Early Americas and Columbian Exchange Vocabulary

Flashcards defining key vocabulary terms, societies, and colonial systems from the lecture notes on pre-1492 Americas and Spanish colonization.

Maize

Corn that supported population growth and permanent settlements across much of the Americas by producing a dependable food surplus.

Tenochtitlán

Capital of the Aztec Empire and a major center of trade and military power in present-day Mexico.

Cahokia

Large Mississippian city near present-day St. Louis, known for agriculture, trade, and ceremonial earthwork mounds.

Mississippian culture

A network of agricultural mound-building societies that spread throughout the Mississippi River Valley and Southeast.

Columbian Exchange

The movement of plants, animals, people, and diseases between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres following sustained contact after 1492.

Encomienda system

A Spanish colonial system in which colonists received the right to demand labor or tribute from Indigenous communities, primarily organizing labor while frequently resulting in exploitation.

Caste system

A Spanish colonial social hierarchy based on ancestry and birthplace that organized people into a racial and social status hierarchy.