apush ೀ period 1;

columbian exchange

(sometimes accidental, sometimes purposeful) traded diseases, plants, animals, people, ideas, and resources between africa, europe, & americas

horticulture

form of agri. where people work on small plots of land w/ simple tools

• became highly developed in area of present day mexico

important crops

MAIZE (aMAIZEing corn) :3

grown in the area of present day mexico alongside:

• protein rich beans, squash, tomatoes, potatoes, & manioc

impact of maize (& other crops)

• kept soil fertile

• high yields produced surplus food that was stored or traded to neighboring communities

• maize provided stable & reliable food source, allowing societies to transition from nomadic hunter-gatherer —> settled agri. communities

• stable food supply allowing population growth —> inc. settlement density —> more towns & cities

aztecs

1325 C.E. - called themselves “mexica,” & built their capital, tenochtitlan, on the side of present day mexico / mesoamerica

• seminomadic warriors

• emperor > nobles > commoners

• commoners (tilled lands) were ruled by priests & nobles

  • nobles formed warrior class & owned vast estates

  • employed serfs & enslaved people captured from non-aztec communities

  • priests promised fertility but in demand of human sacrifices

• created base 20 # system, astronomy

aztecs environment

1325 C.E. - called themselves “mexica,” & built their capital, tenochtitlan, on the side of present day mexico / mesoamerica

• used artificial islands

• commoners (tilled lands) were ruled by priests & nobles

  • nobles formed warrior class & owned vast estates

  • employed serfs & enslaved people captured from non-aztec communities

  • priests promised fertility but in demand of human sacrifices

• created base 20 # system, astronomy

mayans

900 B.C.E. - 300 C.E. —> 800 C.E. ; south of tenochtitlan into yucantan peninsula (mesoamerica)

• est. large cities

  • home to skilled artisans

• elaborate systems for irrigation & water storage

  • farmers worked the fields, building huge stone temples & palaces for rules claiming to be descendants of the gods

• ruling elite > commoners > slaves

• learned men dev. mathematical calcs, astronomical systs. HIEROGLYPHIC WRITING, & CALENDAR

• decline in 800 C.E.

mayans environment

mesoamerica : mexico, guatemala, melize, honduras, el salva - south of tenochtitlan & spread into yucatan peninsula

• used advanced farming techniques such as terracing

  • cultivated maize

traded w/ aztecs

mayans decline

decline around 800 C.E. due to economic crisis

• likely due to drought which was worsened by heavy taxation, driving peasant families into interior

• towns & religious sites abandoned

• some communities survived crisis & reemerged as thriving city-states over centuries

• early 16th cen., they were trading w/ aztecs (north)

incas

emerged around andes mountains (peru) along pacific coast from the 13th-16th century (1200s-1500s)

• 1400s, inca controlled 16mil ppl spread over 350,000 sq. miles

  • expansive syst. of roads & garrisons to ensure flow of food, trade, & soldiers from capital @ cuzco

  • called the inca road

• nobles > commoners > slaves

• like aztec priests, incan priests sacrificed humans to the gods

• decimal syst. & zero concept

incas environment

andes mountains in peru along pacific coast

• fertile mountain valleys

  • cultivated potatoes & other crops on terraces

  • watered by elaborate irrigation syst.

  • miners dug gold & silver from the mountains & artisans crafted metals into jewelry & decor

• cuzco capital - 11k ft. above sea lvl.

pueblo

located in present day new mexico & arizona (above iroquois) sedentary

• built permanent multi-story adobe dwellings

  • adobe bricks made from clay & water to greate small urban centers

  • around 750 C.E., they were building adobe & masonry homes cut into cliffs

  • eventually migrated south & constructed large buildings w/ admin officers, religious centers, & craft shops

• used advanced irrigation techniq. to survive arid climate of the southwest

• eventual drought caused them to disperse into smaller settled groups

ute

great plains & great basin, stretched over enormous desert - now southwestern colorado & southeastern utah - nomadic hunter gatherers who needed a lot of land

chinook

pacific northwest; diverse peoples of different languages & cultures

• resource rich region near pacific ocean

  • ocean resources supported hunters & gatherers as they gave up nomadic life & settled into village life

    • fish from oceans, elk from forests

• worshipped maritime & woodland deities

• built ocean-going canoes from cedar

  • cedars were used by chinook peoples in pac. nw. to build extensive long plank houses

  • kinship groups

iroquois

north eastern regions; forest & rivers

• lived in villages of up to several hundred inhabitants

  • semi-sedentary villages

  • built large long houses out of rich forests

  • women had considerable power !! they elected male village leaders

• cultivated maize & vegetables like squash and beans

• dependent upon deer hunting & fishing

• ritual humiliation of an opponent was more important than killing them

hopewell

500 C.E. ; complex societies in mississippi river valley in south & east

• thick forests

• cultivated corn - development crop which allowed population to expand

• political & religious systems grew under elite rulers

• created massive earthworks sculpted in the shape of serpents, birds, & other creatures

• huge temple mounds

• cahokia ppl est. largest settlement

  • environmental factors affected them too : deforestation, drought, & perhaps disease

  • led to mississippian culture to decline overall

renaissance

cultural & intellectual flowering that began in 15th cen italy

• spread north throughout late 15th & 16th cen

• during this time, european rulers pushed for greater political unification of their states —> influenced the investment to expand into americas

missionaries

ppl who travel to foreign lands w/ the goal of converting those they meet & interact w/ to a new religion

• used by spain & portugal to bypass trade routes blocked/controlled by italian & muslin rivals

• missionaries & explorers would travel & bring back trade goods, knowledge of astronomy, shipbuilding, mapmaking, & navigation

henry the navigator

hoped to find passage to india via atlantic ocean - gathered information from astronomers, geographers, mapmakers, and craftsmen in the arab world

• recruited italian cartographers and navigators along w/ portuguese scholars, sailors, and captains

• efforts aimed at exploration, observation, shipbuilding, and long-distance trade that revolutionized europe

caravels

under henry, portuguese developed caravels

• small and swift sailing ship invented by the portuguese during 15th cen.

• vessels with narrow hulls and triangular sails effective for navigating the coast of west africa

astrolabe

navigation instrument; invented by greek astronomers & sailors for navigation or astrological problems

• featured triangular lateen sail - originally an arab invention

inquisition

religious judicial institution designed to find and eliminate beliefs that didn’t align with official catholic practices

• first est. in 1478

french relations with native americans

mainly interested in trade

• often intermarried w/ native americans for alliances and trade benefits

• france is also catholic !!

• did the LEAST harm to native americand

religion in native american culture after european settlement

created a hybrid religion mixing catholicism with their own religions, resulting in a local unique religion combining both aspects