Glossary

 

 A  B  C D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y

To hear the pronunciation click on either Mac, PC or Unix

 ANAHUAC "The Land between the Waters" was the Aztecs' name for their land.  Mac PC Unix
 AZTLAN "The place of herons." The place the Aztecs believed they came from.  Mac PC Unix
 BARTERING Buying and selling through exchange without money.  
 CACAO BEANS Beans used nowadays for chocolate and cocoa. The Aztecs put a high value on them, and used them to make a special drink.  Mac PC Unix
 CALMECAC A school for nobles' sons.  Mac PC Unix
 CALPULLI Groups of families each with their own temple and school. Each calpulli had a head man who made decisions for the group.  Mac PC Unix
 CAUSEWAY A type of road built to cross water.  
 CHACMOOL A carved figurine used to hold offerings for a sacrifice.  Mac PC Unix
 CHALCHIUHTLICUE 'Our Lady of the Turquoise Skirt.' The goddesses of water.  Mac PC Unix
 CHICHEN ITZA A large town in the east of Mexico occupied by the Mayans.  Mac PC Unix
 CHICLE Chewing gum made from a sapodilla tree.  Mac PC Unix
 CHINAMPAS Highly fertile gardens created by the Aztecs in the shallow lakes around their settlements. They were made by piling up silt and rotting vegetation.  Mac PC Unix
 COCHINEL BEETLES Beetles used for making red dye.  Mac PC Unix

 Back to the Top

 CODEX

(plural CODICES)

Brightly painted manuscripts usually of religious or historical nature. Aztec codices were written on animal skins or bark paper and folded to make a book. The surviving Aztec codices provide us with a lot of historical evidence.  Mac PC Unix
 CORTES, HERNAN Leader of the Spanish army that conquered the Aztecs.  Mac PC Unix
 DIGGING STICK A simple, long, straight stick used to dig and plow the earth.  
 EAGLES Aztec's finest warriors.  
 EMPIRE A large area of conquered lands, including many different towns.  
 GREAT SPEAKER The ruler of the Aztecs.  
 HUITZILOPOCHTLI The tribal god of the Aztecs.  Mac PC Unix
 JAGUARS Aztec's finest warriors  Mac PC Unix
 JICAMA ROOTS Edible plants that are tasty when stewed.  Mac PC Unix
 LAKE TEXCOCO The lake where the Aztecs built their island city.  Mac PC Unix

 Back to the Top
 MACEHUALLI Originally meant 'the Chosen Ones'. It came to mean, however, all men and women.  Mac PC Unix
 MAGUEY A plant belonging to the cactus family.  Mac PC Unix
 MAXTLATL A cloth wrapped and tied around the hips, worn by Aztec men.  Mac PC Unix
 MICTLAN The underworld where most people went after death. Sacrificial victims and women who died at childbirth were believed to go to paradise.  Mac PC Unix
 MICTLANTECUHTLI 'The lord of the Realm of the Dead.' The god of the dead.  Mac PC Unix
 MOCTEZUMA One of the great Aztec rulers.  Mac PC Unix
 MYTHS Traditional stories about gods or heroes. They tell us how people think about the world and are sometimes based on the truth.  
 NAHUATL The Aztecs' language, which is related to North American Indian languages.  Mac PC Unix
 OBSIDIAN A dark, glassy, volcanic glass used for mirrors and sharp-tipped weapons.  Mac PC Unix
 OCARINA Wind instrument with mouthpiece and finger holes. Often egg-shaped.  Mac PC Unix
 OCTLI An alcoholic drink made from the sap of the maguey plant.  Mac PC Unix
 PATOLLI A gambling game that was played with pebbles and dried beans.  Mac PC Unix

 Back to the Top
 PICTOGRAM A symbol used to represent a thing, idea, or a word.  
 PLATEAU A large area of elevated, flat land.  
 POCHTECAS Merchants who brought treasures to the markets, such as: jewelry, feather capes, spices, and cacao beans.  Mac PC Unix
 PULQUE An alcoholic drink made from the sap of the maguey plant.  Mac PC Unix
 PYRAMID A building with a square base and sloping sides, coming to a point. The Aztecs used the pyramids as temples to worship their gods.  Mac PC Unix
 QUETZAL A brightly-colored, long-tailed bird whose feathers were used by the Aztecs in their art and dress.  Mac PC Unix
 QUETZALCOATL The 'good' Aztec god who was also called the Lord of Life and the Lord of the Winds.  Mac PC Unix
 SACRIFICE Killing an animal or person as an offering to the gods.  
 SQUASH A vegetable like a marrow or a gourd.  
 TELPOCHCALLI A local school.  Mac PC Unix
 TENOCHTITLAN 'Place of the prickly pear cactus fruit.' The capital of the Aztecs founded in 1325 and built on an island in Lake Texcoco.  Mac PC Unix

Back to the Top
 TLACHTLI The court where the sacred Aztec ball game, ulama, was played. Two teams tried to pass a ball through a hoop using their elbows, hips, and knees.  Mac PC Unix
 TLALOC 'He Who Makes Things Grow'; a very ancient rain and water god.  Mac PC Unix
 TLAMEME A person who carries things to places in the area.  Mac PC Unix
 TLAXCALLI An Aztec word for corn flat bread. They are still eaten today, but they are usually known by the the Spanish word 'tortilla'.A person who carries things to places in the area.  Mac PC Unix
 TRIBUTE A form of tax paid to the Aztec ruler by the people living in the towns throughout the Aztec Empire. The gifts were of food and goods and also extracted from the people they conquered.  
 TZOMPANTLI The skull-racks where the skulls of sacrificed victims were displayed.  Mac PC Unix
 XIPE TOTEC 'Our Flayed Lord.' The god of vegetation and springtime.  Mac PC Unix

 Back to the Top

Back to Home Page