Olmec and Maya Vocabulary

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the region of Mexico and Central America where diverse civilizations developed in pre-Columbian times

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Mesoamerica

Front

a bank made of earth, or dirt, often used as fortification; a mound

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earthwork

Front

a person who studies the past by recovering artifacts and other things left behind by people long ago

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archaeologist

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a decorated coffin made of stone

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sarcophagus

Front

stone slabs that stand upright as monuments, usually as part of a building

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stelae

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corn

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maize

Front

a picture or symbol used to represent words, symbols, or sounds

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glyph

Front

to decode something that may be hard to understand

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decipher

Front

in the time before Columbus came to the Americas

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pre-Columbian

Front

a Spanish conqueror, especially one of the Spanish soldiers who conquered civilizations of the Americas in the 16th century

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conquistador