The chosen women who were trained to serve in the Inca temples or were given to warriors and nobles as second wives.
Acllahuasi:
The house of the chosen women in Cuzco. A special building where the women were educated and lived.
Adobe:
A light brick made of mud and dried in the sun.
Alpaca:
An animal similar to a llama, with long silky hair.
Ayllu:
A small kin group, the oldest social group in Peruvian society.
Basalt:
A dark volcanic rock used for building.
Chullpa:
A large tower built by pre-Inca tribes. It was used for burying their nobility.
Conquistador:
The name given to the Spanish conquerors of Mexico and Peru in the 16th century.
Corbel:
Projecting timber used to support a weight e.g. ceilings.
Coya:
The royal wife of the Inca emperor and mother of the successor son.
Curaca:
An administrative official serving the Inca Empire.
Inca:
The Inca people were originally just a few families who lived around Cuzco. The term was later used to refer to people who were privileged in the Inca Empire, and is sometimes used to mean any of the Indian people who were part of that empire. The Inca people are always referred to in the singular.
Mamacuna:
Women specially picked from the acllacuna (chosen women) to serve in the temples as `Virgins of the Sun.'
Petroglyph:
A rock carving.
Quechua:
A race of Indians from who the Inca were descended and who still inhabit the Andean region in Peru. Quechua is also the name given to the language of the Inca.
Quipu:
A system of recording statistical information about the Inca Empire on knotted cords.
Sinchi:
A local chief leading a small social unit (ayllu).
Sluice:
A sliding gate which controls the volume of water moving from one area to another. Sluice gates were used by the Inca in the irrigation of their fields.
Topo:
A measurement of land, about one acre.
Trapezoid:
A four-sided figure with none of its sides parallel. The Inca often used stones of this shape to build with.
