Native American Tribes, European Exploration, and Renaissance Influence

Mississippi Valley tribes

Native groups in the Mississippi River Valley (e.g., Cahokia) known for large earthen mounds, maize agriculture, and complex societies.

Eastern Woodland tribes

Tribes in the Northeastern U.S. forests (Iroquois, Algonquian); combined hunting, fishing, and agriculture; lived in longhouses.

Maize

Staple crop cultivated in Mesoamerica; supported dense populations and complex civilizations.

Aztec

Central Mexican empire (Tenochtitlan) known for military conquest, human sacrifices, and tribute system.

Inca

South American Andean empire with advanced road systems, terraced farming, and centralized governance.

Cahokia

Largest pre-Columbian city north of Mexico; located near modern St. Louis; famous for Monks Mound.

Algonquian

Language group of northeastern tribes; included Powhatan, Wampanoag, and Ojibwa; semi-nomadic and engaged in trade.

Iroquois

Confederation of tribes in New York (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca); matrilineal society; strong military alliances.

Powhatan

Chiefdom in Virginia area; interacted with Jamestown colonists; part of Algonquian-speaking peoples.

Wampanoags

Tribe in Massachusetts; signed peace treaty with Pilgrims; participated in early Thanksgiving.

Ottawas

Great Lakes tribe; controlled trade routes between interior North America and French colonists.

Ojibwas

Great Lakes tribe; skilled hunters, fishers, and traders; allied with French fur traders.

Comanches

Plains tribe in Texas/Colorado; horse culture enabled dominance in buffalo hunting and warfare.

Crow

Plains tribe in Montana/Wyoming; hunters and horse riders; allied with or traded with neighboring tribes.

Great Basin

Arid region of western U.S.; tribes like Shoshone and Paiute adapted with hunting and foraging.

Shoshone

Great Basin tribe; nomadic hunters; lived in harsh desert and mountain areas.

Anasazi

Ancient Pueblo peoples in Southwest U.S.; cliff dwellings and communal stone pueblos.

Pueblos

Southwestern tribes living in adobe multi-story villages; farmed maize, beans, and squash.

Animism

Belief that animals, plants, and natural objects possess spiritual essence; common among Native tribes.

Patriarchies

Societies dominated by male leadership in politics, family, and religion; contrasted with matrilineal Iroquois structures.

Genoa, Florence, Venice

Wealthy Italian city-states; centers of trade, banking, art, and Renaissance culture.

Michelangelo

Renaissance artist; famous for Sistine Chapel ceiling and sculptures like David.

da Vinci

Italian Renaissance polymath; painter, inventor, engineer, and scientist.

Renaissance

Cultural rebirth emphasizing humanism, classical learning, art, and scientific inquiry.

Crusades

Religious wars between Christians and Muslims (11th-13th century); increased trade and cultural exchange.

Silk Road

Trade routes linking Europe and Asia; facilitated exchange of goods, technology, and ideas.

Martin Luther

German monk who started the Protestant Reformation by challenging Catholic indulgences.

Reformation

Religious movement in Europe splitting Christianity into Catholicism and Protestant denominations.

John Calvin

Protestant leader; promoted predestination and strict moral codes in daily life.

Counter-Reformation

Catholic reform movement to stop Protestant expansion; included Jesuit missionaries.

Jesuits

Catholic order focused on education, missionary work, and converting non-Christians.

Ghana Empire

West African empire controlling gold-salt trade (c. 300-1200 CE).

Songhai Empire

Wealthy West African empire (15th-16th century) controlling trade and Islamic learning centers.

Mali Empire

West African empire famous for Mansa Musa and trans-Saharan gold trade.

Gold Coast

Coastal West Africa rich in gold; primary target for European trade.

Islam

Monotheistic religion influencing West African trade, law, and education.

Bartolomeu Dias

Portuguese explorer; first European to sail around Africa's southern tip.

Vasco da Gama

Portuguese navigator; reached India by sea, establishing trade routes.

Ibn Battuta

Muslim traveler; documented extensive journeys through Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Ferdinand and Isabella

Spanish monarchs who funded Columbus's voyage to the Americas.

Christopher Columbus

Italian navigator; reached the Caribbean in 1492, starting European colonization.

Amerigo Vespucci

Italian explorer; recognized that the Americas were separate continents.

Ponce de Leon

Spanish explorer; governor of Puerto Rico; searched for Fountain of Youth in Florida.

Hernan Cortes

Conquistador who conquered the Aztec Empire in Mexico.

Moctezuma

Aztec emperor at the time of Spanish conquest.

Tenochtitlan

Capital of the Aztec Empire; located on an island in Lake Texcoco (modern Mexico City).

Smallpox

Deadly European disease that decimated Native populations.

Francisco Pizarro

Conquistador who captured and destroyed the Inca Empire in Peru.

Pedro Cabral

Portuguese navigator who claimed Brazil for Portugal.

Plantation system

Large-scale agricultural estates using forced labor, especially enslaved Africans.