The Americas Before European Arrival

Flashcards covering the diverse cultures and civilizations of Native America before European arrival, including the Aztecs, Maya, Inca, Pueblo, Ute, Chinook, Chumash, Hopewell, Cahokia, and Iroquois peoples.

Aztecs

Also known as the Mexica, they were located in Central America and boasted a magnificent capital city called Tenochtitlan. They had a written language, complex irrigation systems, and a cult of fertility upheld by human sacrifice.

Maya

They established themselves on the Yucatan Peninsula, developed large cities, complex irrigation and water storage systems, and built giant stone temples and palaces.

Inca

They established their civilization in the Andes Mountains, ruling 16,000,000 people over 350,000 square miles. They cultivated fertile mountain valleys with potatoes and other crops watered by elaborate irrigation systems.

Maize

A corn-like crop cultivated by the Aztecs, Maya, and Inca. Its cultivation spread north into the American Southwest, supporting economic development, settlement, advanced irrigation, and social diversification.

Pueblo People

Lived in present-day New Mexico and Arizona, were a sedentary population and farmers of maize who built adobe and masonry homes.

Ute People

A nomadic people of the Great Plains and Great Basin regions who lived as hunter-gatherers in small, egalitarian, kinship-based bands due to the aridity of the region.

Chinook People

Lived in the Pacific Northwest in fishing villages, relying on the sea and elk. They constructed giant plank houses from cedar trees that could house up to 70 members of the same kinship band.

Chumash People

Lived on the coast of present-day California and were still hunters and gatherers, but they lived in permanent settlements where there was enough game and vegetation.

Hopewell People

Lived in the Mississippi River Valley in towns of about 4,000 to 6,000 people and traded extensively with regions as far away as Florida and the Rocky Mountains.

Cahokia People

Lived in the Mississippi River Valley and boasted the largest settlement in the region, with a population between 10,000 and 30,000. They had a centralized government led by powerful chieftains and engaged in extensive trade networks.

Iroquois

Lived in the Northeast of America in villages made up of several hundred people where they grew crops like maize, squash, and beans. They built and lived in longhouses with 30-50 family members.