Vocab
Agriculture
The practice of growing crops and raising animals for food and other resources.
Diaspora
A group of people from the same homeland or cultural background who live in different places away from their original home while maintaining connections to their culture or homeland.
This society group includes the Niger-Congo, Afrasian, and Khoisan peoples.
African
Because forests, mountains, and rivers separated Maya cities, this type of political system developed, where each city had its own ruler instead of one ruler controlling all the cities.
City States
Migration
The movement of people from one place to another to live, either temporarily or permanently.
What are some ways diasporic groups hold on to their culture in a new environment?
Diasporic groups can maintain their culture by speaking their language, preparing traditional foods, celebrating cultural holidays, practicing their religion, listening to traditional music, and passing down customs and traditions to younger generations.
This category includes the Maya and Aztec civilizations.
Mesoamerican
These floating gardens were built by the Aztecs on shallow lake beds using mud, vegetation, and other organic materials to grow crops and feed their people.
Chinampas
Social Structure
The way a society organizes people into different groups based on factors such as wealth, power, jobs, gender, or family roles.
What is the issue with the concept of ‘home’ to diasporic groups?
Diasporic groups often struggle to find a sense of 'home' in a new environment. Home may also look different when they return.
This African society group includes many peoples from West and Central Africa who speak related languages.
Niger-Congo
Around 15,000 BCE, the Afrasians began collecting these instead of relying mainly on sedge roots. They could grow in more environments and be ground into flour to make flatbread.
Wild Grains
Matrilineal
A family or society system in which family name, inheritance, or leadership is passed down through the mother’s side.
A family is moving from Texas to New Mexico. Is this an example of a diaspora? Why or why not?
No, this is not an example of a diaspora because the family is moving within the same country, the United States. This is an example of migration. A diaspora usually involves a group of people living away from their original homeland while maintaining connections to their culture.
This Mesoamerican civilization built its capital, Tenochtitlan, on an island in Lake Texcoco.
Aztecs
The Khoesan used these hunting tools to hunt bigger animals
Poisoned tipped arrows
Patrilineal
A family or society system in which family name, inheritance, or leadership is passed down through the father’s side.
Is this an example of a diaspora? Many people from the Dominican Republic move to New York City, where they continue to celebrate Dominican holidays, prepare traditional foods, and speak Spanish while maintaining connections to their homeland.
Yes, because a group of people moved away from their homeland to another country while maintaining connections to their culture.
This Mesoamerican civilization was organized into independent city-states rather than one united empire.
Mayans
The early Niger-Congo peoples lived in these two environments, where thick forests had to be cleared for farming and drier grasslands made farming and herding easier.
Rainforests/Savannas