The Americas Vocabulary

the dried, partly fermented fatty seeds of a South American evergreen tree that are used in making cocoa, chocolate, and cocoa butter

• quinoa

• chinampa

• adobe

• cacao

an herb that is grown for its starchy seeds which are used as food or ground into flour

• quinoa

• chinampa

• adobe

• cacao

a type of clay used as building material, typically in the form of sun-dried bricks

• quinoa

• chinampa

• adobe

• quarry

also called a floating garden, it is a small, stationary, artificial island built on a freshwater lake for agricultural purposes

• quinoa

• chinampa

• terrace farming

• quarry

a method of farming in which “steps” are built into the slopes of hills and mountains

• hogan

• chinampa

• terrace farming

• quarry

a traditional Navajo hut of logs and earth

• hogan

• chinampa

• terrace farming

• quarry

a cavity in the ground, particularly in limestone bedrock, caused by water erosion and providing a route for surface water to disappear underground

• hogan

• chinampa

• sinkhole

• quarry

ancient Mayan writing system that uses logograms (small pictures) that represented words

• hogan

• glyph

• Codex

• quarry

a book where Aztecs kept historical records

• hogan

• glyph

• Codex

• quarry

the leaders in the Spanish conquest of America, especially of Mexico and Peru, in the 16th century

• conquistadors

• glyphs

• Codex

• quarry