abstract: A way of presenting something that differs from its realistic form, sometimes to express a feeling or idea.

aesthetic: Relating to beauty and to what is beautiful.

anthropology: The study of the culture and history of a group of people.

arboreal: Animals that spend most of their time in trees.

artifacts: Objects that give us information about another culture or time.

archaeology: The scientific study of past human lives and activities through material objects.

artisan: Someone trained in a particular skill or craft.

Aves: Birds; the class of animals that have wings and feathers, are warm-blooded, and lay eggs.

Aztec: A Nahuatl-speaking northern Mexican tribe that founded Tenochtitlan in the Valley of Mexico. During the 15th and 16th centuries, they ruled an empire that reached across central and southern Mexico. Also called the Mexica.

backstrap loom: A hand loom used for weaving cloth. One end of the loom is attached to a tree or post, the other is tied around the weaver's back.

bibliography: A list of books and other source materials about a particular subject or issue of interest.

caiman: An alligator-like animal that lives in South and Central America.

call number: Number assigned to a library book, indicating the proper location of that book on the library's shelves.

camelid: A camel-like animal with no hump. The llama, vicuna, guanaco, and the alpaca are all species of camelids.

camouflage: The way something blends in with its surroundings in order to become less noticeable.

Carnival: A celebration that takes place in mid-February, before Lent, in which people feast, hold parades, and dress in costume.

ceramic: An object made from a non-metallic mineral like clay and hardened by firing at a high temperature.

circa: A word used to define dates that are approximate: for example, "born circa 1900" is used in place of an exact date when more specific information is not available.

conquistador: A Spanish word meaning someone who conquers other people.

Cortes, Hernan: The man who who led the conquest of Mexico for the Spanish in 1519.

curator: Someone who is in charge of collecting, conserving, and interpreting objects for exhibit at a museum, zoo, or other place of exhibition.

duality: The condition of one thing having two sides, parts, or faces.

emboss: To create raised surfaces on an object.

embroider: To decorate with needlework.

excavate: To dig something up.

exterior: Outside.

facade: The front of a building.

feline: Relating to or resembling a cat

furnishings: Items used to decorate an interior space and make it comfortable, including furniture, tableware, linens, and decorative objects.

fused: Joined.

galleries: Rooms of a museum where artwork or artifacts are displayed.

glyph: A symbolic figure or character, usually a picture, that gives information.

guiro: A musical instrument made from a hollow piece of wood or gourd.

habitat: The natural home of a plant or animal.

highlands: Land that is hilly or mountainous .

Hispanic: Things or people that come from Spain or Spanish-speaking Latin America.

Huastec: A civilization that lived in northern Mexico around the tenth century A.D.

Inca: Pre-columbian civilization that became especially powerful in the 1400's A.D., in the area that is now Peru.

industrialism: The social and economic concept used to identify a society based on industry or technology versus one based on farming.

interior: Inside.

landmark: A monument or structure of historic importance.

Lienzo (pronounced "lee-en-zo"): A large sheet of woven cloth that combines information about families, places, and history on a single surface.

mano: Part of a tool used for grinding corn and other grains. It is rolled across the metate to grind the grain.

mantle: A rectangular piece of cloth used to cover or wrap the body. The ancient Paracas of Peru wrapped their dead in mantles called mummy bundlesand then buried them.

mariachis: Wandering musicians in the villages and towns of Latin America.

marimba: A musical instrument, similar to a xylophone, that is often played in Latin American music.

maritime: Having to do with sailing and the sea.

marsh: An area of low, wet ground, usually with reeds and grasses growing in it.

Maya (pronounced, "My-a"): A Mesoamerican civilization that reached from southern Mexico, through Guatemala, and into Belize. The Maya kingdom emerged around 1000 B.C. and lasted until around 1200 A.D.

Mesoamerica: A geographical and cultural region that at the time of the Spanish conquest included much of what is now southern Mexico and Central America.

metate: The lower part of a tool used for grinding corn and other grains. The grain sits on the metate, and is ground by the mano rolling over it.

mimic: A person or animal that imitates another; or an animal that closely resembles another, usually poisonous, animal. Predators stay away from mimics, thinking they are the poisonous animals they look like.

Mixtec (pronounced "Mish-tek") : An Indian tribe native to the part of Mexico that is now the state of Oaxaca.

mola: A textile made by sewing layers of colored cloth together to form patterns.

Montezuma (sometimes speled "Moctezuma"): The ninth and last Aztec emperor (1466-1520) who was crowned in 1502, becoming the leader of an empire which included much of present-day Mexico and Central America. Montezuma died while he was imprisoned by the Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortes, whose troops had reached Mexico in 1519.

mummy bundle: The tightly-wrapped layers of cloth in which the ancient people of Paracas buried their dead. The tight wrapping and dry sands of the region prevented the bodies from decaying and they became mummies. The cloths used for this are sometimes called mantles.

mural: A very large painting, usually painted on a wall.

Nasca: Pre-Incan Peruvian culture that flourished between 200 B.C. and 400 A.D.

Naturalistic: A realistic representation based on observation.

Nahuatl: An ancient language centered in the Valley of Mexico. The language of the Aztec at the time of the Spanish conquest. It became the common language of Mesoamerica and is still spoken today.

necropolis: A cemetery or other place where many bodies are buried in an elaborate fashion. The word comes from two Greek words: necro ("dead") + polis ("city").

New World: A European name for North, Central and South America. After Europeans learned of the New World, they began calling Europe, Africa, and Asia the Old World.

oculate: Relating to the the eye.

Paracas: A civilization that flourished on the South Coast of Peru from about 700 B.C. to 200 A.D.

polychrome: Having many colors.

predators: Animals that kill other animals for food.

prey: Animals that are killed and eaten by other animals.

pre-Columbian: Of the period in the history of the Americas before Columbus arrived in 1492 A.D.

quetzal: A Latin American bird with a long, feathered tail.

Quetzalcoatl: An Aztec god, represented by a feathered serpent.

reptile: One of the class of animals that are cold-blooded and covered with scales. Most reptiles lay eggs.

rootlet: A small root; the part of a plant that grows down into the ground to absorb water and minerals, as well as to hold the plant in the ground.

ruins: The remains of something that has become partly or mostly destroyed.

skeleton: A hard framework, internal or external, supporting or protecting the soft tissues and organs of a human, animal or plant.

slip: A mixture of clay and water used to paint the surface of ceramic objects.

snipe: A type of shore bird.

solitary: Living or being alone.

stela: An upright inscribed slab or pillar serving as a monument or grave marker.

sternum: The breastbone of an animal.

structure: The way in which the parts of a thing are arranged or put together to form the whole.

stylet: A long, thin, hollow, needle-like formation.

supernatural: Something that cannot be explained by the laws of nature; for example, gods and ghosts.

Tenochtitlan: The capital of the Aztec empire, conquered by Cortes. Mexico City now stands on the previous site of Tenochtitlan.

textile: Cloth made by weaving.

tortilla: A flat, round type of bread made from flour or cornmeal.

tract: An area of land.

tribute: Something done or created to show thanks or respect

venom: Poisonous fluid produced by certain snakes, spiders and insects and injected by a bite or sting.

vertebrate: An animal that has a backbone.