ANASAZI AND CAHOKIA

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the notes on Anasazi and Cahokia.

Anasazi

Ancient southwestern Native American civilization; ancestors of the modern Pueblo peoples; flourished roughly around 900 A.D.; known for pit houses, kivas, and extensive trade centered at Chaco Canyon.

Hisatsinom

Hopi name for the Anasazi, meaning 'Ancient Ones'.

Pueblo Bonito

Largest Anasazi complex at Chaco Canyon (ca. 1100 A.D.); about 800 rooms, five stories, and 37 kivas; a major center of trade and ceremonial life.

Chaco Canyon

Key Anasazi center in present-day New Mexico chosen as a focal point for trade and pilgrimages; connected by hundreds of miles of roads and signal fires.

Kiva

Underground ceremonial/teaching space built by the Anasazi; could host hundreds of people and served spiritual and communal purposes.

Pit house

Subterranean dwelling used by early Anasazi; later storage spaces above ground were converted into living spaces; pit houses also had spiritual significance.

Mesa Verde

Colorado site where Anasazi built cliff dwellings and achieved a high point in architecture; relocated around 1300 A.D.; society valued equality.

Cliff Palace

Largest cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde; example of communal living in vertical cliffside architecture.

Cahokia

City of the Sun; a major Mississippian urban center along the Mississippi River (750–1300 A.D.) with tens of thousands of residents.

Great Serpent Mound

A sacred, 400-yard-long earthwork mound attributed to mound-builder cultures; an notable ceremonial construction in North America.

Great Spirit / Creator

Creator figure in Native cosmology; provided everything and linked people to the land, influencing settlement choices.

Great Son

Legendary leader (king and religious figure) said to live on a man-made royal mountain; mediated between Creator and people and governed by moral guidelines.

Tolán

Central Mexico turquoise consumer; a key trade partner for turquoise networks.

Trade networks (resource exchange)

Extensive exchange system linking distant regions: copper from the Great Lakes, obsidian from Yellowstone, mica/crystal from the Appalachians, gold/silver from Canada, shells from the Gulf of Mexico.