Video Notes – Vocabulary Flashcards: Pre-Columbian North America ( up to 1500 )

Vocabulary flashcards covering key people, places, cultures, terms, and concepts from the lecture notes on pre-Columbian North America up to 1500.

Cahokia

A Mississippian urban center near modern-day St. Louis on the Mississippi River, ca. 1250, with about 30,000 residents; featured Mound Builders and the Great Temple; farmers grew corn, beans, and squash; had a complex trading system and taxation.

Mound Builders

Mississippian-era cultures known for constructing earthen mounds; Cahokia is a prime example.

Great Temple

A central ceremonial mound at Cahokia; symbol of political and religious power within the site.

Maize (corn)

A staple crop in the Americas; cultivation began in central Mexico about 5,000 years ago; a tall cereal grain.

Clovis culture

Early North American culture named after Clovis, NM; discovered 1926; known for fluted stone spear points and a hunter-gatherer lifestyle.

Fluted spear points

Distinctive fluted stone projectile points associated with the Clovis culture.

Hunters and Gatherers

Nomadic foragers; traditional social roles related to gender and subsistence activities.

Beringia

Land bridge that connected Asia and North America during the Ice Ages; enabled initial human migration.

Beringia migration

Migration of people into North America via the Bering Land Bridge, roughly 70,000–10,000 years ago.

Joseph de Acosta

Spanish missionary who argued that Old World animals in the Americas suggested humans crossed there with them.

Indios

Spanish term used by Columbus for residents of the Indies; later translated as Indians.

Native Americans / American Indians

Terms used to describe Indigenous peoples of North America; alternatives include Indigenous peoples.

2,000 cultures

At first contact with Europeans, the Western Hemisphere contained more than 2,000 distinct cultures.

Desert Culture

Lifestyle focused on hunting small game and foraging plant foods in arid regions.

Forest Efficiency

Way of living that uses sophisticated knowledge of local resources to create a stable, permanent settlement.

Slash and Burn

Agricultural technique of clearing land by cutting and burning vegetation to enrich soil.

Permanent settlements

Shift from nomadic to settled living as farming supported stable communities.

Mogollon

Early farming culture in the Southwest (Arizona/New Mexico) growing corn.

Hohokam

Southwestern culture in southern Arizona; pioneered irrigation canals and engineering.

Anasazi

Southwestern culture known for cliff dwellings (Mesa Verde) and major pueblos (Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Canyon).

Adena / Hopewell

Ohio River Valley mound-building cultures with extensive trade networks and mounds like the Great Serpent Mound.

Cahokia / Mississippian

Mississippi River Valley mound-building culture with tool and craft specialization; major urban center near Cahokia.

Pre-Columbian warfare

Warfare before European contact; typically localized, small-scale conflicts over land and resources.

Population 5–10 million

Estimated Native American population in North America at the time of European arrival.

Largest centers

The biggest population and urban centers were in the Southwest, South, and Northeast.

Southwest region (geography)

Region with water resources important for farming; Pueblo peoples; communal patterns.

South region (cultures)

Region with major rivers; Natchez, Choctaws, Cherokee; chiefdoms; hierarchical social structure.

Northeast region (geography)

Coastal plains, mountains, major rivers, lakes and valleys; large, dense populations; Iroquois Confederation; Long House.

Iroquois Confederation

Northeastern Native American alliance governing via a council system; associated with the Long House metaphor.

Long House

A housing model used by Iroquois nations; also a metaphor for their political organization.

Mesoamerica

Cultural region in central Mexico; cradle of maize cultivation and complex civilizations (e.g., Aztecs).

Central Mexico maize origin

Evidence suggests plant cultivation began in central Mexico about 5,000 years ago (maize/corn).

Agriculture and civilization

Farming enabled complex lifeways and social structures (clans, tribes, chiefs, priests; competition for resources).

Agricultural Revolution

Move to farming that ushered in civilization; sometimes framed as a dramatic societal shift.

Resisted Revolution

View that farming is not inherently superior; farming entails long work hours, disease risk, and potential instability.

Great Basin

Desert region between the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains; arid with basin geography.

Great Plains

Central North American grassland region influenced by nomadic and farming cultures.

Appalachian region

Eastern U.S. area with humid temperate woodlands; part of the Northeast geographic grouping.