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Las Casas, Bartolomé de

(Encyclopedia)Las Casas, Bartolomé de bärtōlōmāˈ dā läs käˈsäs [key], 1474–1566, Spanish missionary and historian, called the apostle of the Indies. He went to Hispaniola with his father in 1502, and e...

Tenochtitlán

(Encyclopedia)Tenochtitlán tānōchtētlänˈ [key], ancient city in the central valley of Mexico. The capital of the Aztec, it was founded (c.a.d. 1345) on a marshy island in Lake Texcoco. It was a flourishing ci...

Palenque

(Encyclopedia)Palenque pälāngˈkĕ [key], ancient city of the Maya in Chiapas, S Mexico, in the Usumacinta Valley. Its architectural elegance, adapted to tropical and topographical conditions, was a high point in...

civilization

(Encyclopedia)civilization, culture with a relatively high degree of elaboration and technical development. The term civilization also designates that complex of cultural elements that first appeared in human histo...

Copán

(Encyclopedia)Copán kōpänˈ [key], ruined city of the Maya, W Honduras, in a small river valley of the same name. Copán is noted for its fine sculptured stele and majestic architecture. The ruins were the site ...

Massif Central

(Encyclopedia)Massif Central mäsēfˈ säNträlˈ [key] [Fr.,=central highlands], great mountainous plateau, c.33,000 sq mi (85,470 sq km), S central France, covering almost a sixth of the surface of the country. ...

Central Australia

(Encyclopedia)Central Australia: see Northern Territory, Australia. ...

central bank

(Encyclopedia)central bank, financial institution designed to regulate and control the money supply of a nation, with the goal of fostering economic growth without inflation. Although central banking systems have v...

Central Falls

(Encyclopedia)Central Falls, city (2020 pop. 22,583), Providence co., N R.I., on the Blackstone River NW of Pawtucket; inc. 1895. It is a small industrial center, now...

Central Park

(Encyclopedia)Central Park, 840 acres (340 hectares), the largest park in Manhattan, New York City; bordered by 59th St. on the south, Fifth Ave. on the east, 110th St. on the north, and Central Park West on the we...