Study Guide 1

What is the Bering Strait?

A land bridge connecting Asia to North America, believed to have been used by Paleo-Indians to migrate, around 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.

Who were the Paleo-Indians?

Early Native American people who crossed the Bering Strait during the Ice Age, around 12,000 years ago.

What is a Clovis Point?

A distinctive stone tool used by early Paleo-Indians, dated to around 13,000 years ago.

What were the Archaic Indians known for?

A group of Native Americans who adapted to their environment after the extinction of large game, from about 8,000 BCE to 1,000 BCE.

Name one characteristic of the Pacific Coast Culture.

Known for a sedentary lifestyle and rich fish resources, particularly salmon, present from around 4,000 BCE onward.

What is the Great Basin Culture?

A culture in the area between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, known for its hunting and gathering lifestyle, dating back around 10,000 years ago.

What is the Great Plains Culture known for?

The Plains Indians were primarily nomadic, following bison herds, dating back to around 500 CE.

What defines the Southwestern Culture?

Known for farming and the development of complex societies, including the Ancestral Puebloans, around 1,000 BCE to 1,500 CE.

What is characteristic of the Eastern Woodlands Culture?

Societies in this region lived in forested areas and developed agriculture, particularly the 'Three Sisters' (corn, beans, and squash), starting around 1,000 BCE.

What language groups were common in the Eastern Woodlands?

Algonquian, Muskogean, and Iroquoian, with widespread use around 1,000 BCE.

Who were the Algonquian people?

A Native American language group found in the northeastern part of North America, dominant from the 16th century onward.

Who were the Muskogean people?

A Native American language group found in the southeastern United States, around 1,000 BCE to 1,500 CE.

Who were the Iroquoian people?

A Native American language group found in the Great Lakes and northeastern regions of North America, around 1,000 BCE onward.

What was the League of Five/Six Nations?

A powerful confederacy of Native American tribes, primarily Iroquois, formed for mutual defense and decision-making, around 1,500 CE.

Who was Eric Thorvaldsson (Erik the Red)?

A Norse explorer who founded the first Norse settlement in Greenland, around 982 CE.

Who was Lief Eriksson?

A Norse explorer credited with being the first European to land in North America, around 1000 CE.

What is Vinland?

A name given by Norse explorers to the area of North America they explored, likely part of modern-day Newfoundland, around 1000 CE.

What was the Caravel?

A type of ship developed by the Portuguese, known for its ability to sail in various directions, facilitating long voyages in the 15th century.

Who was Prince Henry?

A Portuguese prince who sponsored exploration along Africa’s west coast in the 15th century, from 1394 to 1460.

Who was Bartolommeo Dias?

A Portuguese explorer who was the first to round the southern tip of Africa, opening a sea route to India, in 1488.

Who was Vasco da Gama?

A Portuguese explorer who successfully sailed to India, opening a direct sea route from Europe to Asia in 1498.

What was the Reconquista?

The centuries-long series of campaigns to recapture Spain from Muslim rule, culminating in 1492.

Who were Ferdinand II and Isabella?

Catholic monarchs of Spain who funded Christopher Columbus's voyage in 1492.

Who was Christopher Columbus?

An Italian explorer who, under Spanish sponsorship, reached the Americas in 1492, mistakenly believing he had found Asia.

What was the Treaty of Tordesillas?

A 1494 agreement between Spain and Portugal that divided the world for exploration and colonization.

Who were the Mexica/Aztecs?

A Mesoamerican culture known for its vast empire, advanced agriculture, and impressive architectural structures, peaking around 1,200 CE to 1,500 CE.

Who was Montezuma?

The last emperor of the Aztec Empire, who encountered Hernán Cortés during the Spanish conquest in 1519.

Who was Quetzalcoatl?

An Aztec god, often depicted as a feathered serpent, associated with creation and civilization.

Who was Hernán Cortés?

A Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire in 1521.

Who was Francisco Pizarro?

A Spanish conquistador who led the conquest of the Inca Empire in 1533.

Who was Juan Ponce de León?

A Spanish explorer known for searching for the Fountain of Youth and claiming Florida for Spain in 1513.

Who was Hernando de Soto?

A Spanish explorer who explored the southeastern United States, discovering the Mississippi River in 1541.

What was the Encomienda System?

A Spanish system that granted colonists the right to extract labor from indigenous peoples, starting in the early 16th century.

What was the Repartimiento of 1549?

A system in Spanish America that replaced the Encomienda system with a more limited labor requirement.

What was the Columbian Exchange?

The exchange of goods, animals, diseases, and ideas between the Old World and the New World following Columbus's voyages, beginning in 1492.

Who were the Peninsulares?

Spanish-born individuals who held high-ranking positions in the colonies, dominant from the 16th century.

Who were the Creoles?

People of Spanish descent born in the colonies, often wealthy but lower in status than Peninsulares, from the 16th century onward.

Who were the Mestizos?

People of mixed European and indigenous ancestry in the Spanish colonies, emerging in the 16th century.

Who was Charles I/Charles V?

King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor during the 16th century, from 1519 to 1556.

Who was Philip II?

King of Spain, known for his strong Catholic policies and involvement in the Spanish Armada in 1588.

What was the significance of Fort Caroline and Jean Ribault?

Fort Caroline was a French colony in Florida, and Ribault was its leader during the French attempt to establish a foothold in North America, in 1562.

Who was Sir Walter Raleigh?

An English explorer who sponsored attempts to colonize North America, including the Roanoke Colony, in the late 16th century.

What was the Roanoke Colony?

The 'Lost Colony,' an early English settlement that mysteriously disappeared in the late 16th century, founded in 1585.

What was the significance of Jamestown?

The first permanent English colony in North America, founded in 1607.

What were the Laws Divine, Morall & Martiall?

The strict laws governing the Virginia colony, established to ensure survival and order, introduced in 1609.

Who was John Smith?

An English explorer and leader who helped establish the Jamestown colony in 1607.

Who was Pocahontas?

A Powhatan woman who played a key role in relations between the English and Native Americans, around 1607–1617.

What was the Chesapeake Tobacco Boom?

The rapid growth of tobacco as a cash crop in the Chesapeake region, driving the economy of the Virginia colony, beginning in the early 1600s.

What was the Headright System?

A system that granted land to settlers in Virginia, encouraging the growth of the colony through immigration, introduced in 1618.