Video Notes Study Cards: Pre-Columbian Americas and Columbian Exchange

Flashcards cover Maya/Aztec/Inca civilizations, North American regional differences, and the Columbian Exchange, including effects of horses, disease, and key concepts.

Which Mesoamerican civilization developed a number system with zero and used idiograms and phonograms?

Mayans

Which civilization in Mesoamerica produced one of the most accurate calendars?

Mayans

What writing elements did the Maya use?

Idiograms (represent ideas) and phonograms (represent sounds)

Which civilization is noted for water management and technology in Mesoamerica?

Mayans

Which civilization built Tenochtitlan and artificial islands?

Aztecs

Which civilization is described as a warlike empire with a writing system and social classes?

Aztecs

Which civilization built a vast empire in the Andes with roads and bridges and had no written language?

Inca

What is the capital city of the Inca Empire?

Cuzco

Did the Inca have a written language?

No

What type of farming is strongly associated with the Inca?

Terrace farming

How were North American tribes generally organized compared to other regions?

Many different tribes with less centralized leadership; regional similarities

Which region is associated with Chinook, Tillamook, and totem poles?

Northwest Coast

What is notable about the Northwest Coast in terms of resources?

Abundant resources/food leading to complex art, culture, and religion

Where did Plateau peoples live?

Beside rivers

What characterizes the Great Basin region?

Desert and mountains; gatherers rather than farmers; low population

Which region is known for Pueblo/adobe housing and canyon-dwelling?

Southwest

What housing style is associated with the Southwest?

Pueblo/adobe housing

Which region is known for grasslands and nomadic buffalo hunting after the introduction of the horse?

Great Plains

What unique method was used by some Great Plains peoples to move buffalo to where they could be hunted?

Driving buffalo off cliffs; moving herds into zones to encourage falls

Which region was sedentary with longhouses and included Iroquois, Ottawa, and Miami?

Northeast

Which region is humid and river-valley farmers; includes Cherokee, Creek, Yamasee?

Southeast

What is the Columbian Exchange?

The transfer of biology, ideology, and technology among Europe, Africa, and the Americas after Columbus's voyages

How did horses influence life on the Great Plains?

They increased nomadism, status, warfare, and territorial expansion; became a symbol of bravery

How did the introduction of horses relate to Maslow's hierarchy of needs for Plains peoples?

Horses helped meet safety, belonging, and esteem needs by enabling mobility, defense, and status

Which disease did Europeans spread that devastated Native populations after contact?

Smallpox

From where did horses first spread after introduction to the Americas?

New Mexico (initial introduction and spread)

Name items from the list that were transferred in the Columbian Exchange: potato, pumpkin, coffee, rats, dandelion, and smallpox.

Potato, pumpkin, coffee, rats, dandelion, and smallpox were all transferred as part of the Columbian Exchange.