Native American Societies
These Native American groups lived in the Southwest and are known for adobe structures and irrigation systems.
Who are the Pueblo peoples?
This country was the first to begin large-scale exploration along the African coast in the 1400s.
What is Portugal?
This crop from the Americas became a staple in Europe and helped fuel population growth.
What is corn (or potatoes)?
This Spanish conqueror defeated the Aztec Empire.
Who is Hernán Cortés?
This term describes the blending of Native American and European cultures.
What is cultural syncretism?
This Native American cultural region relied heavily on maize cultivation and included the Iroquois Confederacy.
What is the Eastern Woodlands?
This explorer, sponsored by Spain, completed voyages that initiated widespread European contact with the Americas.
Who is Christopher Columbus?
This deadly disease decimated Native American populations after European contact.
What is smallpox?
This labor system granted Spanish settlers control over Native labor.
What is the encomienda system?
This animal, introduced by Europeans, transformed life for Plains Indians.
What is the horse?
This alliance of tribes developed a political system that influenced later democratic ideas in colonial America.
What is the Iroquois Confederacy?
This line, established by the Treaty of Tordesillas, divided newly discovered lands between Spain and Portugal.
What is the demarcation line in the Atlantic Ocean?
This system involved the forced migration of Africans to the Americas.
What is the transatlantic slave trade?
This explorer is credited with conquering the Inca Empire.
Who is Francisco Pizarro?
This concept explains how Native Americans adapted their lifestyles to their environments.
What is environmental adaptation?
Unlike nomadic Plains tribes, these groups built permanent settlements due to this key agricultural development.
What is maize (corn) cultivation?
This technological advancement improved navigation and allowed for more accurate ocean travel.
What is the astrolabe (or compass)?
This term describes the widespread exchange of plants, animals, people, and diseases between the Old and New Worlds.
What is the Columbian Exchange?
This social system ranked individuals based on race and birthplace in Spanish colonies.
What is the caste system?
This was a major reason for the population decline of Native Americans after European contact.
What is disease/immunological weakness?
This environmental factor most directly shaped the diversity of Native American societies before European contact.
What is geography (climate and natural resources)?
This motivation for exploration focused on converting indigenous populations to Christianity.
What is God (religious motives)?
This long-term environmental effect in the Americas resulted from European livestock introduction.
What is overgrazing/land transformation?
This priest argued for better treatment of Native Americans and criticized Spanish abuses.
Who is Bartolomé de Las Casas?
This term refers to the global transfer of food, diseases, and culture that reshaped ecosystems.
What is the Columbian Exchange?