Pre-Columbian Americas and Age of Exploration - Key Concepts

Flashcards covering the key concepts from the notes on pre-Columbian Americas and the Age of Exploration.

What is history?

The scholarly study of the written record of past events.

What are the limits of history?

It must be written and often leaves out some groups (e.g., Indigenous peoples).

What questions drive history?

What (what, when, where, who) and Why (reasons and interpretation).

Which disciplines help fill gaps in history?

Anthropology, archaeology, and related fields.

Why is history important?

Heritage, national identity, and influences on law, society, and geography.

What does the term pre-Columbian refer to?

The entire time period before Columbus's arrival.

Why do we know so little about the pre-Columbian Americas?

European bias, lack of native records, few writing systems, and destruction of codices.

Cahokia Mounds are notable for?

Being the largest pre-Columbian site north of Mexico.

How have Native Americans been portrayed in traditional histories and media?

As passive recipients or as caricatures (blood-thirsty barbarians or noble savages).

What is the most accepted origin of the first Americans?

Originated in the Gobi Desert; migrated to Siberia; crossed the Bering Strait via a land bridge (Beringia).

What is Beringia?

The ice-age land bridge between Siberia and Alaska.

When did the initial peopling of the Americas likely occur?

Around 15,000 years ago via Beringia and subsequent dispersion.

What does the 'New Theory' about Native ancestry propose?

Ancestors may have originated in Europe due to ancient shorelines, but evidence is inconclusive.

What characterizes the earliest peoples of the Americas?

Hunter-gatherers; later agricultural societies; diverse cultures and trade networks.

What are the 'Three Sisters' crops?

Corn (maize), beans, and squash.

Where was corn domesticated?

In Mesoamerica from the teosinte grass.

Which crop was most important in the highlands of South America?

Potatoes.

Where is the Olmec civilization located?

Near the Gulf of Mexico (Vera Cruz); major sites include San Lorenzo, La Venta, Tres Zapotes.

What are Olmec achievements?

Early writing and calendar development, giant stone heads, engineering feats, rubber processing.

What was Teotihuacán?

A major pre-Columbian city (c. 200–250 BCE onward) with pyramids of the Sun and Moon and a large population.

Maya achievements?

Sophisticated mathematics, the concept of zero, place-value system, and a complex calendar.

When did the Maya states collapse?

Around 900 AD.

Who were the Toltecs?

Militaristic society that expanded Mayan centers, built Tula, and fostered long-distance trade; lasted about a century.

Who were the Aztecs and where did they settle?

The Mexica who founded Tenochtitlán on an island in Lake Texcoco in 1325 AD.

What are chinampas?

Artificial islands used for intensive agriculture on Lake Texcoco.

Aztec religion's chief god and practice?

Huitzilopochtli; sun god; human sacrifice to appease the gods; large-scale ritual offerings.

When did Cortés conquer the Aztecs?

1519.

What are some key traits of the Inca civilization?

No writing system; used quipu to record tribute; potatoes and guinea pigs; vast empire along western South America; Machu Picchu.

What is a quipu?

Knotted cords used to record numbers and information.

Where is Machu Picchu and who discovered it?

In the Andes of Peru; discovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham.

Northwest settlements were defined by what features?

Longhouses or plank houses, totem poles, a rich hunting/fishing diet, and isolation by mountains.

How did the introduction of horses affect Great Plains Indians?

Horses increased mobility and buffalo hunting efficiency after being brought by the Spanish in the 1500s.

What was a fatal weakness of many Native American groups?

Inability to unite; divisions among tribes exploited by Europeans.

Who were the earliest Europeans to reach North America?

Norsemen (Vikings), including Leif Erikson, at Vinland (L'Anse aux Meadows).

What motivated the Age of Exploration?

Crusades, Renaissance curiosity, Reformation, monarchs seeking revenue/prestige, and technological advances (God, Glory, Gold).

Which European power led early exploration under Henry the Navigator?

Portugal.

Name three early Portuguese explorers and their achievements.

Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope (1487); da Gama reached India (1498).

What was the Treaty of Tordesillas?

1494 agreement dividing newly discovered lands outside Europe between Spain (west) and Portugal (east); Brazil to Portugal.

What was Columbus' first landing site?

San Salvador in the Bahamas, October 12, 1492.

What is the Columbian Exchange?

The transfer of crops, animals, diseases, and people between the Old World and the New World.

Why did disease have such a large impact on indigenous populations?

European diseases devastated Indigenous peoples, contributing greatly to population decline.

What was the Council of the Indies?

A Spanish body (established 1524) that centralized colonial policy, appointed governors, taxed imports/exports, and supervised administration.

What were the hacienda and encomienda systems?

Hacienda: large land grants for production; Encomienda: grants of indigenous labor and authority, including life-and-death power.

Why did New World gold and silver enrich Spain and also cause problems?

bullion wealth boosted Spain but caused inflation and economic distortions over time.

Which major empires did Spain encounter in the Americas?

Aztec Empire in central Mexico and Inca Empire in western South America.