Native Civilizations & Cultures
These ancient city-builders constructed Monk’s Mound and lived in what is now Illinois.
Who were the Cahokia / Mississippian peoples?
These large earth sculptures shaped like animals or symbols were built by ancient North Americans.
What are effigy mounds?
This empire reached its height under Mansa Musa.
What is Mali?
He reached North America around the year 1000, long before Columbus.
Who was Leif Erikson?
This navigational device allowed sailors to determine latitude using the stars.
What is the astrolabe?
This Southwestern culture built cliff dwellings in places like Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon
Who were the Ancestral Puebloans / Anasazi
This geographical landform provided the route that anthropologists believe may in part may have led to the "people-ing" of North America
What is the Bering Strait?
This West African empire grew wealthy from trans-Saharan gold-salt trade.
What is Ghana?
These monarchs funded Columbus’s 1492 voyage.
Who were Ferdinand and Isabella?
This three-masted ship design helped Europeans cross the Atlantic.
What is a carrack ship?
This highly productive agricultural trio of crops sustained many Native societies.
What are the Three Sisters — corn, beans, and squash?
These circular ceremonial chambers were central to Pueblo religious life.
What are kivas?
This successor to Mali dominated the Niger River region in the 1400s.
What is Songhay / Songhai?
This event ended in 1492 and helped unite Spain under Christian leadership.
What was the Reconquista?
This stout medieval ship type was used for trade and early exploration.
What is a cog ship?
This northeastern political confederation used a system of sachems and longhouses.
What is the Iroquois Confederacy?
This spiritual concept means the natural world is alive with sacred power.
What is Manitou?
This central African kingdom became a target of early Portuguese slave trading.
What is Kongo?
This powerful navy’s defeat in 1588 opened the door for English colonization.
What was the Spanish Armada?
This Portuguese noble sponsored navigation schools and early Atlantic exploration.
Who was Prince Henry the Navigator?
This archaeological discovery in New Mexico suggests humans arrived in the Americas earlier than once believed.
What is the White Sands Discovery?
This early group of toolmakers is associated with some of the earliest widespread North American archaeological sites.
Who were the Clovis People?
Mansa Musa’s famous pilgrimage helped spread this major world religion.
What is Islam?
This Chinese emperor sent out massive treasure fleets before Europe began exploring.
Who was Zhu Di?
This conquistador conquered the Inca Empire.
Who was Pizarro?