Social Studies Flashcards
Paleo Indians
from Asia crossed the Bering land bridge into present-day Alaska
Why and when did paleo Indians go into north america?
They migrated into north america between 3800-1000 B.C. because the ice age dropped sea levels and exposed and land bridge (Bering Land Bridge in Beringa).
Where did the Paleo-Indians migrate?
They migrated as far south to the southern tip of south america
Who were Paleo-Indians?
They were hunter gathers looking for wild plants and animals.
When did the ice age end?
Around 8000 BC the ice age ended and earth’s climate grew warmer.
What is the Bering Land Bridge today?
Today it is the Bering strait. This warming of the earth created different environments
What did the warming climate create?
The warming climate created new environments and landscapes. These varied (different/diverse) environments influenced the development of different Native American cultures. They varied from tribe to tribe and region to region.
What did farming allow?
Farming (c 5,000 B.C.) allowed people to stop migrating and to settle in one place. With more food, population grew and more advanced societies began to develop.
Olmec
Earliest known civilization in Western Hemisphere
a/k/a “Mother Culture” or first culture in No. Am.
Known for use of stone (huge heads) and built the first pyramids in the Americas
Mayans
Lived in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico
Created large cities
Created canals, pyramids, bridges, palaces, and temples where they carried out human sacrifice to please the gods
Aztec Empire
Fierce warriors and became very rich because of trade and
tribute (taxes paid to them)
Very powerful and conquered much of Mesoamerica with a
huge trade network
Founded Tenochititlan, their capital city on Lake Texcoco,
and it became one of the large cities in the empire (today it
is Mexico City).
Leader was Montezuma II (later conquered by Spanish
Conquistador Hernando Cortez).
Inca empire
Began as a small tribe in the Andes Mountains in South America from Ecuador to Chile.
Capital City was Cuzco; Machu Picchu was discovered in 1911 (huge perfectly formed stone blocks)
By the 1500s the vast empire stretched along much of the western South American coast.
They were known for strong central government and vast network of rope bridges to communicate within their empire.
Leader was Ata hualpa (later conquered by Spanish Conquistador Francisco Pizarro).
Anasazi
Lived in the Southwest Region of the present-day U.S. (four corners: AZ, CO, NM, UT)
Grew maize, beans, squash
Used irrigation to increase food production because of the dry/arid climate
Lived in pueblos and in the cliffs
Built kivas which were at the center of each community
Thrived for hundreds of years, but in AD 1300 drought, disease, and raids by nomadic tribes may have caused them to abandon their pueblos
Hopewell
lived along the Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri River valleys; built large burial mounds to honor their dead
Mississippians
same area; built hundreds of mounds for religious ceremonies; these mounds still exist today.
