John Lee
Indigenous Americas Vocabulary
Chavín de Huántar
1. Sunken relief-technique of relief sculpture in which figures or images are carved in low relief,
but set within a sunken area, so that the relief never rises beyond the original flat surface
2. Lanzón-granite stela associated with the Chavín culture. Lanzon translates to “great spear”
3. Contour Rivalry-parts of an image can be visually interpreted in multiple ways.
4. Stela-standing stone slab used in the ancient world primarily as a grave marker but also for
dedication, commemoration, and demarcation.
5. Chavín-an extinct, prehistoric civilization, named for Chavín de Huantar, the principal
archaeological site at which its artifacts have been found.
Mesa Verde cliff dwellings
1. Kiva-chamber, built wholly or partly underground, used by male Pueblo Indians for religious
rites.
2. Adobe-kind of clay used as a building material, typically in the form of sun-dried bricks.
3. Ancestral puebloans-agriculturalists who lived across the northern Southwest from the
beginnings of cultivation until the coming of the Spanish explorers in A.D. 1540
4. Tableland-area of flat, relatively level high ground.
5. Mesa verde-green table
Yaxchilán
1. Roof comb- wall rising from the center ridge of a building to give the appearance of greater
height
2. Lintel—A horizontal beam used to span an opening
3. Bloodletting-Ceremony which consists of a royal bleeding themselves
4. Shield jaguar-Itzamnaaj Bʼalam II was a Maya king who ruled in Yaxchilan from 681 until he died
in the year 742.
5. Lady Xoc-also known as Kʼabʼal Xook was a Maya Queen consort of Yaxchilan and is considered
to have been one of the most powerful and prominent women in Maya civilization. She was the
principal wife and aunt of King Itzamnaaj Bʼalam II, who ruled the prominent kingdom of
Yaxchilan from AD 681 to 742.
Great Serpent Mound
1. Great Serpent Mound-raised pile of earth built in the shape of a stylized animal, symbol, human,
or other figure and generally containing one or more human burials
2. Mississippianmound-building Native American civilization archeologists date from about 800 CE
to 1600 CE, varying regionally.
3. Halley's Comet- also known as Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period
comet visible from Earth every 75–76 years.
4. Adena-Pre-Columbian Native American culture that existed from 1000 to 200 BC
5. Bluff-steep cliff, bank, or promontory.
Templo Mayor (Main Temple)
1. Chacmool: a Mayan figure that is half-sitting and half—lying on his back
2. Coyolxauhqui: an Aztec goddess who died when she tried to assassinate her mother, Coatlicue
John Lee
3. Huitzilopochtli: an Aztec god of the sun and war; sometimes represented as an eagle or as a
hummingbird
4. Tlaloc: ancient American god who was highly revered; associated with rain, agriculture, and war
5. Relief sculpture: a sculpture that projects from a flat background
Ruler’s feather headdress (probably of Motecuhzoma II).
1. Motecuhzoma II-ninth tlatoani or ruler of Tenochtitlán, reigning from 1502 to 1520
2. Quetzal-bird in the trogon family, found in Chiapas, Mexico to western Panama, known for its
colorful plumage.
3. Hernán Cortés- Spanish Conquistador who discovered the Aztec Empire
4. Ferdinand II-Archduke of Further Austria was ruler of Further Austria including Tirol. He reigned
from 25 July 1564 to 24 January 1595.
5. Charles V-Holy Roman Emperor, King of Germany, King of Italy, King of Spain, King of the Indies,
Lord of the Habsburg Netherlands, and head of the House of Austria
City of Cusco, including Qorikancha (Inka main temple), Santo Domingo (Spanish colonial convent), and
Walls at Saqsa Waman (Sacsayhuaman)
1. Ashlar masonry-carefully cut and grooved stones that support a building without the use of
concrete or other kinds of masonry
2. Coricancha-Golden Enclosure
3. Inca-also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire, was the largest empire in preColumbian America. Its political and administrative structure is considered by most scholars to
have been the most developed in the Americas before Columbus' arrival.
4. Courses- continuous row of any masonry unit such as bricks, stone, shingles, tiles, etc.
5. Apse- semicircular or polygonal recess in a church, arched or with a domed roof, typically at the
eastern end, and usually containing the altar.
Maize cobs
1. Repoussé: (French, meaning “to push back”) a type of metal relief sculpture in which the back
side of a plate is hammered to form a raised relief on the front
2. Gilt metals- Gilt objects are created by using various karats of gold leaf, metal leaf (primarily
bronze), or various types of “gold” paint.
3. Chicha-maize beer
4. Maize-corn
5. Golden Garden- garden dedicated to the Sun God Inti. The Inca brought many offerings to their
mighty deity and all objects in the
City of Machu Picchu
1. Vertical archipelago-the native Andean agricultural economic model of accessing and
distributing resources.
2. Hiram Bingham III-American academic, explorer and politician. He made public the existence of
the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in 1911 with the guidance of local indigenous farmers.
3. Ashlar masonry-carefully cut and grooved stones that support a building without the use of
concrete or other kinds of masonry
4. Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui-ninth Sapa Inca of the Kingdom of Cusco which he transformed into the
Inca Empire. Believed to be responsible for the building of Macau Picchu
5. Yanaconas-retainers
All-T’oqapu tunic
John Lee
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
T’oqapu-small rectangular shapes in an Inkan garment
Qompi-finest cloth
Acllas-chosen women
Camac-Spirit existence
Sapa inka-Inka leader
Bandolier bag
1. Aazhooningwa'on-“worn across the shoulder”
2. Lenape-an indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in Canada and the
United States.
3. Quillwork-form of textile embellishment traditionally practiced by Native Americans that
employs the quills of porcupines as an aesthetic element.
4. Bandolier-shoulder-belt with loops or pockets for cartridges.
5. The Indian Removal Act-signed into law on May 28, 1830 by United States President Andrew
Jackson. The law authorized the president to negotiate with southern Native American tribes for
their removal to federal territory west of the Mississippi River in exchange for white settlement
of their ancestral lands.
Transformation mask
1. Transformation mask-type of mask used by indigenous people of the Northwest Coast and
Alaska in ritual dances. These masks usually depict an outer, animal visage, which the performer
can open by pulling a string to reveal an inner, human face carved in wood.
2. Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw-Also known as Kwakiutl are Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast
3. Numayn-group of fellows of the same kind
4. Trickster-god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who exhibits a great
degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherwise disobey normal
rules and conventional behavior
5. Thunderbird (Kwankwanxwalige’)-mythical ancestor of the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw
Painted elk hide
1. Shoshone-North American tribe living chiefly in Wyoming, Idaho, and Nevada who speak the
Uto-Aztecan language of the Shoshone.
2. Tepee- portable conical tent made of skins, cloth, or canvas on a frame of poles, used by North
American Indians of the Plains and Great Lakes regions.
3. Pow Wows-ceremonial gatherings
4. Buffalo-heavily built wild ox with backswept horns, found mainly in the Old World tropics.
5. Petroglyphs-rock engravings
Black-on-black ceramic vessel
1. Pueblo-communities of Native Americans, both in the present and in ancient times.
2. Olla-rounded pot
3. Art Deco- the predominant decorative art style of the 1920s and 1930s, characterized by precise
and boldly delineated geometric shapes and strong colors and used most notably in household
objects and in architecture.
4. San Ildefonso-census-designated place in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, and a federally
recognized tribe, established c. 1300 C.E.
5. Slip- thin solution of clay and water
John Lee