Glossary

Altepetl Pronounced ahlTAYpeht, a Nahuatl (Aztec) word meaning ‘water-hill’ which signified the city-state in the Aztec empire.

Animatism A belief that inanimate things (objects, landscape features, natural phenomena) are imbued with a living spirit. This concept was fundamental to the belief systems of the peoples of ancient Mesoamerica.

Aztec Empire The polity forged by the Aztecs of Tenochtitlan (which later became Mexico City) and its allies. At its height, at the time of the European intrusion into Mexico in AD 1519, it drew wealth from city-states from much of the area covered by modern Mexico.

Calpulli A land-holding social unit in Aztec society of Postclassic Mesoamerica. Each calpulli consisted of families with shared rights to farmland, and a local civic-ceremonial focus consisting of an administrative headquarters (usually the palace of the local lord) where policy matters would be discussed and tribute accumulated, a shrine, a ‘young men’s house’ (telpochcalli) to coordinate training for military and public service. Mesoamerica An archaeological culture area consisting of much of the extent of modern Mexico, all of Guatemala and Belize, and parts of Honduras and El Salvador. It is one of the six areas in the world where civilization and state-level political organization arose independently.

Quetzalcoatl Pronounced KETZahlCOHaht, a Nahuatl (Aztec) word meaning ‘feathered serpent’ and referring to an important deity in Mesoamerica from the Olmec culture of the Formative period through the Late Postclassic period. Quetzalcoatl was a bringer of life to humankind, and patron of the fine arts. Templo Mayor The Great Temple of the Aztecs in their main capital, Tenochtitlan. Recent excavations have revealed seven construction stages, and these remains and associated buildings form an archaeological park in the heart of Mexico City.