Mesoamerica I
What factors led to the decline of the Aztec empire?
The advanced arms and armor of the Spanish; diseases such as smallpox brought by Europeans; the Aztecs' neighbors fighting alongside the Spanish; and the location of their capital city being easy to cut off during siege, leading to starvation and further disease.
Describe the rules and the stakes of the "ball game."
Two teams would each try to score the most points by getting a heavy, leather-wrapped ball through a stone hoop without using hands or feet. The losers would often become human sacrifices.
Describe the food, shelter, and any important cultural traditions of the tribes from the Great Plains.
Tribes of the Great Plains followed herds of buffalo around, and their culture reflected that nomadic lifestyle. They lived in teepees, tents traditionally made of animal skins upon wooden poles, because they could be broken down and set up quickly as the tribes moved across the plains after the herds.
What were the commonly held religious beliefs amongst the tribes that lived across North America?
Native Americans believed that everything found in nature had a spirit. They lived in a way that respected the spirit of everything in creation.
What kind of lodgings were most common in the Eastern Woodlands Culture Region?
Longhouses
What were some of the major accomplishments of the Maya?
The Maya had a complex early writing system, an accurate calendar based on astronomy, and freshwater canals.
Describe the method of nonverbal communication that the Inca used to relay messages.
A quipu was a method used by the Incas to keep records and communicate information using a series of differently colored and knotted strings.
Describe the food, shelter, and any important cultural traditions of the Northern Tribes.
The Northern Tribes hunted for mammals and fished in order to survive. They used boats and dogs for transportation and lived in igloos.
Describe the location and important cultural traditions of the Anasazi.
The Anasazi lived in the modern “Four Corners” region and mysteriously disappeared around 1300 AD. They wove straw to make baskets and used mud to make beautiful pottery. They built underground chambers called kivas that they used in religious ceremonies.
How did the tribes native to North America view the concept of land ownership? What was the ultimate result of these beliefs?
Natives did not understand the concept of property ownership and believed that a man could not own the land. This belief would not serve them well in their dealings with the European settlers, who were able to take advantage and swindle them in dealings over land rights.
How did the Aztecs build a powerful and wealthy state?
The Aztecs considered martial ability to be the greatest attribute in their society, and their fierce warriors and superior military might allowed them to conquer or intimidate all surrounding peoples. Through alliances and trade and tribute from conquered peoples, the Aztec were able to build a rich and powerful empire.
What was the method of agriculture that the Inca developed to cope with the location of their civilization?
The Inca lived up in the Andes Mountains, so they carved a series of steps in the side of mountains to create flat spaces where plants could be grown and harvested. This system was called terrace farming.
Describe the food, shelter, and any important cultural traditions of the tribes from the Desert Southwest.
Tribes from the Desert Southwest farmed maize, squash, and beans through irrigation; built homes either into the sides of cliffs or out of adobe, dried mud and straw bricks; and they created kachina dolls, small hand-made representations of nature spirits.
Describe the food, shelter, and any important cultural traditions of the tribes from the Pacific Northwest.
The tribes of the NW lived in ornate log cabins and animal skin huts. They lived off an abundance of animals, fish, and plants. Totem poles were important to the Northwest Indians, reflecting their heritage/family history and their relationship to nature.
What was the Iroquois League, and what was its significance to the United States?
Five American Indian tribes, sharing the Iroquois language, form a defensive union in the late 16th century against their enemies, the Huron. The tribes (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca) devised an oral Constitution that stresses equality and establishes democratic decision-making via representatives. Some scholars believe that the Iroquois system was an inspiration to the framers of the U.S. Constitution.
Which Mesoamerican civilization is regarded as the Mesoamerican “Mother” Culture?” Why is this the case (include specific supporting examples)?
The Olmec are considered the Mesoamerican mother culture because the dominant cultures that followed retained aspects of Olmec culture, such as the ball game, maize cultivation, keeping a calendar, and religion/human sacrifice.
What was the method of agriculture that the Maya developed to cope with the location of their civilization?
The Maya lived near dense rainforest, so they developed slash-and-burn agriculture. They would cut down areas of the rainforest and burn the plants, creating nutrient-dense soil that was ideal for agriculture.
List two tribes from the Pacific Northwest cultural region.
Tlingit, Chinook, and Tongass.
List five tribes from the Great Plains cultural region.
Blackfoot, Sioux, Comanche, Cheyenne, and Crow
List five tribes from the Eastern Woodlands cultural region.
Creek, Algonquian, Seminole, Iroquois, and Cherokee.
How were the religious beliefs of the Inca unique in Mesoamerica?
Their religion was based on agriculture, and Inti, the god of the sun, was the most important god and basis of life. As a result, the Inca rarely practiced human sacrifice (different from other Mesoamerican civilizations).
What was the method of agriculture that the Aztecs developed to cope with the location of their civilization?
They created chinampas, or floating gardens full of nutrient-rich river mud, as their main city of Tenochtitlan was in the middle of a lake.
List two tribes from the Northern cultural region.
Inuit and Aleut
List six tribes from the Desert Southwest cultural region.
Anasazi, Zuni, Hopi, Pueblo, Apache, and Navajo
What is the name of the early peoples who migrated to the Americas, and how did they arrive? Name at least two likely reasons why they made the trip.
The Paleo-Indians were believed to cross from Asia into North America by a land bridge where the present-day Bering Strait is located. They were fleeing cold weather and following herds of animals that were a food source.