adobe A heavy clay used in making sun-dried bricks; also refers to the bricks themselves.
annals Historical records.
bloodletting The act or practice of shedding blood.
chert A rock resembling flint.
chicha A South American and Central American beer made chiefly from fermented corn.
chinampa An artificial agricultural island reclaimed from a lake or pond by piling rich soil dredged from the bottom.
featherworker One who uses overlapping ornamental feathers to create clothing, blankets, or other decorative items.
fluted Having or marked by grooves.
irrigation The watering of land by artificial means to foster plant growth.
kiva A Pueblo Indian ceremonial structure that is usually round and partly underground.
mano A stone used as the upper millstone for grinding foods (as Indian corn) by hand in a metate.
mesa An isolated, relatively flat-topped natural elevation usually more extensive than a butte and less extensive than a plateau.
metate A stone with a concave upper surface used as the lower millstone for grinding grains and especially Indian corn.
monolithic Huge; massive.
mortar and pestle A sturdy vessel (mortar) in which material is pounded or rubbed with a usually club-shaped implement (pestle).
pit house An early dwelling structure of poles and earth built over a pit dug in the ground.
porter A person who carries burdens or cargo.
quipu A device made of a main cord with smaller varicolored cords attached and knotted and used by the ancient Inca in accounting.
tuber A short, fleshy, usually underground stem; examples include potatoes and taro.