• alerce: A wood from Chile which somewhat resembles California redwood and is used for carpentry and furniture.
• almique: A red or reddish brown wood from the Guianas and Cuba, used chiefly for inlay.
• amaranth: A South American wood, used for fine veneers, having a dull brown color that oxidizes when cut to a rich purple, and a mottle figure.
• Analytical Decomposition: Term used by Argentine-born American architects, Diana Agrest and Mario Gandelsonas, possibly suggested by the work of the Russian film-maker, Sergei Eisenstein, in which the spectator moves through a series of carefully disposed scenes…
• andiroba: A South American wood used for veneer, having the red-brown color of mahogany and a stripe figure when quarter-sawn.
• angelim amargoso: A Brazilian wood, yellow when cut, becoming yellow-brown or somewhat reddish, with fine stripes.
• angelim pedra: Brazilian woods, pale red-brown with white streaks, darkening on exposure; close-textured with numerous pores; likely to be riddled with worm holes.
• angelique: A heavy wood, resembling teak, from British, French, and Dutch Guiana, red-brown in color, clean and even in grain, moderately hard, tough, strong, elastic, and not difficult to work.
• araca: A hard and heavy wood from Brazil, used for veneers, having an olive-brown cast with straight, darker brown ribbon stripes.
• arariba: A Brazilian wood, commonly called balaustre or canarywood in the U.S.A. Of yellow or orange color, changing to red or brown, often variegated with red or black streaks.
• araucaria: A tree native to southern Brazil, in England called “monkey puzzle.” The wood closely resembles Parana pine in color and grain.
• avocado: Also known as alligator pear; a native tree of the Antilles, Mexico, and Central America but cultivated in all tropical countries, furnishing a handsome cabinet wood, light red-brown in color, fine-textured and easy to work.
• bethabara: Woods from South America that are hard, brown, and oily, and resemble teak; used mainly for timber.
• billywebb: A wood from Mexico, Central, and northern South America, light brown and lustrous; used mainly for veneer.
• Brazil nut: A wood resembling walnut and often used as a substitute therefor.
• Brazilian mahogany: Also see jequitiba.
• Brazilian rosewood: A hard, close-textured wood, of dark purple or red to tawny shades; highly prized for cabinetwork and useful as veneer.
• Brazilian satinwood: A wood from Brazil, frequently substituted for the satinwood from Ceylon or San Domingo; bright golden yellow in color; hard; texture medium, uniform; used for veneer.
• Brazilian walnut: Also see imbuia.
• canaletta: A hard, dense wood from tropical America having a tobacco or reddish brown color with brown or black streaks, affording attractive veneer.
• canarywood: Also called muiraquatiara; a wood from Brazil; heartwood yellow or orange, variegated, usually changing to red or brown; used for paneling and veneer.
• cativo: A wood from tropical America, straight-grained, moderately strong, and easily tooled; heartwood brown, thick sapwood a dingy white; used chiefly for veneer, as it is not suited to exterior use.
• Chavin: A Peruvian culture lasting from c1000 B.C. to c200 B.C., based on the worship of the jaguar god and characterized by excellent stone sculpture, elaborate gold work, and remarkable ceramics: named after the town of that name in central Peru, where a complex of massive stone buildings with subterranean galleries surround formal courtyards.
• Chavin style: The earliest of the architectural styles in northern Peru ca. 900 B.C.; characterized by grandiose terraced platforms, constructed of stone, which were grouped about large sunken plazas.
• Chimu: An Amerindian people inhabiting the northern coast of Peru and having a highly developed urban culture that lasted from about A.D. 1000 to its destruction by the Incas c1470.
• Chimu architecture: Architecture of a culture which was dominant in northern Peru from the 13th to 15th century. The houses were built in rows, along symmetrically laid-out streets, within high city walls; the buildings were constructed of adobe with wood lintels; the walls, ramps, and chambers were decorated with wide carved moldings having geometric designs (typically birds and fish). Chan Chan, the capital of the Chimus, is famed for its adobe arabesques.
• chullpa: A prehistoric stone tower of Peru. Above a burial chamber were living quarters for the family of the deceased.
• chulpa: A prehistoric stone tower of Peru. Above a burial chamber were living quarters for the family of the deceased.
• cocobolo: Hard and heavy woods from South and Central America; heartwood is very variable, striped orange and deep red, the latter often showing dark veins yields a fine surface in lathe work.
• copaiba: Reddish brown, dark-streaked, lustrous woods from Central and South America; used chiefly for cabinetwork.
• estancia: A South American cattle ranch; hence, the buildings of such a ranch.
• goncalo alves: A wood chiefly from Brazil, of straw color, streaked with dark reddish brown; hard and close-textured, taking a high polish; used for flooring, wainscoting, furniture, and veneer.
• greenheart: A tough and durable wood from the Guianas, its color pale yellow-green to black; used for marine construction and veneer.
