Architecture & Sites
Circular, subterranean ceremonial rooms found at Mesa Verde.
What are Kivas
Civilization dating from 900–200 BCE centered at Chavín de Huántar.
What is the Chavín civilization?
Sacred mountain spirits in Andean belief.
What are apus?
Metalworking technique used to create The Maize Cob.
What is repoussé?
An image or representation of a person, animal, or thing.
What is an effigy?
This Inca site was built using ashlar masonry and advanced drainage.
What is Machu Picchu
Two civilizations that coexisted from 1400–1521 CE.
What are the Inca and Aztec?
The Inca sun god and divine ancestor of rulers.
Who is Inti?
European influence seen in Native American art after contact.
What is the use of European materials?
Massive earthen mound shaped like a snake in Ohio.
What is the Great Serpent Mound?
Roofing system found at Mesa Verde cliff dwellings.
what is a comb roof
The culture associated with the Great Serpent Mound.
What is the Fort Ancient Culture?
Cosmic axis connecting the upper, middle, and lower worlds.
What is an axis Mundi?
Geometric designs on Incan royal tunics.
What are t’oqapu?
Object believed to be in the mouth of the serpent mound.
What is an egg?
The type of vault used in Structure 40 at Yaxchilán.
what is a corbeled vault
The civilization that claimed descent from the sun god Inti.
Who are the Inca?
The Chavín sculpture believed to function as an axis mundi.
What is the Lanzón Stone?
Miniature gold and silver figurines found at an Inca sacred site.
What are offerings from Qorikancha?
Olmec-style mask buried at Templo Mayor suggests this.
What is Aztec reverence for earlier cultures and trade networks?
The Aztec sacred temple located in the heart of Tenochtitlan.
what is a Templo Mayor
The earliest Mesoamerican culture revered by later civilizations.
Who are the Olmec?
The purpose of the Intihuatana Stone at Machu Picchu.
What is tracking the sun to determine ritual and agricultural dates?
Thick black lines, ovoid shapes, and U-forms characterize this style.
What is Formalize style?
The Great Serpent Mound was most likely used for this purpose.
What is ceremonial or cosmological symbolism?