Unit 1 Flashcards
What were the three major civilizations in Central and South America?
Aztecs, Maya, Inca
What did these three civilizations have in common?
-Large urban centers, complex political systems, and well-formed religions
-Maize
What was the capital of the Aztec Empire?
Tenochititlan, with a population of 300,000
What did Aztec priests do?
Upheld a cult of fertility for the land and people thorugh human sacrifice
Where were the achievements of the Mayans?
-Complex irrigation
-Water storage systems
-Built giant stone temples and palaces for their rulers, who their believed were descendants of the gods
What were the acheivements of the Incas?
-Cultivation of fertile mountain valleys
-Grew potatoes and other crops watered by elaborate systems of irrigation
Why was the cultivation of maize important?
-Supported economic development and the settlement of peoples
-Advanced irrigation and social diversification among societies
Who inhabited the Southwest of America?
The Pueblo people
What were the triats of the Pueblo people?
-Sedentary population
-Farmers of maize and other crops
-Built adobe and masonry homes
Who lived in the Great Plains and Great Basin regions?
Multiple tribes, but Utes are an example
What were the traits of the Great Plains Native Americans?
-Nomadic peoples
-Hunter-gatherer-type
-Needed a lot of land to do hunting and gathering because of the aridity of the region
Who lived in the Pacific Northwest?
Example would be the Chinook people
What were the traits of the Pacific Northwest peoples?
-Lived by the sea
-Settled into fishing villages
-Relied on elk
-Used the forest, cedar wood around them to construct plank houses
Who lived in the Mississippi River Valley?
More complex and larger tribe societies, like the Hopewell people
What were the traits of the Hopewell and Cahokia peoples?
-Traded extensively with other regions
-Government was led by powerful chieftains who centralized the government
Who lived in the Northeast?
Iroquois
Who lived in the Northeast?
Iroquis
What were the traits of the Iroquois?
-Grew maize, squash, and beans
-Built and lived in longhouses
Why did Europeans go exploring?
-Population increase (a rebound after the Black Plague)
-Political unification (the rise of nation-states and powerful monarchs)
-Agriculture and commercial profits gave rise to an upper clase that desired luxury goods