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Mesoamerican
and South American
Civilizations
Unit 3
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Presentation
Aqueduct
Structures
used to carry
flowing water
from a distance
Theocracy
• A system of
government in which
the rulers are believed
to represent the will of
the gods
Chichen Itza
• An ancient Mayan city
located on the
Yucatan Peninsula
codex
• A folding-screen book
containing information
about predicting the
future and
religious rituals
Mercenary
A
hired
soldier
Causeway
•raised bridges
made of land
Man
Made
Island
Tenochtitlan
The
capital city
of the
Aztecs
Lake Texcoco
The Lake
on which
the Mexica settled
an arm
of land
that sticks
out into the
Gulf of Mexico
Central Plateau
a high,
flat area
in the center
of the
Plateau of
Mexico
Natural wells
on the Yucatan
Peninsula
Sierra Madre
occidental
A
mountain range
to the west
of the
Plateau of
Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
A
part
of the
Atlantic Ocean
east of Mexico
A
high, flat
area in
central Mexico
Peninsula
Land
that is
nearly
surrounded
by water
Hernando Cortes
1485-1547
Spanish Conquistador
Who defeated
the Aztecs
in 1521
Tikal
Tikal:
A city-state
of the Maya
that is now
an important ruin
Alliance
An agreement
made between
two or more
groups
or
nations
An
area
of
Mesoamerica
Sierra Madre
Oriental
A mountain range
to the east
of the
Plateau of Mexico
A
region
that extends
from southern
North America
to the
central part
of Central America
Moctezuma I
1390-1469
Aztec ruler
of the Aztec empire
who increased
its size and wealth
Moctezuma II
Aztec emperor
who was the
last to reign
the Aztec empire
before it fell
to Spain
Quetzalcoatl
One of the gods that the Aztec
people worshipped.
This name means “feathered serpent.”
Stele
An upright stone or slab
with an inscribed or
sculptured surface, used
as a monument or as a
commemorative tablet in
the face of a building
Machu Picchu
A city built by the Inca
people on a mountain
top in the Andes
Mountains in present
day Peru
cuzco
The capital
of the Inca
empire
Manco Capac
1200 founder of
the Inca
dynasty who
led the Inca to
settle in Cazco
Inca Viracocha
1435 Incan ruler who
fled his empire in
1438 because he
thought it would be
defeated by the
Chancas
Pachacuti
1391-1473
Incan emperor
and son of Inca
Viracocha who
defeated the
Chancas and
extended his
empire.
Topa Inca
1471 Inca ruler
and son of
Pachacuti who
doubled the
size of the
empire
Francisco Pizarro
1478-1541
Spanish
conquistador
who defeated
the Incas
Quipu
A knotted rope
used by the
Incas to keep
records
Andes Mountains
the world’s longest
mountain range
Located in
western
South America
and it is
home
of the Incas