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Aztec and Mayans
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| chinampas | floating gardens used as a method of farming |
| Cochineal | a beetle that is used to make a red dye |
| conquistador | the Spanish word for “conqueror” |
| Hernan Cortez | the leader of the Spanish expedition that encountered the Aztec civilization |
| hieroglyphs | the written language that uses pictures instead of words |
| Mesoamerica | a region of Mexico and Central America where ancient civilizations lived before Europeans arrived in America |
| Moctezuma II | the leader of the Aztecs when the Spanish arrived |
| polytheism | the belief in many gods |
| Quetzalcoatl | an Aztec god of creation |
| terraces | a method of farming in which flat areas of land are cut into the sides of hillsides |
| Tenochtitlan | Aztec civilization’s capital city |
| slash-and-burn | a method of farming used by the Mayans in order to kill trees in the jungle so they could make farmland |
| smallpox | a disease brought to America by the Europeans that killed many natives |
| Texcoco | name of the lake where the Aztec built their capital city |
| tribute | payment made to a government or ruler |
| Yucatan | name of the peninsula in Central America where the Mayans lived |