apush unit 1

Land bridge

A strip of land connecting Siberia and Alaska that allowed early migration to the Americas.

Hohokam, Anasazi, and Pueblos

Southwestern Native groups known for irrigation, architecture, and settled farming.

Adena-Hopewell

Ohio Valley mound-building cultures with complex societies and trade.

Woodland mound builders

Eastern tribes that built ceremonial and burial mounds.

Mayas

Mesoamerican civilization with advanced writing, astronomy, and cities in present-day Yucatán.

Aztecs

Powerful empire in central Mexico with a complex society and capital at Tenochtitlán.

Incas

Andean civilization known for advanced engineering and roads.

Corn (maize)

Staple crop that supported large Native populations and civilizations.

American Indians

Indigenous peoples of the Americas, diverse in culture, language, and region.

Algonquian

Native language group found mostly in the Northeast.

Siouan

Language family of tribes in the Great Plains.

Longhouses

Large wooden communal dwellings used by Iroquois and other Eastern tribes.

Iroquois Confederation

Alliance of Native nations in the Northeast with a political union.

Gunpowder

Chinese invention used by Europeans in conquest and colonization.

Sailing compass

Navigational instrument that improved sea travel, aiding exploration.

Printing press

Technology that spread ideas, maps, and knowledge across Europe.

Isabella and Ferdinand

Spanish monarchs who unified Spain and sponsored Columbus.

Christopher Columbus

Italian navigator who opened the Americas to European colonization.

Henry the Navigator

Portuguese prince who promoted early exploration.

Treaty of Tordesillas

1494 agreement dividing New World lands between Spain and Portugal.

Roanoke Island

Site of England’s first failed colony, known as the “Lost Colony.”

Protestant Reformation

Religious movement that challenged Catholicism and spurred migration.

Nation-states

Centralized countries with common culture and rulers, driving exploration.

Horses

Brought by Europeans; transformed Native life, especially for Plains tribes.

Diseases

European diseases like smallpox that killed millions of Native Americans.

Smallpox, measles

Deadly epidemics that devastated Indigenous populations.

Capitalism

Economic system based on private ownership and investment in trade and exploration.

Joint-stock company

Investment model for funding colonies, reducing risk for individuals.

Encomienda

Spanish labor system exploiting Native Americans for work and tribute.

Asiento

System requiring Spanish to pay a tax to import enslaved Africans.

Slavery

Forced labor system used primarily in plantations in the Americas.

Conquistadores

Spanish soldiers/explorers who conquered Native American empires.

Hernán Cortés

Conquistador who defeated the Aztecs.

Francisco Pizarro

Conquistador who conquered the Incas.

Slave trade

Forced transport of Africans to work in the Americas.

Middle Passage

Brutal Atlantic journey endured by enslaved Africans.

New Laws of 1542

Spanish reforms aimed at ending Native slavery and abuses.

Bartolomé de Las Casas

Priest who fought for Native American rights.

Valladolid Debate

First public debate over Native American treatment.

Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda

Defender of Native enslavement; argued they were inferior.