Unit 1 - 8/20

This set of flashcards covers the geography, major civilizations, and cultural practices of Native American groups, as well as the motivations and religious context of early European exploration.

Land bridge

A connection between Asia (Russia) and the Americas (Alaska) that allowed early populations to walk across to the new continent.

Corn (Maize)

The number one crop grown across the Americas pre-contact, spanning multiple civilizations.

Mesoamerica

A region in Central America including modern-day Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Costa Rica, and Honduras.

Maya

A Mesoamerican civilization located in the mountains known for building step pyramids, making calendars based on stars, and studying astrology.

Aztecs

A Mesoamerican civilization known for their sacrifices, pillars, and calendars, including one that allegedly ended in $2012$.

Inca

A South American civilization located in the Andes Mountains, specifically in areas like Peru and Chile, famous for their roads and communication systems.

Machu Picchu

The famous city of the Inca built on top of a mountain.

Powhatan

The major Native American group in Virginia during the time of English settlement, associated with Pocahontas.

Rebecca

The name taken by Pocahontas after she went to Europe and was baptized.

Southwest Native Groups

Groups including the Pueblo and Navajo in areas like Arizona and New Mexico who built clay houses, sometimes in cliffs, and developed irrigation canals.

Northwest Coast Groups

Native groups in Washington and Oregon who relied on fishing and lumber and were known for creating totem poles to tell stories.

Nomads

Groups in the Great Plains that traveled around following buffalo, or bison, and lived in portable tepees.

Eastern Woodlands

The forested region in the East where tribes built houses out of wood, specifically longhouses.

Iroquois (Haudenosaunee)

A confederation of five, later six, separate tribes in Upstate New York and Canada known as the 'people of the longhouse.'

Matrilineal

A social system where women are the primary decision-makers and lineage is traced through the mother, a common structure among the Iroquois.

Sky Woman

A central figure in the Iroquois origin story who fell from a sky world and landed on a turtle's back.

Sapling and Flint

The two children in the Iroquois origin story; one was kind and created rivers and fish, while the other was mean and tried to destroy his brother's creations.

Animism

The belief that all things in nature, including trees, grass, and animals, possess spirits or souls.

Reconquista

The Spanish term for 'reconquer,' referring to the period when Catholics in Spain and Portugal kicked out the Muslims (Moors).

Protestant Reformation

A religious movement in Europe where groups like the Anglicans challenged the Catholic Church, often leading to internal conflict and migration.

95 Theses

The document Martin Luther nailed to a church door, which sparked the Protestant Reformation.

The Three Gs

The mnemonic for the three main motivations for European exploration: God, Gold, and Glory.

Prince Henry the Navigator

A Portuguese figure who funded a school for navigation, supported exploration around Africa, and reached the Cape of Good Hope.