Unit one review by Jeff:

Period 1 (1491 – 1607)

 

Welcome to Period 1! This period accounts for roughly 5% of the exam.

 

 

Native Americans came to the Americas either via the Bering land bridge, or they used boats on the shore.

Native Americans love nature and religion. (they were supranational). Community to them was more important than being greedy and conquering land like the Europeans did.

 

As native Americans migrated and settled across the Americas, they became more distinctive and complex societies by adapting and transforming to their diverse environments.

They were very diverse, having 7 million in the USA, with 50-70 million in the Americas (similar to the EU population).

 

The Clovis people were the Native Americans in the USA.

 

Maize and beans were very important.

Maize was popular in the southwest, and there were irrigation systems (Anasazi people)

The Anasazi traded turquoise, and built large Apartment Complexes. They were the Pueblo people of New Mexico

They built permanent settlements, which led to less hunting and gathering, an increase in population, and more diverse societies.

 

In the great plains, most people lived off of hunting and gathering, as it was a dry place with little natural resources.

With the horse, the life on the Great Plains changed, as it was easier to hunt, and it led to better military.

 

The Cahokia built a shit ton of mounds. They were located around the Mississippi river. These were used for burials and religious ceremony. They relied on Maize and beans.

 

The Iroquois confederacy lasted to the 1800s. It was an alliance between 5 nations to fight other tribes. They worked with Europeans and had longhouses. (community home). They were also a matriarchy that was based in present day New York.

They burned forest to make space to grow crops.

The Great law of peace was a man who went to tribes to form the confederacy.

 

Aztec Empire was in Mexico. They were warmongerers, fighting others for sacrifices. They had a huge market in Tenochtitlan (city on an ocean with lots of canals)

 

Mayan Empire were in southern Mexico and in the other part of central America. They were very mathematically gifted, had a written language, and a calender. They thought it was honorable to be sacrificed, and people who won stuff were killed.

 

Incan Empire had a bunch of roads. They were located in Peru.

 

In California, most Native Americans were based around hunting and gathering, with the Shastas and the Chinooks.

 

 

 

How did the Europeans rape the Natives so hard?

- more weapons

- SMALLPOX: The europeans were immune, but they carried the disease. smallpox also travels very fast.

- Natives didn't like other tribes (like Aztecs or Incas)

- EU war strats were better

- EU had horses.

 

Conquistadors: Spanish conquerors.

 

Columbian exchange: Exchange of plants, animals, and diseases, changed the world.

Key vocabulary terms to know for this time period:

 

Autonomy - to have self-government, or independence. Native Americans and Africans sought to preserve autonomy in the face of contact with Europeans.

Subjugation - to take control of a person or group of people by force. Native Americans and Africans were subjugated by Europeans, often in the form of slavery.

Maize - corn, grown in present-day Mexico and spread to the Southwest portion of the present-day United States. Native Americans built societies around maize. Once it was introduced to Europe (Columbian Exchange), it helped lead to a drastic increase in population.

Columbian Exchange - Spread of goods, ideas, people, and diseases between Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

Encomienda System - Spanish system of granting land to colonists in the New World. This system exploited Native Americans and resources. Eventually, Native American labor was replaced with African slave labor.

Bering land Bridge - Land connecting Siberia and NA thousands of years ago, due to lower water levels, allowing Siberians into NA.

Matriarchy: society run by women

Patriarchy: society run by men