| A | B |
|---|
| Mexica | The name of the ethnic group who dominated the Valley of Mexico - also known as the Aztec. |
| tribute | A payment made by a weaker power to a stronger power to obtain an assurance of peace and security. |
| causeways | A rasied roadway over a body of water - connected Tenochtitlan to the mainland. |
| aqueducts | A pipeline or channel built to carry water to populated areas. |
| conquistadors | The Spanish soldiers, explorers, and fortune hunters who took part in the conquest of the Americas in the 16th century. |
| smallpox | A highly contagious viral disease characterized by fever and weakness and skin eruption with pustules that form scabs that slough off leaving scars; killed may native American peoples. |
| terrace farming | A form of farming in the Andes mountains of the Inca EMpire in which stepped ridges constructed on mountain slopes help retain water and reduce erosion. |
| Inca roads | 14,000 mile road network that stretches across the Inca Empire. |
| qipu | An arrangement of knotted strings on a cord, used by the Inca to record numerical information. |
| Moctezuma II | Ruler of the Aztec Empire when Cortes arrived; died in June , 1520 |
| Quetzalcoatl (Kukulkan - the feathered Serpent) | A god of the Aztec and other Mesoamerican peoples. |
| Hernan Cortez | Spanish conquistador who defeated the Aztecs and conquered Mexico starting in 1519. |
| Inti | The Sun God of the Inca. |
| Huayna Capac | The Incan ruler under whom the Incan empire reached its widest extent (died in 1525). |
| Atahualpa | The last ruler of the Inca; captured and killed by Francisco Pizzarro in 1533. |
| Francisco Pizzarro | Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca. |
| Mesoamerica | An area extending from central Mexico to Honduras, where several ancient complex societies of the Americas developed. |
| Valley of Mexico | Location of the capital city, Tenochtitlan, of the Aztecs. |
| Lake Texcoco | Lake located in the valley of Mexico; location of Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. |
| Tenochtitlan | capital of the Aztecs; located on Lake Texcoco. |
| Andes Mountians | The Andes are the world's second highest and longest exposed mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. |
| Machu Picchu | Inca fortress city in the Andes in Peru discovered in 1911; it may have been built in the 15th century. |
| Cuzco | Capital of the Inca Empire. |
| solar equinox | either of two times of the year when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator and day and night are of equal length |
| maize | A cultivated cereal grain that bears its kernels on large ears - ussually called corn. |
| Copan | Major city from the classica Maya period; located in modern day honduras. |
| Yucatan Peninsula | Located in southern Mexico; site of the Maya civilization. |
| Mexico City | capital of modern day Mexico; rests atop of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. |
| Classic Maya | Period of 250 to 900 when the Maya reached their highest state of development. |
