Indigenous Peoples, Geography, and Pre-Columbian Americas (Vocabulary Flashcards)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key Indigenous geographies, peoples, and pre-Columbian American civilizations and adaptation.

Americas

The broad geographic region including North America, Central America (Mesoamerica), South America, and the Caribbean; used here to discuss pre-Columbian peoples before an 'American' identity existed.

Mesoamerica

The central American region (often called Central America) that includes parts of Mexico and Central America; a key pre-Columbian cultural zone.

Central America

Region of the Americas that, together with parts of Mexico, comprises Mesoamerica.

Caribbean

The Caribbean region, part of the broader Americas discussed in pre-Columbian studies.

Tinotchinon

City in what is today Mexico City; the Mexica are commonly known in popular history as the Aztecs.

Mexica

The people historically referred to as the Aztecs; the civilization centered around cities like Tinotchinon.

Aztecs

Common name for the Mexica; a major pre-Columbian civilization in central Mexico.

Mayans

Civilization based in the Yucatán Peninsula; one of the major pre-Columbian cultures in the region.

Pristine and advanced (Spanish view)

The Spanish described Tinotchinon as pristine and advanced, challenging stereotypes that indigenous peoples were primitive.

Pre-Columbian urban centers

Indigenous societies possessed sophisticated urban planning, agriculture, and trade networks before Columbus.

Ethnocentrism (wheel as measure of advancement)

The idea that the wheel signals overall progress, a view debated here as not necessary or universal.

Population (pre-contact North America)

Estimated 8–10 million people living in North America before contact.

Population (pre-contact Mesoamerica)

Estimated about 50 million people in Mesoamerica before contact.

Population (Caribbean)

Estimated about 3,000,000 people in the Caribbean before contact.

Population (South America)

Estimated about 37,000,000 people in South America before contact.

Incas

A large civilization in the Andean region of South America.

Paleo Indians

First peoples who migrated into the Americas from Asia (Siberia); date roughly 50,000–20,000 years ago.

Beringia

Land bridge that connected Asia to North America during periods of low sea level in the Ice Age.

Kelp Highway

Coastal-water migration theory proposing early peoples followed kelp beds along the Pacific coast.

Harpoons

A tool used by early peoples for hunting, often made from whale bone in some regions.

Whale-bone tools

Tools fashioned from whale bone used by early populations in coastal areas.

Megafauna

Large Ice Age animals such as woolly mammoths and mastodons that early Americans hunted or used for resources.

Woolly mammoth

A large extinct Ice Age mammal whose coat and hide provided materials for survival.

Mastodon

Another large extinct Ice Age mammal used for resources by early populations.

Ice Age climate

A period of extremely cold temperatures that shaped adaptation and survival strategies.

Arctic and Subarctic (Inuit and related groups)

Regions where Inuit lived; traditionally called Eskimo in older literature, a term now discouraged.

Eskimo

Outdated term for Arctic indigenous peoples; discouraged in modern usage.

Inuit

Self-designation of Arctic peoples; preferred over Eskimo.

Great Basin

Desert region with low population density; irrigation-like canals and reservoirs were developed in some groups.

Southwestern (Anasazi, Navajo)

Southwestern cultures; Anasazi meaning 'ancient ones' (Navajo term); cliff dwellings and great houses; later Navajo people.

Anasazi

Navajo term meaning 'ancient ones'; outsider label for prehistoric Southwest inhabitants.

Navajo

Later group in the Southwest who followed the Anasazi; distinct cultural identity.

Chaco Canyon

Major Ancestral Puebloan center in the Southwest notable for engineering feats.

Mesa Verde

Important site with cliff dwellings and great houses in the Southwest.

Great Plains

Vast grasslands region; historically called the Great American Desert; supported diverse populations and migrations.

Pacific Northwest

Coastal Northwest region with very high population density; rich resources, longhouses, totem poles, potlatch, and large canoes.

Totem poles

Carved family crests and genealogies used in Pacific Northwest cultures.

Potlatch

Wealth redistribution ceremony where hosts give away wealth, gaining honor and social power; also served social welfare.

Chumash (California Far West)

Notable California culture; acorn-based diet; twig houses; oak landscapes linked to the Oakland name.

Acorns

Central staple in California Far West; require leaching to remove toxins before eating.

Oakland origin

Place name origin tied to abundant oaks and oak forests in California; referenced in Saint Barbara/Oakland discussion.