Historiography, Prehistory, and North American Cultures – Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering historiography concepts, key archaeological terms, culture groups, and sites mentioned in the lecture notes.

Historiography

The study of how history is written and how historical interpretations change over time.

Scholarly knowledge

Knowledge produced by scholars that can be revised or challenged as new evidence emerges.

Primary sources

Direct evidence from the period studied (first-hand accounts, artifacts, or documents).

Material culture

Physical objects and remains (tools, art, buildings) used to interpret past peoples.

Homo sapiens

Modern humans; the species to which all current humans belong; the early North American peoples discussed are members of this species.

Paleolithic

Old Stone Age; hunter-gatherer societies before agriculture, characterized by stone tool use.

Neolithic

New Stone Age; period of agriculture and domestication, leading to settled communities.

Hunter-gatherers

Groups that obtain food by hunting, fishing, and gathering wild plants rather than farming.

Clovis points

Early North American stone spear points dating to about 13,000 years ago, named after Clovis, NM.

Clovis period

Archaeological period in North America defined by Clovis technology and early hunter‑gatherer cultures.

Meadowcroft Rockshelter

Pennsylvania archaeological site with very early layers suggesting pre‑Clovis human occupation.

Buttermilk site

Pennsylvania archaeological site with sandstone-layer artifacts indicating early tool-making.

Anasazi

Ancestral Pueblo people of the Four Corners region; known for cliff dwellings and long-term settlements.

Hohokam

Prehistoric culture in the American Southwest known for irrigation canals and organized communities.

Cahokia

Mississippian urban center near modern St. Louis; large, complex mound-building society.

Great Serpent Mound

Large serpent-shaped earthwork in Ohio built by mound-building cultures.

Hopewell culture

Mound-building culture in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys with elaborate earthworks and trade networks.

Mississippian culture

Late prehistoric Southeastern culture known for mound-building and centralized chiefdoms; Cahokia was a major center.

Cayuga

One of the Iroquoian-speaking nations (Haudenosaunee) in the Northeast.

Seneca

One of the Iroquoian-speaking nations (Haudenosaunee) in the Northeast.

Mohawk

One of the Iroquoian-speaking nations (Haudenosaunee) in the Northeast.

Oneida

One of the Iroquoian-speaking nations (Haudenosaunee) in the Northeast.

Onondaga

One of the Iroquoian-speaking nations (Haudenosaunee) in the Northeast.

Balcones Escarpment

Limestone escarpment in Texas near San Marcos; site of water sources and toolstone, shaping human settlement.

San Marcos Springs/Spring Lake

Spring-fed water source in San Marcos, Texas; important paleolithic site with long habitation history.

Maize (corn)

Cultivated grain central to Neolithic agriculture in the Americas; a major carbohydrate source.

Squash

Domesticated crop often grown with maize and beans; part of the early agricultural package.

Beans

Domesticated legume crop; a key protein source in early agricultural societies.

Lithic

Relating to stone; used in archaeology to describe stone tools and the creation of weaponry.