Native American Regions, Cultures, and Contact Effects (1450-1600)

Southwest

Farmers; climate: arid/desert; relied on irrigation; food: maize, beans, squash; built adobe/multi-storied houses; practiced ceremonies tied to sun and rain; trade: corn, pottery, turquoise.

Great Basin & Great Plains

Hunters and gatherers; climate: dry, with some grasslands; limited farming except near rivers; food: bison hunting, some fishing, gathered seeds/nuts; customs: nomadic or semi-nomadic bands; used tipis on the Plains; trade: horses, hides, meat.

Northeast, Mississippi River Valley, + Atlantic Seaboard

Farmers/fishers; climate: fertile soil, rivers, forests; food: farmed maize, beans, squash; also hunted deer, fished, gathered; customs: built mound cities (Cahokia), longhouses (Iroquois); matrilineal societies; trade: regional trade networks of food, copper, shells, and tools.

Northwest (Pacific Coast)

Fishers; climate: mild, wet, resource-rich coast; food: abundant salmon, shellfish, whales; customs: built large plank houses, carved totem poles, held potlatch feasts; trade: fish, shells, and crafted goods exchanged along the coast.

Encomienda

Tribute payment from subjects to rulers, basis of Aztec + Inca power.

Matriarchy

Social system where power passes through female lines.

Animism

Belief in spiritual power in the natural world.

Patriarchy/Primogeniture

Male-dominated inheritance and rule.

Republic

A government without a king.

Civic Humanism

Citizens should actively serve the public good.

Renaissance

Rebirth of learning, arts, and science in Europe.

Guilds

Artisan associations that regulated trades.

Christianity/Heresy

Christianity dominated Europe, heresy was any belief that challenged its official teachings.

Islam/Crusades

Muslim faith spreading across Africa + Europe; wars against it.

Protestant Reformation

Martin Luther's challenge of the Catholic Church.

Counter-Reformation

Catholic reform, Jesuit missionary work.

Predestination

Calvinist belief that God chose the saved before birth.

Reconquista

Spanish reconquest of Iberia from Muslims.

Trans-Saharan Trade

Gold, salt, and slaves linking West Africa to Europe.

Hiawatha

Legendary Iroquois founder who united tribes.

Mansa Musa

Wealthy ruler of Mali; expanded Islam in Africa.

Vasco da Gama

Portuguese explorer, reached India by sea.

Martin Luther

German monk who sparked Protestant Reformation.

Christopher Columbus

Genoese sailor who reached the Americas.

Hernán Cortés

Conquered Aztec Empire.

Moctezuma

Aztec ruler defeated by Cortés.

Pedro Alvares Cabral

Portuguese explorer who claimed Brazil.