THE AMERICAS: VOCABULARY LIST

1. Quipu: group of knotted strings used by the Incas to record information 

                                                                             

2.Great Plains: mostly flat and grassy region of western North America      

 

3. Maize: corn

 

4. Hieroglyphics: the signs and symbols that made up the Mayan writing  system 

 

5. Kiva: round room used by the Pueblo people for religious ceremonies

 

6. Tenochtitlan: capital city of the Aztecs

 

7. Terraces: step-like ledges cut into mountains to make land suitable for farming

 

8. Cuzco: the capital city of the Incan Empire, located in present-day Peru

 

9. Anasazi: one of the ancient Native American peoples of the Southwest

 

10. Pueblo: Native American stone or adobe dwelling, part of a cluster of dwellings built close together

 

11. Maya: a people who established a great civilization in Middle America                                     

 

12. Census: official count of people in a certain place at a certain time                      

 

13. Mound Builders: Native American groups who built earthen mounds

 

14. Slash and Burn: farming technique where trees are cut down and burned to clear and fertilize the land

 

15. Aztec: a people who lived in the Valley of Mexico

 

16. Andes: a mountain chain of western South America