Geography and Politics
This civilization had no central controlling government, but was instead made up of independent city-states.
Who are the Maya?
These "floating gardens" were constructed by Mesoamericans using willow trees to secure rectangular plots of lake mud and soil
What are Chinampas?
This famous Inca site's name translates from Quechua as "Old Peak" or "Old Mountain."
What is Machu Picchu?
Its the time period considered to be the Classic period of the Maya civilization.
What is 200 to 900 CE?
This 2000 Disney film is listed as the mainstream cultural reference for the Inca civilization.
What is The Emperor's New Groove?
The Mexica rose to power not alone, but by forming this political pact with the city-states of Texcoco and Tlacopan in 1428.
What is the Triple Alliance?
In the harsh Altiplano, the Inca used this system of raised crop beds surrounded by water channels to absorb solar heat by day and radiate it at night to prevent freezing.
What is Waru Waru?
Means mouth of the Itzales well
What is Chichén Itzá?
This Spanish Franciscan friar burned almost all Mayan books (codices) because he believed their hieroglyphics and icons were the work of the devil.
Who is Diego de Landa?
Because they lacked a written alphabet, the Inca used these knotted cords to record census figures, tax accounting, and even history.
What are Quipus?
Considered the "Navel of the World," this city was the center from which the four quarters (suyus) of the Inca empire radiated.
What is Cusco?
This sustainable Maya farming cycle spans approximately 20 years, moving from forest to field, to orchard, and back to forest regeneration.
What is the Milpa cycle?
This massive dike, built by the King of Texcoco after a flood in 1449, was 16km long and separated the fresh water of the Mexico Lagoon from the salty water of Lake Texcoco.
What is the Albarradón of Nezahualcóyotl?
The fall of the Mexica is often attributed to the invasion of Hernan Cortez and the "betrayal" by this indigenous group.
Who are the Tlaxcalans?
In the Popol Vuh, the Hero Twins Hunahpú and Xbalanque trick their grandmother into thinking they are farming by using this animal to warn them when she is approaching.
What is a Turtle Dove?
This geological feature of the Yucatán Peninsula meant rain drained quickly through porous rock, leaving the Maya heartland without permanent rivers and reinforcing their decentralized political structure.
What is a karst limestone plain? or a similar description of the porous bedrock.
To solve the problem of waterlogging and erosion on steep slopes, Inca terraces were designed with internal layers of these two materials to act as a natural drainage system.
What are gravel and sand?
Standing 212 feet high, Temple IV is the tallest structure at Tikal and is also known by this reptilian name.
What is the Temple of the Two-Headed Snake?
According to the book "Broken spears" Hernan Cortes was believed to be this Mesoamerican deity by the Mexica.
Who is Quetzalcoatl?
This MCU anti-hero is a mainstream cultural reference for the Maya civilization.
Who is Namor?
Unlike the dispersed Maya, the Mexica geography favored centralization because their capital was located in this highly navigable basin.
What is the Basin of Mexico (or Lake Texcoco)?
In the "Mesoamerican Trilogy," this specific crop is planted early to provide shade for the soil, reducing evaporation and suppressing unwanted plant growth.
What is Squash?
Meaning "Satisfied Falcon," this fortress in Cusco features massive zigzag walls and required 20,000 workers under the mita system to build.
What is Sacsayhuamán?
his location in Mexico City is known as the site of three tragedies: the fall of the Mexica in 1521, a massacre in 1968, and an earthquake in 1985.
What is Tlatelolco (or the Plaza of the Three Cultures)?
The name Tenochtitlán is derived from the legend of this god, who told the Mexica to look for an eagle perched on a cactus growing from Copil´s heart.
Who is Huitzilopochtil?