Chapter 9 Key Terms

quipu	The Inca word for an elaborate knotted string device used by the Inca and other peoples in Peru for record keeping.
binary-coded	A system of information storage or processing in two states (such as 0 and 1). Computers process immense amounts of information through the manipulation of such sequences.
lomas	(Spanish) Vegetation that is supported by fog in otherwise arid environments.
shicra	The Inca word for meshed bags containing rocks, used as fill in the construction of ancient Andean structures.
coprolite	Fossilized feces.
El Niño	(Spanish) A warm-water countercurrent that periodically appears off the Peruvian coast, usually soon after Christmas, and alters the normal patterns of water temperature, flow, and salinity.
oca	A South American wood sorrel (Oxalis sp.) that is cultivated for its edible tuber.
quinoa	A pigweed (Chenopodium quinoa) of the high Andes. Seeds of the plant were ground and used as food in the past and still are today.
cayman	A tropical South American alligator.
shaman	An anthropological term for a spiritualist, curer, or seer.
repoussé	(French) The process of forming a raised design on a thin sheet of metal by placing it over a mold and hammering it in place.
huaca	(Quechua) An Andean word for pyramid.
mit'a system	A means of tribute in prehispanic Andean South America that involved the use of conscripted laborers to complete discrete organizational tasks.
stirrup spout	A distinctive curving spout on pottery vessels that is shaped like the stirrup of a saddle, characteristic of Moche pottery.
lost wax casting	A technique for casting metal in which a sand or clay casing is formed around a wax sculpture; molten metal is poured into the casing, melting the wax. The cooling metal takes on the shape of the "lost" wax sculpture preserved on the casing.
polychrome	Multicolored; describing pottery that has been decorated with three or more colors.
geoglyph	Ground markings, such as the lines and life-form representations found in the Nazca desert.
scepter	A staff or baton borne by a ruler as an emblem of his/her position and authority.
altiplano	(Spanish) The high-altitude plain between the eastern and western ridges of the Andes in Peru.
coca	A native Andean shrub whose dried leaves are chewed as stimulants.
split inheritance	An Andean practice by which the successor to the throne inherited only the office of the dead ruler; his junior kinsmen received the lands, palace, and personal wealth of the dead ruler.
frieze	A decorative band or feature, commonly ornamented with sculpture, usually near the top of a wall.
archaeoastronomy	The study of ancient alignments and other aspects of the archaeological record and their relationship to ancient astronomical knowledge and events.
tampu	A roadside lodging and storage place (principally for food, fodder, firewood, and other commodities) along the Inca road system. Tampus were placed roughly one day's walk apart.
waranqa	A subdivision of the Inca empire that was used for administrative purposes, consisting of 1000 taxpayers.
mitmaq	A system of colonization used by the Inca to minimize provincial rebellion by moving people around to break up dissident groups.
chicha	A South American beer made from maize.