| A | B |
|---|
| dry, lacking in rainfall | arid |
| a bowl-shaped area, often with a lake at the bottom | basin |
| soldiers for hire | mercenaries |
| floating gardens | chinampas |
| the warrior-poet leader of the Triple Alliance | Nezahualcoyotl |
| the emperor who ruled the Aztec Empire at its height | Moctezuma |
| having to do with farming | agrarian |
| food or goods paid as taxes by conquered people | tribute |
| the chief official appointed by a ruler of a country | prime minister |
| The Aztecs' most important god - the god of the sun and battle | Huitzilopochtli |
| the Aztecs' god of life-giving water and good harvests | Tlaloc |
| What Huitzilopochtli needed to stay strong | human sacrifice |
| the Aztec god of learning, culture, and civilization | Quetzalcoatl |
| a raised road over a body of water | causeway |
| a place of worship dedicated to a sacred object or person | shrine |
| a huge pyramid with the shrines of Tlaloc and Huitzilopochtli on top | Templo Mayor |
| works that are created mainly to be admired | fine art |
| public speakers | orators |
| this told the Aztecs when to plant and when to have religious ceremonies | Aztec Calendar |
| Aztecs' spoken language | Nahuatl |
| they could be commoners trying to avoid poverty or punishment or warriors captured in battle | slaves |
| it was made up of city-states ruled by local chiefs but controlled by the emperor | Aztec Empire |
| these people could trace their relatives back to the first Aztec king | Aztec nobles |
| they carried a wooden shield, wore heavy cotton armor, and used a wooden club spiked with sharp stone blades | Aztec warriors |
| this was the capital of the Aztec Empire | Tenochtitlan |
| This is where the Aztec settled in Central Mexico | Valley of Mexico |
| The name of the Aztecs before they were known as Aztecs | Mexica |
| they lived as extended families in adjoining houses around a central courtyard | Aztec commoners |
| the most popular form of Aztec literature | poetry |
| he has "flowers on his lips" | a great speaker (orator) |
