Ch.9 and 16 Americas

1. Ch.9 and 16Americas

2. Jaquar The animal that appears in many olmec carvings, sometimes in a half-human, half-animal form.

3. San Lorenzo The Oldest known site of an Olmec community, which has giant stone monuments set among earthen structures.

4. Andes Mts. The rugged mountains that stretch about 4500 miles down the western edge of South america.

5. Mesoamerica The area from central mexico south to northern honduras; site of the americas’ earliest complex societies

6. Monte Alban The first city in the americas, it included a paved plaza, pyramids, temples, palaces, and an observatory.

7. Zapotec City builders in the oaxaca Valley, mexico, who developed hieroglyphic writing and a calendar system.

8. Olmec The mesoamerican culture that sculpted colossal heads and helf ritual ball games.

9. Triple Alliance A union of 3 city-states, including tenochtitlan, that built a huge empire by the early 1500’s.

10. Quetzalcoatl The feathered serpent; a god of many ancient mexican peoples, who was expected to usher in a reign of peace.

11. Glyph A hieroglyphic symbol in the maya writing system.

12. Tikal A city-state ruled by a maya god-king in northern guatemala.

13. Montezuma II The aztec emperor 915020 who demanded greater tributes and sacrifices, and under whom the empire weakened.

14. Pachacuti The inca ruler (1438) who led the inca to conquer all of peru and some neighboring lands.

15. Mita The incan labor tribute that required all able-bodied citizens to work for the state a number of days a year.

16. Codex A bark-paper book in which the mayarecored important historical events.

17. PopolVuh A book that recounts the highland maya’s version of the story of creation.

18. Obsidian The green or black volcanic glass found in the valley of mexico and once used to make razor-sharp weapons.

19. Ayllu An extended family group among the incas, which cooperated to perform tasks too big for a single family.