Indigenous America Pre-Contact & Early European Expansion

What three crops are referred to as the "Three Sisters" of Indigenous agriculture?

Maize (corn), beans, and squash.

How did cultivation of the Three Sisters impact Indigenous population growth?

Their high calories, storability, and ability to be harvested twice yearly supported larger, more stable populations and the rise of major civilizations.

According to Salinan origin stories, which creature created the first man?

A bald eagle formed the first man out of clay.

Which Lenape legend explains the creation of the Earth?

Sky Woman fell into a watery world and, with the help of a muskrat and beaver, formed the Earth.

Give two examples of how Indigenous peoples adapted to diverse North American environments.

Fishing salmon-rich rivers of the Northwest and hunting bison on the Great Plains.

What farming method involves cutting forest, burning undergrowth, and planting seeds in the ashes?

Shifting cultivation (slash-and-burn).

Why did Eastern Woodland societies favor hand-tool agriculture?

It produced high yields without overburdening the soil, making farming sustainable.

Describe the typical gender division of labor in many Eastern Woodland cultures.

Women farmed (corn, beans, squash) while men hunted and fished.

Where was the Puebloan center of Chaco Canyon located?

Present-day New Mexico.

Name one distinctive architectural feature of Chaco Canyon’s Puebloan culture.

Multi-story sandstone great houses such as Pueblo Bonito, aligned to solar and lunar cycles.

What environmental factors contributed to the abandonment of Chaco Canyon?

Deforestation, over-irrigation, and a 50-year drought.

Which two groups migrated into the Southwest after the Puebloan decline and adopted many Pueblo customs?

The Apache and the Navajo.

What was the largest Mississippian city, famous for Monks Mound?

Cahokia.

How were Mississippian chiefdoms socially organized?

Hierarchical, clan-based systems led by powerful chiefs.

Identify two key trade goods that flowed through Cahokia’s river hub.

Copper and marine shells (among others such as obsidian).

What housing structures did the Lenapes (Delawares) traditionally build?

Wigwams and longhouses.

Which craft enabled Lenape travel and trade along the Hudson and Delaware rivers?

Canoes carved from trees.

On what lake did the Aztecs build their capital Tenochtitlan?

Lake Texcoco.

What agricultural technique did the Aztecs use to create fertile plots on water?

Chinampas (man-made floating gardens).

Which European factor most rapidly weakened the Aztec Empire after Spanish arrival?

Smallpox epidemics.

List the three traditional motives for European exploration often summarized as "the 3 Gs."

God, Gold, and Glory.

Name two navigation aids that improved European open-ocean sailing in the 15th century.

The magnetic compass and the astrolabe (plus better cartography).

Which type of innovative ship, developed by the Portuguese, combined speed with the ability to sail windward?

The caravel equipped with lateen sails.

Which European kingdom dominated the early Atlantic slave trade and claimed Brazil?

Portugal.

What economic activity formed the basis of French colonial relations with many North American tribes?

The fur trade.

Which European power most emphasized permanent agricultural settlements along the Atlantic coast, often displacing Indigenous peoples?

England.

Define the Columbian Exchange.

The widespread transfer of plants, animals, people, diseases, and ideas between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres after 1492.

Give one example each of an item moving from Europe to the Americas and from the Americas to Europe in the Columbian Exchange.

Europe → Americas: horses (or wheat). Americas → Europe: corn (or potatoes).

Approximately what percentage of Indigenous Americans died from Old World diseases in the 16th and 17th centuries?

As much as 90%.

What Spanish labor system granted colonists land plus Indigenous laborers, often resulting in severe exploitation?

The encomienda system (later modified into the repartimiento).