AP World Unit 6: Mongols/ People of the Americas

Mongols

People from Central Asia when United ended up creating the largest single land empire in history

Pastoral Nomadism

A form of subsistence agriculture based on herding domesticated animals

Steppes

Treelee plains, especially in the high, flat expanses of Northern Eurasia, which usually have little rain and are covered with coarse grass. They are good lands for nomads and their herds. Good for breeding horses: essential to Mongol military

Egalitarian

Believing in the social and economic equality of all people

Animism

Belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, such as thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life

Assimilation

The social process of absorbing one culture group into harmony with another

Genghis Khan (Temujin)

A Mongolian general and emperor of the late twelfth and thirteenth centuries, known for his military leadership and great cruelty

Yuan Dynasty

Dynasty in China set up by the Mongols under the leadership of Kublai Khan, replaced the Song (1279-1368)

Khanate

Four regional Mongol kingdoms that arose following the death of Chinggis Khan

Marco Polo

Italian explorer who wrote about his travels to Central Asia and China

Great Khan

The title given to the Mongol ruler Chinggis in 1206 and later to his successors

Kublai Khan

Mongolian emperor in China and grandson of Genghis Khan who completed his grandfather’s conquest of China

Mongols in Russia

-The Mongols thought Russia had nothing of value and therefore only collected tribute from Russia

-Moscow became the primary city for the Mongol’s collection of tribute

-The Mongols elevated the city of Moscow

-Mongols were religiously tolerant in Russia and exempted the Orthodox Christian Church from taxation

Khanate of the Golden Horde

The Mongol Empire, that, after the fall of Kiev, ruled all of southern Russia for 200 years

Tribute System

Payment made from one to another in acknowledgement of submission

Mongol rule in China

Outlawed intermarriage between Mongols and Chinese, forbade Chinese from learning Mongol language, brought foreign and modern government administrators into China and put them in charge, dismissed Confucian scholars, tolerated all cultural and religious traditions in China

Mongol rule in Russia

Lasted for 200 years, after the fall of Kiev;

Allowed Russians to follow usual customs as long as they didn’t rebel; isolated Russia from Western Europe

Pax Mongolica

Era of relative peace and stability created by the Mongol Empire

Spread of Gunpowder and Printing Press

Through Mongol invasions, gunpowder/ paper money spread from China to India, to the Middle East, and over to Europe

Uyghur Script

The Mongols adopted the Uyghur script around the 12th century and selected well-education Uyghurs as civil servants, scribes, and administrators to most of Central Asia

Reasons for the Fall of Khanates

Peasant uprisings, inflation

Zheng He

(1371-1433)? Chinese naval explorer who sailed along most of the coast of Asia, Japan, and half way down the East Coast of Africa before his death

Treasure Voyages

The voyages the Chinese sent out under the direction of the Muslin Zheng He in order to impress the world with the power and splendor of Ming China and to gain more tribute for the government

Subsistence Farming

Farming in which only enough food to feed one’s family is produced

Reasons for the End of Treasure Voyages

New Emperor Xuande (r. 1426-36 CE) put an end to the costly expeditions. Returned to isolationism due to the increased Mongol threat; expense of rebuilding parts of the Great Wall; expense of expeditions and the goods they carried did not match the value of the tributes that came in turn

Domesticated Animals of the Americas

Turkey, llama

Domesticated Plants of the Americas

Corn, tomatoes, cotton, tobacco

Interregional Trade

Trade that takes place between regions within countries

Mississippian Culture

Cahokia; Last of the mound-building cultures of North America; flourished between 800 and 1300 CE; featured large towns and ceremonial centers; lacked stone architecture of Central America

Mound-Building

Dates back 5,000 years ago; mounds built for religious, ceremonial, and burial reasons as well as elite residents (archaic and woodland periods)

Puebloan Culture

1st American corn growers. Lived in adobe houses (dried mud) and villages of cubicle shaped adobe houses, stacked, often beneath cliffs. They also had elaborate irrigation systems to draw water away from rivers to grow corn

Mesa Verde

Large cliff dwelling in Colorado, holds several thousand people, dwellings were easy to defend, offered protection, provided a safe place for Anasazi

Chaco Canyon

Important ancient Anasazi Indian center in New Mexico that included a Pueblo of six hundred interconnected rooms

Maya

Mesoamerican civilization concentrated in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, and Honduras, but never unified into a single empire. Major contributions were in mathematics, astronomy, and the development of the calander

Mayan Government

Never became one unified government of all Mayan city-states

Mayan Religious Beliefs

Polytheistic/ Animism; practiced human sacrifice/ bloodletting to please the gods

Mayan Achievements

Invented 365 day calendar, used numbers to keep records, made huge pyramids to their gods, astronomy documentation, writing system

Mexica (Aztecs)

Native population in what is considered modern day Mexico. They were destroyed by the Spaniards

Mexica Origin Story

After being forced out of Chapultepec, the Mexica wandered for weeks in search of a place to settle. Huitzilopotchli appeared to the Mexica leaders and indicated a place where a great eagle was perched on a cactus killing a snake. In the marsh where the Mexica founded their capital, Tenochtitlán. A.D. 1325

Tenochtitlán

Capital of the Mexica empire, located on an island in Lake Texcoco. It’s population was about 150,000 on the eve of the Spanish conquest. Mexico City was constructed on its ruins

Chinampas

Raised fields constructed along lake shores in Mesoamerica to increase agricultural yields

Chocolate

A food made from roasted ground cocoa beans = $$ and used for ceremonial purposes

Montezuma

Powerful Mexica monarch who fell to Spanish conquerors

Mexica Religion

Worshipped the sun; gold was considered the '“sweat of the sun”. Practiced human sacrifice to make sure the sun would rise

Andes Mountains

Largest mountain range in the world, home of the Chava and Inca civilizations

Inca Civilization

Pre-Columbian area in the Andes Mountains that used engineering and grew potatoes

Machu Picchu

Abandoned city high in the Andes Mountains that showcases the architectural genius of the Inca

Mit’a Labor System

Labor extracted for lands assigned to the state and the religion; an essential aspect to Inca imperial culture

Ming China

Succeeded Mongol Yuan dynasty in China in 1368, lasted until 1644, last true Chinese Dynasty, returned to Confucianist values and patriarchy