Chapter 1- A Continent Of Villages

Question 1

What was Cahokia?

Answer 1

One of the largest urban centers created by Mississippian people’s in 1250.
(Extra - there were over 30,000 residents)

Question 2

What were the transoceanic migrations?

Answer 2

Population migrations over oceans.

Question 3

What did Joseph de Acosta believe about the animals of North America?

Answer 3

They got to NorAm by a land bridge.
(Extra - he believed that’s how humans got here too. He was the first archaeologist to hint at the idea of Beringia. His theory is supported by DNA studies of Asian and Native American populations)

Question 4

Who are the Indian people?

Answer 4

Native inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere.

Extra - represented over 2,000 cultures

Question 5

When did the migrations from Asia begin?

Answer 5

About 30,000 years ago during the Last Ice Age.

Question 6

How did the migrations happen?

Answer 6

A grassland bridge about 750 miles wide (North to South) that connected Asia and NorAm.

Question 7

How did they get from Canadian regions to NorAm?

Answer 7

The Pan-American Highway along eastern front of Rocky Mountains.
(Extra - this was the path of hunter gatherers.)

Question 8

How did the natives of Chile get there from Asia?

Answer 8

They were believed to have taken a different route - the Pacific Coast Highway.

Question 9

Who were the Athapascan people?

Answer 9

Northwestern forest settlers of NorAm around 5,000 BCE.

Extra - the Athapascans were also known as the Na-Dene people

Question 10

How many migrations were there during the Last Ice Age?

Answer 10

There’s believed to have been 3 total migrations from Asia.

Question 11

Who were the Na-Dene (Athapascan) people ancestors of?

Answer 11

Navajo and Apache Indians.

Extra - this happened when some Na-Dene Indians migrated southwest. This was the 2nd migration

Question 12

Why couldn’t people coming from Asia migrate via Beringia?

Answer 12

Beringia had disappeared under rising sea levels due to the melting of glaciers that developed during the Last Ice Age.
(Extra - this is now called the Bering Straits)

Question 13

Who were the Inuits?

Answer 13

Inuits are commonly known as Eskimos. They populated the polar coats of the Arctic.

Question 14

Who were the Yupiks?

Answer 14

The Yupiks populated the Southwest Alaskan coast.

Question 15

Who were the Aleuts?

Answer 15

The Aleuts populated the Aleutian Islands.

Extra - the islands were named after the people that populated them.

Question 16

What was the Clovis hunting tradition?

Answer 16

Clovis is an archaeology site where archaeologists found tools that resembled tools from sites in Europe and Asia from the same time period. They developed a more sophisticated style of making fluted blades and lance points.

Question 17

What’s the definition of Clovis Tradition?

Answer 17

Powerful, new & sophisticated way of tool making found in the Old World new Clovis, New Mexico.
(Extra - this technology was also found as far north as Montana within 2,500 years of each other, indicating the technology ideology spread rapidly.)

Question 18

What kind of animals did people hunt with Clovis tradition?

Answer 18

Mammoth, camel, horse, giant armadillo and sloth.

Question 19

How did the end of the Last Ice Age effect NorAm?

Answer 19

The melting of the ice glaciers created the lake and river systems of today. It flooded Beringia (creating the Bering Straits) and made fertile tide pools/fishing banks. It also made new patterns of wind, rainfall and temperatures.

Question 20

How did the ending of the LIA effect hunting?

Answer 20

32 classes of IA mammals went extinct including the mammoth, mastodon, camel, and horse. This led to Pleistocene Overkill.

Question 21

What is the definition of Pleistocene Overkill?

Answer 21

Intensified hunting efforts due to decrease in mammal population.

Question 22

What was a Folsom?

Answer 22

Hunting tool developed for more speedy and accurate attacks on animals. It was more delicate yet more deadly.

Question 23

What was the archaic period?

Answer 23

A period roughly 10,000-2,500 years ago marked by the retreat of glaciers.

Question 24

How did hunting societies get food?

Answer 24

They would pick an abundance of varied fruits and berries and then move on to a different area to hunt there.

Question 25

What’s an example of how bands of hunters got their food?

Answer 25

They moved to mesas and plateaus to gather grass seed, acorns, juniper berries, & piñon nuts. They would also spear fish in nearby streams.

Question 26

Where did people in desert cultures live?

Answer 26

They lived in caves and rock shelters.

Question 27

What was a social characteristic of desert cultures?

Answer 27

They were characterized by social equality.

Extra - decisions were made by adults and leadership was informal

Question 28

How did marriage work in desert culture?

Answer 28

Men married women from other bands and the women moved in with the men and their families.

Question 29

What is forest efficiency?

Answer 29

Forest communities achieving a comfortable and secure life because of their knowledge of the surrounding resources.

Question 30

How were forest and desert communities alike?

Answer 30

They hunted small game and gathered seeds, nuts, roots & other wild plant foods.

Question 31

How did forest communities keep their favorite foods around for next season?

Answer 31

They burned woodlands and prairies to stimulate the growth of their favorite fruits and roots.
(Extra - this is how meadows were created. Many still exist today in forests all over the country.)

Question 32

What did they bury men and women with in forest communities?

Answer 32

Men: fishhooks, axes, and animal bones.
Women: nutcracking stones, beads, and pestles.
(Extra - this showed the gender roles in these communities)

Question 33

Where did farming begin?

Answer 33

It began in the highlands of Mexico and spread northeast.

Question 34

What kind of crops did they have in Mexico?

Answer 34

Mostly maize, but also beans, squash, tomatoes, peppers, avocados, cocoa, and vanilla.

Question 35

How did farming change society?

Answer 35

It led to the development of villages and permanent architecture, clans, confederacies, division of labor (based on gender in some communities) & classes of wealth.
(Extra- communities that relied on crops had both men and women in the fields, but communities that relied on hunting and crops had women in the fields and men out hunting.)

Question 36

What was central to social identities in farming communities?

Answer 36

Men and women belonged to different social groups that adopted rituals and lore.

Question 37

How did divorce work back then?

Answer 37

Divorce was simple. Kids remained with the mother and it was a quiet, simple process and quite common.

Question 38

What were the rights of Indian women and how did this differ from European ideals?

Answer 38

Indian women had complete ownership of their own body. They could determine when to have children, they could induce abortion with herbs, ease childbirth pain with herbs, prevent pregnancy with herbs, and they were free to do what they pleased with themselves. This was different from European ideals where men ruled over women in essentially every way.

Question 39

What was mesoamerica?

Answer 39

Region stretching from central Mexico to Central America where urban communities were developing.

Question 40

What complex societies were emerging? (Some of them)

Answer 40

Guatemala, Yucatan Peninsula, and Valley of Mexico (Mexico City).

Question 41

Who ruled these early complex communities?

Answer 41

A small group of wealthy elite political and religious leaders.

Question 42

What were some of the issues complex societies were vulnerable to?

Answer 42

Drought, soil erosion, and civil warfare.

Extra - rulers often staged shows of horrible torture to keep people from trying to overthrow them.

Question 43

What’s a great example of a complex society back then?

Answer 43

Teotihuacan was located in the Valley of Mexico. They controlled a system of trading and collected taxes. They began to decline in the 6th century.

Question 44

Who were the Aztecs?

Answer 44

They were warrior people’s who dominated the Valley of Mexico from 1100 to 1521.