APUSH Enduring Vision Chapter 1

Ice Age

Period of time when global temperatures dropped, resulting in the expansion of glaciers and ice sheets. Allowed for people to across bridge from Siberia to Alaska

Radiocarbon dating

Method used by archaeologists to estimate the age of organic materials by measuring the radioactive carbon 14 present

Paleo-Indians

Term used by archaeologists to refer to the earliest Americans who settled in the Western Hemisphere

Reciprocity

Principle followed by Native Americans involving mutual bestowing of gifts and favors in exchanges

Megafauna

Refers to the large mammals such as mammoths, mastodons, and giant horses that existed in the Americas

Archaic Societies

Term used to describe Native American groups that modified their ways after the Paleo-Indian period.

This change was a result of more resources being available to natives.

Beringia

Land bridge that connected northeastern Asia to present-day Alaska, believed to have been crossed by early humans migrating to the Americas

Native American oral traditions

Stories passed down through generations that offer varying accounts of the origins and experiences of Native American peoples

Paleo-Indian descendants

Refers to the generations that followed the Paleo-Indians and settled throughout the Western Hemisphere

Athapaskan (Dene) people

Native American group that settled in Alaska and northwestern Canada around 7000 b.c.e.

Inuits (Eskimos) and Aleuts

Native American groups that crossed the Bering Sea from Siberia to Alaska around 3000 b.c.e.

Deciduous forests

Forests characterized by trees that shed their leaves annually

Glacial runoff

Water resulting from the melting of glaciers

Arctic and subarctic environments

Regions near or around the Arctic Circle characterized by cold temperatures and tundra vegetation

Flora and fauna

Plant and animal life in a particular region or period

sea level rise

Refers to the increase in the average level of the world's oceans

Environmental changes

Alterations in the environment that can be caused by natural or human factors

Treeless plains

Flat expanses of land devoid of trees

Grassland prairies

Ecosystems dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants

Desert

Dry, arid region with sparse vegetation

Global temperatures

Average temperatures across the entire Earth

Glaciers

Large masses of ice that move slowly over land

Paleo-Indian sites

Locations where evidence of early human settlement in the Americas has been found

Monte Verde, Chile

Coastal site in Chile with evidence of early human habitation dating back to about 12,000 b.c.e.

Archaic peoples

Native Americans flourishing in new environments, living off varied flora and fauna

Food surplus

Excess food enabling larger populations in smaller territories

Iroquois Confederacy

Union of five Iroquois nations forming a powerful confederacy around 1400 c.e.

Maize agriculture

Highly developed agriculture in Mesoamerica by 2500 b.c.e.

Mesoamerican farmers

Farmers refining practices, improving crops, and structuring societies around farming

Olmecs and Chavín de Huántar

Communities developing into large urban centers after 1200 b.c.e., subordinating smaller neighbors

Aztec Empire (aka Mexica)

Empire (was a confederacy) in central Mexico founded in 1428, with capital city Tenochtitlan(in the area of Mexico City).

Had access to lake Texcoco.

Participated in Human Sacrifice for religious purposes to better the people and the land.

Used complex irrigation systems (for both crops and people) and farmed crops such as maize, beans, and squash.

Pochteca (People traveling in armed caravans) conducted trade for the aztecs.

When expanding, they were invaded by Spain in 1519.

Inca Empire

Empire stretching nearly 3000 miles along the western coast of South America.

Bordered by Andes Mountains by the east.

Chiefdoms

Political societies with closely clustered communities, distinct from states

Teotihuacán

Largest early state with a capital northeast of modern-day Mexico City, influencing religion, government, and culture

Maya civilization

Kingdom-states flourishing with advanced calendar, numerical system, and hieroglyphic writing

Pyramid of the Sun

Largest structure in the Americas until Spanish arrival, part of Teotihuacán

Aztecs

Empire in Mexico, practiced human sacrifice for gods.

Tenochtitlán

Capital of the Aztec empire with a massive temple complex.

