1. By, Raymond Nguyen and Yazan Alhassan

2.  Empire-A political system in which people or lands are controlled by one ruler.  Chinampas- Island gardens that grow food or flowers.  Conquistador- Spanish word for conqueror.

3.  Observatories- Buildings from which people could study the sky.  Terrace Farming- A type of farming developed first by the Inca people. This method of farming uses “steps”, called that are built into the side of a mountain or hill. On each step, various crops are planted, and when it rains, instead of washing away all of the nutrients in the soil, the nutrients are carried down to the next level.

4.  Isthmus- A thin connecting strip of land.

5.  Yucatan Peninsula- Located in southeastern Mexico. It separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of The Mexico. Yucatan Peninsula helps them by when people try to invade they can see them.  The Andes Mountains helped the Mesoamerican civilizations as protection and when other civilizations try to invade they could see them. Its located on South Americas west coast and extends the full length of the continent.

6.  Chinampas- Island Gardens that are used to grow food or flowers  Isthmus- A thin connecting strip of land.  Seas/Oceans- Seas and Oceans can provide water, food, protection, irrigation, transportation, and also it can also make harsher conditions for invaders. One of the seas is the Caribbean Sea and the 2 oceans are the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Seas/Oceans- Seas and Oceans can provide water, food, protection, irrigation, transportation, and also it can also make harsher conditions for invaders.

7.  Moctezuma 1- He is the emperor of the Aztecs. During his reign there was the first connection between the Europeans and the Incans. He was killed when Conquistador Hernan Cortez and his men fought to escape from the Aztec capitol, Tenochtitlan.  Pacal- He was the king during the Mayan Classic Age at 12 year olds. He had a temple that he had built that was used to record his achievements.

8.  Pachacuti- The Incan ruler in the mid 1400s that began to expand the territory.  Atahualpa- The last Incan emperor. He tried to kick out Spanish conquistadors. He is captured and killed by Francisco Pizarro.  Francisco Pizarro- Spanish Conquistador who conquered the Incan Empire.

9.  Olmec- Invented calendar, developed writing system.  Mayan- Made the first 365 day calendar by watching the stars, first people to use “zero” in math, Developed glyph writing using symbols. Mayan Calendar  Olmec  Writing  System

10.  Aztec- First people to have doctors, dentists, and engineers. They developed an accurate calendar. They also established schools.  Incas- They kept records, made quipu (device used for record keeping), made first counting tool; calculator. Quipa

11.  Olmec- They disappeared.  Mayan-They disappeared.  Aztec- They fought against Hernan Cortez and Spanish conquistadors and ended up loosing.  Inca- They fought with Francisco Pizarro’s army and ended up loosing. They got European diseases from his army which helped weaken the Incas and making there army weaker.