the American Yawp Chapter 1

How do Native Americans retain traditions and history throughout generations?

Through oral and writing

What is one way scientists gain insight into human activity and settlement patterns?

Through ice glaciers

What environment factors impact different Native groups’ culture?

Food and climate

How does food impact population?

Allows for population growth

Who were the first settled population in 1200 BCE and what allowed to them settle?

The Olmecs and corn.

Corn was high in calories and easy to store and dry.

What are the Three Sister Crops and where were they commonly planted?

Corn, beans, squash in River valleys to water)

What is shifting cultivation and how did it benefit the environment?

Burn the forest, plant seeds, let grow, then burn it again.

The ash provides nutrients back to the soil for crops.

Give an example of gender roles in Native communities.

(Women ___, men ____)

Women handled agriculture and men hunted and fished.

In what way did Native women and European women differ in their societal roles?

Provide an example.

The native communities are matrilineal (ex. Titles and roles got passed to their daughters) and women had more freedom like picking their husbands

Provide examples of which Native communities used to communicate

Scrolls, weaving, embroidery and models

Chaco Canyon

Explain its significance

Was a major hub for ceramics, politics and trade

Monumental Architecture: Inhabitants built massive, multi-story stone "Great Houses" like Pueblo Bonito, which contained hundreds of rooms.

Engineering and Roads: A sophisticated system of straight ancient roads connected the canyon hub to hundreds of outlying settlements.

Celestial Alignments: Buildings and sacred structures (kivas) were precisely aligned to track solar and lunar cycles.

Ceremonial Hub: It served as a sacred gathering, trade, and ritual destination for early Southwestern tribes.

Why did Chaco Canyon fall?

Went through a drought that caused resource depletion so the people migrated

The Cahokia were located where?

In Illinois, directly across from the Mississippi river

Explain the culture and politics in Cahokia

Focus on astrology

Had a chiefdom system

Focus on kinship

Used slavery to maintain and gain power

How did the Cahokia clan end?

Heavy hunting, farming and wood chopping led to resource depletion

And droughts impacted crop growth

How were rivers important to indigenous communities?

Allowed for trade, settlements and crops

Who were the Lenape?

A Native American tribe originally inhabited the area of present-day New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. They were known for their agricultural practices, trade networks, and complex social structures.

Very wise governance with Sachems and avoided conflict.

Good fishers and farmers. They formed alliances with other tribes and European settlers.

Who were the KwaKaKa’Waku

A Native American tribe from the Pacific Northwest, the KwaKaKa’Waku, also known as the Kwakiutl, were known for their rich cultural traditions, including totem pole carving, potlatch ceremonies (large fests for celebration, food surplus), and their reliance on fishing and maritime resources.

Mainly on coastal regions and survived off salmon.

How were cedar trees important? Provide two examples.

Provided material for homes, figures, masks and instruments

Sachems

leaders

Scandinavians reached the Americans first. Why were they driven back?

Limited resources, weather, food shortages and resistance.

Before innocent people, what demographic of the African population were traded to Europeans for work?

War criminals

How did Europeans impact the natives?

By European contact, immune systems weren’t equipped to handle the dieases Europeans brought and were enslaved

What was the effect of the 100 Years War? Provide two examples.

Heavy economic loss,

Emergence of nationalism,

Shifted to centralized monarchies

Shifted military tactics (ex. Inclusion of gunpowder)

what motivated the Portuguese and Spain to invest in sailing technology such as the astrolabe and caravel?

Wanted a direct route to other continents for trade and wealth.

Explain sugar’s role in the world’s economy

Increased labor demands, first large scale cultivation attempt by Spanish and Portugese

Why did Columbus go to the Americas? Was he successful?

Columbus went to an expedition in the 1492 and discovered Arawaks. Didn’t find much gold but took them for labor back to Spain.

How did the Maya civilization rise and collapse?

Known for massive temples, able to sustain live populations, but fell due to droughts and africultural practices

How did Aztecs rise and fall?

Developed chinampas (floating gardens) and developed state building through a tribute system.\

Aztecs would be overthrown by their tribute states when they aligned with Cortes, a Spanish explorer that captured the emperor and siege the main city.

Who were the Inca?

The Inca were located in the Andean highlands and managed a vast trade system.

How did the Inca fall?

The capital city would be seized by Pizarro after deception and use the admintrators for mineral extraction and transport.

They also lost 50% of their populations due to smallpox introduced.

How did cultural mixing occur in the Americas?

Spaniards and others came for work after promises of land, wealth and social advancement

What was the Casta system and what was it based on?

Blood purity and was used for social advancements

High → Peninsulares → Criollos → Mestizos

Columbian Exchange impact?

Shaped new diets and transofrmed societies with new materials and transportation

The Spanish sought: __, _, _ and resulted in the

The Spanish sought for God, Gold and Glory which resulted in the encomienda system which was replaced with the repartimiento.