andes during the 15th century; also title of the ruler

Inca ruler (1438 - 1471); began the military campaigns that marked the creation of the Inca Empire

Inca ruler (1471 - 1493); extended his father's conquests; seized the northern coastal kingdom of Chimor and pushed into Ecuador

Inca ruler (1493 - 1527); brought the empire to its greatest extent

Inca practice of ruler descent; all titles and political power went to the successor, but wealth and land remained in the hands of male descendants for support of the dead Inca's mummy

Inca religious center at Cuzco; center of state religion; held mummies of past Incas

Local rulers who the Inca left in office in return for loyalty

Way stations used by incas as inns and storehouses; supply centers for Inca armies; relay points for system of runners used to carry messages

Labor extracted for lands assigned to the state ad the religion; all communities were expected to contribute; an essential part of Inca control

System of knotted strings used by the Incas in place of a writing system; could contain numerical and other types of information for censuses and financial records

(1485 - 1547) Led expedition of 600 Spanish soldiers to coast of Mexico in 1519; conquistador responsible for defeat of Aztec Empire; captured Tenochtitlan

Native American culture which thrived in the Southwest from 200 to 1200 C.E.; known for cliff dwellings and maize growing

Native American culture which centered in the Ohio valley from 200 to 500 C.E.; known for earthern burial and defensive mounds

Class of Aztec merchants that had hereditary status

Death while taking prisoners for the sacrificial knife

Stone boards used for grinding corn by hand

Two large cities found on Lake Titicaca which were part of the Moche culture (200 - 700 C.E.)

Incan creator god

Incan holy shrine where prayers were offered

Incan class of people who were removed from their ayllus and served permanently as servants artisans, or workers for the Inca or nobility