Glossary
Description of Words
- Altar
- Usually a round, flat stone, these may have pictures or hieroglyphs carved into them.
- Archaeology
- The study of the past. It often involves digging up the remains of ancient people.
- Caana
- The tallest set of buildings at Caracol; Caana in Maya means "sky place." It is made up of palaces and temples.
- Caches
- Something hidden, usually a pottery container with special things inside, such as jadeite or carved shell.
- Caracol
- An ancient Maya city; it is located just south of modern Belize, in the Yucatan in Mexico. Over 1,400 years ago (A.D. 650) the city of Caracol was the home of over 100,000 people.
- Excavation
- Digging to uncover the remains of buildings and artifacts.
- Hieroglyphs
- Also known as Glyphs; these are the Maya way of writing.
- Intensive Farming
- Farming that takes more work, but allows farmland to be used every year.
- Jadeite
- A hard green stone valued by the Maya. It was often made into jewelry.
- Katun
- 20 Maya years = 7,200 Kins(days)
- Kin
- A day.
- Maya
- People native to parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras. From archaeology we know that they were in this area by 3000 years ago (1000BC); they are still living today.
- Milpa
- Also called Swidden farming. A kind of farming in which the land is cleared by burning. Land cannot be used every year with this type of farming.
- Palace
- A building with many different rooms; these were probably the places where wealthy people and members of the royal family lived
- Santa Rita Corozal
- Ancient Maya capital city located in northern Belize. It reached it height approximately 500 years ago.
- Stela
- A tall stone, usually carved with pictures of rulers and hieroglyphs that tell about them.
- Temple
- A pyramid that usually has a building on top and was used primarily for religious reasons.
- Terraces
- Stone walls that hold soil for farming.
- Tun
- A Maya year = 18 Uinals or 360 Kins(days).
- Uinal
- A Maya month = 20 Kins (or 20 days).