Incas

Empire in the Andes known for surplus crop production.

Cuzco

Sumptuous capital of the Inca empire.

Hohokam

Southwestern culture with irrigation canals and confederations.

Ancestral Pueblo

Culture with distinctive architecture and kivas in the Southwest.

Maize

Crop introduced to the Southwest via Mesoamerican trade.

Pochteca

Traders who conducted trade beyond the Aztec domain.

Terraced irrigation systems

Systems built by the Incas for farming on mountainous terrain.

Great Temple

Aztec temple complex consisting of two joined pyramids.

Cliff Palace

Ancestral Pueblo community site with multi-story structures.

Chaco Canyon

Location of a powerful Ancestral Pueblo confederation.

Pueblo Bonito

Largest town in Chaco Canyon with about twelve hundred inhabitants.

Apaches

Nonfarming tribe attracted to the drier lands of the Southwest.

Navajos

Nonfarming tribe that arrived in the Southwest at the end of the fourteenth century.

Poverty Point

Village on the lower Mississippi River with about five thousand inhabitants by 1200 b.c.e.

Mesoamerican influence

Influence seen in Hohokam culture through materials and ideas.

Surplus crops

Key to Inca expansion, including maize, beans, potatoes, and meats.

Kivas

Partly underground structures for ceremonies in Ancestral Pueblo villages.

Trade routes

Network used by pochteca for trade beyond the Aztec domain.

Drought

Cause of decline for Ancestral Pueblo culture in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

Adena Culture

Mound-building culture in the Ohio Valley with graves and varied treatment of the dead.

Hopewell Culture

Evolved from Adena, spread to Illinois River Valley, with elaborate burials and trade networks.

Mississippian Culture

Developed around 700 c.e., focused on agriculture, craft production, and long-distance trade.

Cahokia

Major Mississippian center near St. Louis with platform mounds, religious temples, and elite residences.

Mississippian Art

Highly sophisticated art in clay, stone, shell, copper, wood, and other materials for religious and funeral rituals.

Hopewell Effigy Pipe

Carved stone figure depicting a stylized coyote, dated between 200 b.c.e. and 1900 b.c.e.

Mississippian Trade Networks

Extensive networks based on river-borne trade and shared religious beliefs, dominated by single metropolises.

Mississippian Decline

After 1200 c.e., faced shortages, warfare, and resource competition leading to decentralization.

Eastern Woodlands Agriculture

Transitioned to village-based farming with new strains of maize and beans, cultivating crops.

Native American Land Management

Environmentally sound practices like controlled burning for hunting and farming in the Eastern Woodlands.

Northwest Coast Villages

Settled lifestyle in permanent villages with access to fish, sea mammals, shellfish, land mammals, and wild plants.

Northwest Coast Indians

Native Americans known for artistic and architectural achievements admired by Europeans.

California Indians

Native Americans clustering in villages to process acorns for food.

Plains Indians

Native Americans hunting buffalo for meat, hides, and tools.

Great Basin Indians

Native Americans relying on piñon nuts and adopting the bow and arrow for hunting.

Inuits and Aleuts

Native Americans in western Alaska using sophisticated tools for hunting sea mammals.

Plains Indians' Buffalo Hunting

Plains Indians stampeding buffalos for meat, hides, and other resources.

Mississippian Era Refugees

Native Americans moving to Plains valleys for farming and hunting buffalo.

Vinland Norse

Norse colonizers in Greenland trading with Inuit and attempting to colonize Vinland.

Native American Kinship

Social structure based on kinship, reciprocity, and communal ownership of resources.

Extended Families

Multigenerational families living together with complex social obligations.

Patrilocal Societies

Societies where couples live with the husband's family after marriage.

Matrilocal Societies

Societies where couples live with the wife's relatives after marriage.

Hunter-Gatherer Cultures

Typically patrilineal societies with descent and inheritance through the male line.

Francisco Vázquez de Coronado

Sought the fabled golden cities in Southwest NA but did not find any. First European to see the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon.