The Americas

Amerigo Vespucci (Italian explorer)

Amerigo Vespucci (Italian explorer)

“America” named in his honor

Three Sisters

important crops": corn, beans, and squash

What was Iroquois?

The Five Nations or Six Nations confederacy of Native Americans located in PA, NY, and Qubec

Tribes of Iroquois

Mohawk, Onondaga, Seneca, Onedia, Cayuga, (later added) Tuscarora

Matrilineal

Clan mothers Chose male members to represent each tribe at Grand Council

Haudenoshaunne

“People of the Longhouse”

Wampum Belt

White and purple beads

Confederacy (Confederation)

Unified alliance of Independence States

Formation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy

When Tuscarora joined the Five Nations and became the Six Nations

Great Law of Peace

Peace alliance between the tribes

How did the Formation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy influence the Founding Fathers?

Lead them to choose a US federalist form of gov.

Where were the Inuit located?

The Artic and Northwest

Igloos

Temporary structures used during traveling

What did the Inuit hunt?

Seal, caribou, fish, walrus, and reindeer

What did the Inuit use hunt and fish?

Harpoons and spears made from antler and narwhal tusks

“Kayak”

small, sealskin boats used by the Inuit to fish

Olmecs (1200 BCE - 400 BCE)

“rubber people” named for being near rubber trees

Mesoamerica

modern day Mexico

Olmec cities

San Lorenzo and La Venta

About how many Olmec heads have been found?

20

Olmec Heads

• Average weight: 8 tons

• Craved from single basalt boulder

• Ornate headgear

All Olmec Heads look the same?

FALSE - their all distinct

The Olmec used beasts of burden to move the Olmec Heads?

FALSE - they had none

The Olmec used metal tools to make the Olmec Heads?

FALSE - none used

What are theories of the purpose of the Olmec Heads?

• Religious reasons

• Kings

• Ballplayers

Teotihuacan (100 BCE - 800 CE)

“The Place Where the Gods Were Created”

Who discovered and named the Teotihuacan?

The Aztecs

Where were the Teotihuacan people located?

30 miles northeast of Mexico City

Was Teotihuacan the largest city in the Western Hemisphere (pre-1400s)? + how many inhabitants?

TRUE ; 100 - 200k inhabitants

The Teotihuacan had a written language and depictions of the leaders?

FALSE

What was the layout of the Teotihuacan city?

Organized grid layout

Where are the Maya located?

Yucatan Peninsula, modern Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize

How many Mayans are here today and how many languages do they have?

5 million Mayans + 70 languages

A Mayan city + its population

Tikal; 100,000 inhabitants

Religion of the Maya

• Nature as sacred

• Sun, moon, rain, lightning, jaguars

• Ritual human sacrifice

• Temples and pyramids

• Ulama - ball game

Ulama

A sacred ball game played by the Mayans that was part of their religion

What did the Mayan use as a writing system?

Hieroglyphs

Accomplishments of the Mayan

• Calendar

• Use of mathematics and Astronomy

• Large pyramids and temples

Suspected reasons for the Maya decline

• Invasion

• Internal revolt

• Volcanic eruption

• Overuse of land

• Alien abduction

When Cortez of Spain arrived in Veracruz, Mexico (1519) what did the Aztecs think?

Led by Montezuma II, they believed Cortez was the return of Quetzalcoatl

The Aztec (1300-1521) population

4 million by 1500

Where were the Aztec located?

Valley of Mexico

Where was Tenochtitlan (Aztec capital) located?

Modern day Mexico on Lake Texcoco; “Place of the stone and prickly pear cactus”

Story behind the Aztecs capital

Prophesize that when the sight of an eagle perched on a cactus eating a snake would be the place where they would build

Chinampas

• Swampy islands with canals that provided water for crops

• “Floating Gardens”

• Used by the Aztec

What religion were the Aztec?

Polytheism

What was Temple Mayor?

Temple dedicated to the Aztec god Huitzilopochtli

Where were the Inca located + their capital?

Modern day Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador; Capital = Cuzco

Inca civilization was on the ground?

FALSE - in the Andes Mountains 11,000 ft elevation

What types of farming did the Inca do and what animal did they have?

Terraced farming for POTATOES; Llams

Machu Picchu

Ceremonial city of the Inca

Quipu

Knotted strings used as a system of record keeping for the Inca (counting only)

Tepee

circular tent made by stretching Buffalo skin over a wooden poles

Obsidan

A dark natural glass stone formed by lava

Ritual

A ceremony or a rite

Longhouse

Iroquois house built a wooden poles covered with bark, housed about a dozen families

Clan

a group of related families