Mesoamerican Civilizations and Cultures

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Aztecs

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(1200-1521) Around 1300 settled in the valley of Mexico. Defeated by the Spanish (Hernan Cortes).

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Ball Court

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Used for games and held deep religious significance.

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Causeway

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A raised road built across water or low ground.

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Chinampa

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A floating garden on which the Aztec grew crops.

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Cocoa Beans

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Bean used in making chocolate, discovered by the Mayans.

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Conquistador

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A Spanish conqueror of the Americas.

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Hieroglyphs

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Pictures and other written symbols that stand for ideas, things, or sounds.

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Human Sacrifice

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A person who is killed as part of a religious ritual, each of the Mesoamerican tribes did this.

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Inca

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A Native American civilization in western South America in the 15th and 16th centuries located in the Andes Mountains. Francisco Pizarro of Spain conquered the empire.

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Machu Picchu, Peru

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This "city in the clouds" was built 8,000 feet above sea level in the 15th century by Incan emperor Pachacutec. Abandoned by the Incas, the city remained unknown until it was rediscovered by an explorer in 1911.