Read the following text and fill in the gaps. Use the words from the boxes below.

build regional mythology based civilizations design people pyramids functions high

Ancient structures are products of ancient (1) __________ .

The Aztecs, people with a rich (2) __________ and culture, dominated in central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. Their capital was Tenochtitlan on the shore of Lake Texcoco – the site of modern-day Mexico City. They were related to the preceding cultures in the basin of Mexico such as the culture of Teotihuacan whose building style they adopted and adapted.

The Maya are (3) __________ of southern Mexico and northern Central America (Guatemala, Belize, western Honduras, and El Salvador) with some 3,000 years of history. Archaeological evidence shows the Maya started to (4) __________ ceremonial architecture approximately 3,000 years ago. The earliest monuments consisted of simple burial mounds, the precursors to the spectacular stepped pyramids from the Terminal Pre-classic period and beyond. These pyramids were (5) __________ on carved stone in order to create a stair-stepped (6) __________ . Many of these structures had a top platform upon which a smaller building was constructed, associated with a particular Maya deity (= a god). Maya pyramid-like structures were also constructed to serve as a place of interment (= burying of a dead body) for powerful rulers. Maya pyramidal structures had a great variety of forms and (7) __________ . That was the result of (8) __________ and periodical differences.

La Danta temple is also the name of the largest Maya temple. The temple is 79 metres (259 ft) (9) __________ , and with a volume of 2,800,000 cubic meters. It is one of the largest (10) __________ in the world.

located structures center long collapsed sides astronomical century stone

The Tarascan state was a precolumbian culture that was (11) __________ in the modern day Mexican state of Michoacán. The region is currently inhabited by the modern descendents of the P'urhépecha, normally spelled Purépecha in Spanish and in English. Tarascan architecture is noted for "T"-shaped step pyramids known as ‘yácatas’.

The Teotihuacan civilization, which was developing from around 300 BC to 500 AD, at its greatest extent included most of Mesoamerica. Teotihuacano culture (12) __________ around 550 and was followed by several large city-states such as Xochicalco (whose inhabitants were probably of Matlatzinca ethnicity), Cholula (whose inhabitants were probably Oto-Manguean), and later the ceremonial site of Tula (which has traditionally been claimed to have been built by Toltecs but which now is thought to have been founded by the Huastec culture).

The Zapotecs were one of the earliest Mesoamerican cultures and held power over the Valley of Oaxaca region from the early first millennium BCE to about the 14th (13) __________ .

Altavista. This (14) __________ and ceremonial center was the product of the Chalchihuite culture. Its occupation and development had a period of approximately 800 years (200—1000). This zone is considered an important archaeological (15) __________ because of the astonishing, accurate functions of the structures. The most famous are: The Moon Plaza, The Votive Pyramid, the Ladder of Gamio and The Labyrinth.

La Quemada. A lot of buildings were constructed on artificial terraces upon the sloping (16) __________ of a hill. The materials used here include (17) __________ blocks and clay. The most important (18) __________ are: The Hall of Columns, The Ball Court, The Votive Pyramid, and The Palace and the Barracks. On the highest part of the hill is The Fortress. This is a small pyramid and a platform, with a wall around that is more than 800m (19) __________ and up to six feet high. La Quemada was occupied from 800 to 1200. Their founders and occupants have not been identified with certainty but probably belonged to the Chalchihuites culture or to the neighbouring Malpaso culture.

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Now complete the definitions (1-8) with the words from the module.	\|	ANCIENT STRUCTURES

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