CH. 1 New_World_Beginnings__33_000_BCE_to_1769

Flashcards covering New World Beginnings from 33,000 BCE to 1769 CE, focusing on Native American societies, the Agricultural Revolution, ancient cultures, and early European colonization.

Traditional Theory (Land Bridge)

The theory that original Americans migrated from Siberia across a land bridge into North America and gradually moved south to populate the continent.

Newer Theory (Maritime Migration)

A newer theory suggesting that North America was settled by gradual maritime migration down the American coastline, explaining the rapid settlement.

Native Creation Stories

Indigenous narratives explaining the origins of native peoples, often stating that they have always been present in North America, such as the Hopi story of migration.

Nomadic Hunter-Gatherers

Cultural groups that follow game animals (especially bison) and collect plants, best identified with the Great Plains (e.g., Lakotas, Cheyennes, Blackfeet).

Village Dwellers

Cultural groups that live in settled, agricultural communities and raise crops (e.g., Pueblo peoples of New Mexico).

Semisedentary/Seminomadic

Cultural groups that live part of the year in settled communities and spend other portions following game animals or fishing (e.g., Mandans, Iroquois, Tlingit).

Agricultural Revolution in North America

The development of settled agriculture in North America, primarily with maize, beans, and squash, which allowed for the development of complex, urban societies long before European contact.

Maize

A primary agricultural staple from Mesoamerica that supported the development of complex, urban societies in ancient North America.

Surplus (Agriculture)

The production of more food than needed from agriculture, leading to population growth and the development of more complex and urbanized societies.

Ancestral Puebloan Culture

A collective name for the most famous ancient urban societies in the Southwest (formerly Anasazi), known for advanced irrigation systems, road systems, and trade networks.

Chaco Canyon

An Ancestral Puebloan urban center in New Mexico known for its elaborate irrigation and road systems, and its role as a center of a trade network, which declined likely due to drought.

Mesa Verde Cultural Region

An Ancestral Puebloan cultural region in Colorado/Utah unique for its cliff-dwelling villages and agricultural practices.

Mississippian Culture

A diverse ancient culture in North America known for settled agriculture (maize, beans, squash), large cities like Cahokia, and the construction of monumental earthen pyramids.

Great Cahokia

A major city built by the Mississippian Culture near St. Louis, Missouri, known for its large earthen pyramids and complex societal structure.

Encomienda System

A Spanish colonial system that marshaled Native American labor to support the colonial economy, particularly in agriculture and mining.

Creolization (Spanish North America)

A social phenomenon in Spanish North America, characterized by intermarriage between Europeans and Native peoples due to a small European population, leading to a unique mixed-race society.

Pueblo Revolt and Reconquest

A major Native American uprising against Spanish colonizing efforts in New Mexico (1680-1696), which eventually led to Spanish accommodation of some aspects of American Indian culture.

Fur Trade (French North America)

The primary economic rationale for French colonization in North America, focusing on the trade of animal furs, which shaped their interactions with Native American groups.

Jesuit Missionaries (French North America)

Roman Catholic missionaries who played a significant role in French North America, working among Native American communities and establishing missions.

Creole Society (French West)

A social structure in French North America, particularly in the West, that emerged due to a small European population and extensive trade networks, leading to a mixing of cultures and peoples.

Columbian Exchange

The widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Americas, West Africa, and the Old World in the 15th and 16th centuries.