Origins of Native Peoples in North America and Early European Contact

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the lecture notes on the origins of Native peoples in North America, Columbus’s arrival, and major pre-Columbian civilizations.

Tainos

The native Caribbean people Columbus first encountered; spelled Tainos in the notes.

Indios

Spanish term Columbus used for the Tainos; the origin of the English word Indians.

Indians

Traditional English term derived from Indios; used for Native peoples but can be misleading due to diversity.

Native Americans

Broad term for Indigenous peoples of the Americas, acknowledging vast cultural and regional differences.

Columbus (1492)

Christopher Columbus’s 1492 voyage to the Caribbean, which opened sustained contact between Europe and the Americas.

Indigenous population at Columbus’s arrival

Estimates around 7–10 million people north of Mexico; about 25 million in Mexico.

Cahokia

Pinnacle of the Mississippian mound-building culture near the Mississippi River; about 20,000 residents; called the City of the Sun and a major trade center.

Mississippian culture

Mound-building Native American culture in the Southeastern United States; Cahokia was its largest center.

Great Sun

The supreme ruler of Cahokia; the leading ceremonial and political figure.

Daub and wattle houses

Traditional building method using daub (mud) on a woven wooden frame for Cahokia houses.

Turquoise trade

Turquoise from distant sources was traded and crafted into beads, a key commodity in Cahokia’s trading network.

Chaco Canyon

Ancestral Puebloan center in present-day New Mexico; connected by roads and signal stations; hub of trade and ceremony.

Pueblo Bonito

Largest great house in Chaco Canyon with about 800 rooms; up to 1,000 residents; 37 kivas; central to ceremonial life and turquoise trade.

Kiva

Underground ceremonial room used by Ancestral Puebloans (37 at Pueblo Bonito).

Anasazi

Ancient Puebloans who inhabited the Four Corners region; known for pithouses and later above-ground homes.

Pithouse

Subterranean dwelling used by the Anasazi, with later above-ground storage spaces; featured stone walls and strong roofs.

Four Corners region

Area where the states of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona meet; home to Anasazi centers and the Ancestral Puebloans.

Ancestral Puebloans

People who built cliff dwellings and multi-story pueblos; inhabited the Four Corners; left the area in the late 13th century.

Drought and attacks

Key factors leading to the abandonment of Four Corners communities in the late 13th century—repeated droughts and attacks by neighboring tribes.

Environmental change

Climate and environmental changes (e.g., glacial melt, drought) that shaped migration, settlement, and the rise/fall of native societies.

Eastern U.S. farming practices

In some Eastern groups, land was burned to clear fields before farming and then abandoned for new plots (shifting cultivation).