Exploration & Technology
Who invented the printing press that helped spread ideas across Europe?
Gutenberg
What do you call Christian followers of the Roman Catholic Church?
Catholics (Roman Catholics)
Which region stretches from modern Mexico to Nicaragua (site of early American civilization)?
Mesoamerica
What is the term for a counterclockwise ocean current that flows between Africa and South America?
South Atlantic Current
What is the term for the "time of increased interest in art and learning in Europe"?
Renaissance
What ocean feature did European sailors need to understand to avoid being swept out to sea?
Currents (or ocean currents / North Atlantic Current)
What Christian group broke away from the Catholic Church during the Reformation?
Protestants
Which civilization developed in Mesoamerica and is famous for cities such as Tenochtitlan?
Aztecs (accept Maya)
What word means "to move from one region to another"?
Migrate
What disease spread through Europe in the 1400s and greatly reduced populations?
Black Death
Name the ocean current that flows clockwise between Northern Europe and the Caribbean Sea.
North Atlantic Current (Gulf Stream)
What movement divided the church between Catholics and Protestants?
The Reformation
Most scientists believe the first Americans arrived by crossing a land bridge between which two regions?
Siberia and Alaska (Bering land bridge)
What term describes societies that stay in one place for many generations (permanent villages)?
Sedentary
What word describes the movement of ideas and technology through contact between people?
Diffusion
explain why the printing press was important for the spread of the Renaissance and Reformation.
The printing press allowed mass production of books and pamphlets, which spread new ideas, increased literacy, and made information accessible to more people.
Which religion came into existence in Europe as a result of the Reformation?
Protestantism
Define "civilization" as used in this unit (include two key features).
A civilization is a complex society with shared religion, language, government, specialized labor, and cities.
What type of society stays in one place for a few years and then moves to a new place?
Semi-sedentary
Name the social order in medieval Europe made up of kings, nobles, knights, and serfs/peasants.
Feudalism
Describe one technological or navigational advancement (other than the printing press) that helped Europeans explore across the Atlantic and explain its impact.
astrolabe — measured latitude and improved navigation; magnetic compass — provided reliable direction at sea; caravel — ship design that handled long ocean voyages. Each enabled longer, safer trips and expanded exploration.
Explain how the Reformation contributed to religious and political changes in Europe (two clear effects).
It reduced papal authority and helped create or strengthen nation-states; it also led to religious conflicts and encouraged individual Bible reading and religious diversity.
Describe how diffusion affected early American societies — give one specific example of an idea or technology that spread.
Diffusion spread crops and techniques (example: maize agriculture spread across regions, changing diets and enabling larger settlements); other examples include irrigation methods and pottery styles
Explain how ocean currents and geography influenced contact and trade between Europe, Africa, and the Americas (two specific ways).
Ocean currents and winds determined ship routes and travel times (making some transoceanic routes faster or feasible); geographic features like mountains, deserts, and ocean distances limited or directed where trade and contact occurred, shaping which regions interacted.
Provide definitions for these five terms in one sentence each: Renaissance, Reformation, diffusion, civilization, Mesoamerica.