Glossary

Audiencia Spanish imperial administrative unit for political, judicial, and fiscal ends.

CapiUa (English, chapel). Usually associated with a church complex or with a section of a community.

Casa de Cultura Regional museum of archaeology, history, and contemporary art and handicrafts.

Ciudadela (English, citadel). Large building in Mexico City built in the late eighteenth century to house a state monopoly on tobacco. Later used for other activities.

Classic period period from CE 300 to 900; subdivided into Early (c. CE 300-600), and Late (c. CE 600-900).

Colonial period Culture period from c. CE 1521 to 1820. Precise starting date varies from region to region. May be subdivided into Early (c. CE 1521-1620), Middle (c. CE 1621-1720), and Late (c. CE 1721-1820).

Convent (Spanish, convento). Meaning varies by context.

Residential section of a church or Mission complex housing male regular or secular clergy. Also refers to the complex in which cloistered nuns live (nunnery).

Hacienda Large and often ostentatious rural residential estate associated with animal husbandry and agricultural activities. Generally, late appearance in central Mexico but may be earlier in northern regions.

Independence period Also known as Republican period. Culture period from CE 1821 to the present.

Indios principales Indigenous community leaders.

Palaces Large, luxurious elite residential structures of the Colonial period and the nineteenth century, particularly in the Historic Center of Mexico City, are often referred to as palaces even though they had no direct governmental functions. Postclassic period Preconquest indigenous culture period from c. CE 900 to c. CE 1519-1520. presidios Fortified sites usually in the northern borderlands, most dating from the eighteenth century. ranch (Spanish, rancho). Small rural residential complex associated with animal husbandry and agricultural activities. Occurs in all three Colonial periods and during the Independence period where small ranches were associated with large haciendas.