Section 1
What region that includes the southern part of what is now Mexico and the northern parts of Central America did the earliest American cultures arise?
Mesoamerica
What the Aztec's capital was called
Tenochtitlán
cone-shaped shelters
Teepees
When did the Hopewell culture decline?
By AD 700
What provided a strong defense against enemies for the Anasazi people?
Cliff Dwellings
people who hunted animals and gathered wild plants for food
Hunter-Gatherers
Where was the land-bridge known as the Bering Land Bridge exposed?
Northeastern Asia and present-day Alaska
Which society's empire stretched along the Pacific coast from what is now northern Ecuador to central Chile, and is known for building and for art?
The Inca
This society lived in present-day northern Alaska and Canada. Their homes were igloos, hide tents, and huts. They also fished and hunted large mammals and depended on dogs for many tasks, such as hunting and pulling sleds. They also shared many cultural similarities with the Aleut people.
The Inuit
This group were skilled farmers and traders that lived along the Mississippi, Ohio, and lower Missouri river valleys. They also built hundreds of mounds for religious ceremonies
The Mississippian
Where did the Inca start as a small tribe?
Andes Mountains of South America
a land bridge between northeastern Asia and present-day Alaska that was exposed when the sea level fell
Bering Land Bridge
ancestor or animal spirits
Totems
people traced their ancestry through their mothers, not their fathers
Matrilineal
This society lived in western and southern Alaska, and lived in multifamily houses that were partially underground. They shared many cultural features with the Inuit, including language. Both groups survived by fishing and hunting large mammals. They also depended on dogs for many tasks, such as hunting and pulling sled
The Aleut
a group’s set of common values and traditions, including language, government, and family relationships
Culture
Native American farming groups' most important early crop
Maize, or corn
At what time were the Maya were building large cities?
About AD 200
Present-day states of Arizona and New Mexico, and parts of Colorado and Texas. Pueblo groups, such as the Hopi and Zuni, lived there.
The Southwest culture region
This confederation, or alliance, was established by the Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca. This alliance waged war against and made peace with other peoples. Its goal was to strengthen the alliance against invasion.
Iroquois League
How many people lived in the Inca empire?
12 million people
Fierce warriors, and their superior military ability was key to their success. They conquered many towns, made alliances to build their empire, and controlled a huge trade network.
The Aztec
At what time did the earliest people in North America learn how to farm, and settled in villages?
After 5000 BC
Sacred areas built by the Anasazi used for religious ceremonies that were underground ceremonial chambers, and were located at the center of each community.
Kivas
The region that stretches south from Canada into Texas
The huge Great Plains
a movement of people or animals from one region to another
Migration
climates and landscapes that surround living things
Environments
What allowed people to stop moving around looking for food and to settle in one place?
Farming
The two key areas of Pueblo life that the Pueblo religion focused on.
Rain and Maize
When did the Anasazi begin to abandon their villages?
After AD 1300
Who is believed to have crossed the Bering Land Bridge and traveled south into Canada, the United States, and Mexico following herds of animals?
Paleo-Indians
When Earth’s climate became intensely cold, and large amounts of water froze into huge, moving sheets of ice called glaciers
The Ice Age
heavy clay
Adobe
above-ground houses made of a heavy clay called adobe
Pueblos
moving from place to place hunting small animals and foraging for food
Nomadic
When did the Olmec develop the earliest known civilization in Mesoamerica?
Around 1200 BC
When did the Maya civilization begin to collapse?
In the 900s
When Earth’s climate grew warmer, and the Ice Age ended
About 8000 BC
What did many Native American groups have shared beliefs about?
Property
What was focused on in the religion of most Native American people?
Nature
Which people grew maize and other crops and lived in small villages like the Olmec, built large cities, and paved large plazas for public gatherings and built canals to control the flow of water through the cities?
The Maya
Which people developed the earliest known civilization in Mesoamerica, are known for their use of stone in architecture and sculpture, built the first pyramids in the Americas, and created sculptures of huge stone heads?
The Olmec
These people lived in the Four Corners region, were skilled basket makers, and eventually became skilled potters as well. The early generations of this society lived in pit houses dug into the ground. After about AD 750 they built pueblos, or above ground houses made of a heavy clay called adobe.
Anasazi
This farming society lived along the Mississippi, Ohio, and lower Missouri river valleys. They supported their large population with agriculture and trade. They built large burial mounds to honor their dead
The Hopewell
Which societies thrived off rich supply of game animals, fish, and wild plants that allowed large populations to increase without the need for farming?
The Kwakiutl and the Chinook
At what time did trade spread Olmec culture throughout the region of Mesoamerica?
Around 400 BC
official language of the Inca empire
Quechua
When did the Aztec founded their capital, Tenochtitlán, on an island in Lake Texcoco?
In AD 1325
Most Native Americans in the California region lived in groups of families of about 50 to 300. Among these groups, including the Hupa, Miwok, and Yokuts, how many languages were spoken?
100 languages were spoken
What had declined by the time European explorers reached the Southeast?
The moundbuilding cultures