• imbuia: A wood from Brazil, frequently misnamed Brazilian walnut; it has a rich brown color and is finely figured in veneer cuttings.
• Inca architecture: The architecture of the Inca Empire in Peru from the 12th century until the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, particularly fortified towns with massive stonework.
• Incan: Descriptive of the architecture of the pre-Columbian inhabitants of Peru and its neighboring countries.
• ipe: Woods from Brazil, used there for outside, rough construction work and piles; in veneer cutting the woods are a lustrous brown with a slight greenish tinge, some highly figured.
• ivorywood: White to pale yellow-brown wood from South America, sometimes with a slight greenish tinge; it is hard, heavy, tough, and strong but not durable; used for cabinetwork and lathe work.
• jequitiba: Sometimes called Brazilian or Colombian mahogany; a South American wood used chiefly for cabinetwork and paneling.
• kelobra: A wood from Central and South America having a brown background with a slight greenish or reddish tinge, and a coarse texture, which in crotch cutting is prized for veneer.
• kingwood: A wood from Brazil with alternate fine, regular striping, violet-brown and blackish; used principally for veneer.
• kullpi: A pre-Inca stone dwelling of the Peruvian highlands, constructed of boulders and resembling the chullpa burial towers.
• macaya: Also called moca or mocha; a wood from Central and South America and the West Indies which is considered one of Mexico’s potentially valuable species; coarse-textured, hard, strong, and durable, it is described as yellowish, reddish, or brown, sometimes very dark; light-colored specimens suggest hard pine, others palm wood, and some are compared to English oak; used for interior woodwork and furniture.
• mahogany: Widely regarded as the premier cabinet wood of the world, based on its use through centuries. Attractive appearance of its very pale to very dark reddish brown color, ease of working, strength, and low shrinkage are outstanding properties. Commercially, three species are important: mahagoni of the West Indies; humilis of the west coast of Mexico and Central America; and macrophylla of Central and South America. The last named species produces the bulk of mahogany in the world’s markets.
• marnut: Woods from Brazil, of rich violet-brown streaked with lighter and darker markings of golden yellow; used for cabinetwork, doors and veneer.
• Moche: A pre-Incan culture that flourished on the northern coast of Peru from c200 B.C. to A.D. 700, noted for its fine pottery and the colossal Temple of the Sun, a terraced pyramid made entirely of adobe bricks.
• Mochica: A pre-Incan culture that flourished on the northern coast of Peru from c200 B.C. to A.D. 700, noted for its fine pottery and the colossal Temple of the Sun, a terraced pyramid made entirely of adobe bricks. Also called Moche.
• Parana pine: A wood – not a true pine – plentifully exported from Brazil; warm, yellowish brown in color, with a closer and finer grain than the better-known pine; used for many purposes.
• pequia peroba: Woods from Brazil.
• peroba do campo: Also called peroba do campo; a wood from Brazil, of a pale, golden olive or brownish color, with medium texture; said to be stronger than teak; used for structural work, interior woodwork, and veneer.
• powdering room: In the 18th century a chamber or anteroom especially adapted to powdering perukes, and, later, the hair.
• rosa peroba: Woods from Brazil called by many confusing names; rose red to yellowish color with darker streaks, fading to brownish tones; used for flooring, fine furniture, interior finish, and veneer.
• San Domingo harewood: A wood from San Domingo and the West Indies resembling San Domingo satinwood; yellow in color with a satiny luster; used for veneer.
• satinee: A wood from South America, of a rich red, medium texture, not difficult to work; it takes a good polish and is used for veneer.
• snakewood: Also called letterwood, a wood from northern South America to southern Mexico, reddish brown streaked with black lines, very hard and heavy; used for veneer and inlay.
• sucupira: A wood from Brazil and northern South America with a light tan-brown background, and often darker brown with narrow stripes; used chiefly for veneer in which it resembles English fumed oak.
• tachuelilla: A wood from Mexico, Costa Rica, Lesser Antilles, and South America, resembling yellow poplar with its satiny finish and ease of working; used for furniture, interior woodwork, and veneer.
• Tiahuanaco: A pre-Incan culture existing from about 300 B.C. to A.D. 900, chiefly in Peru and Bolivia, characterized by monolithic stone carving, polychrome pottery, and bronze artifacts.
• tulipwood: A very hard wood from northeastern Brazil, with alternate stripes of red or violet and yellow; used for veneer and inlays.
• white peroba: Also called peroba do campo; a wood from Brazil, of a pale, golden olive or brownish color, with medium texture; said to be stronger than teak; used for structural work, interior woodwork, and veneer.
• yacca: Woods from the West Indies, Mexico, Central and South America; whitish or yellowish in color; fine-textured; used for flooring, furniture, and cabinetwork.
• yaqua: The royal palm, as it is called in the West Indies, used for roof thatching.

Also see Architecture Origin index.

Also see Architecture index.