Pre-Columbian Societies and Early Colonization

Native American Societies Before Columbus

• Native Americans organized themselves into various cultures based on their geographic location.
• Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the Americas were inhabited by a diverse group of people.

Central and South America

• Aztecs or Mexica: a Mesoamerican culture that thrived in central Mexico from 1300 to 1521, comprising various ethnic groups.
• Chinampas: "floating gardens" made by stacking mud, lake sediment, and decomposing plants to create small elevated land plots, separated by canals.
• Maya: a culture that flourished in present-day Guatemala, renowned for their achievements in agriculture, pottery, writing, calendars, and mathematics.
• Tikal: a Mayan city with a water purification system and the famous El Castillo (Temple of Kukulcan), which embodies Mayan myth and natural astronomical cycles.
• Pyramid of the Magician/Dwarf/Soothsayer (Casa el Adivino): a significant structure in Mayan architecture.
• Aztec Written Language: Nahuatl.
• Inca: the largest empire in pre-Columbian America, sustained by maize (corn).
• Centeotl: the Corn God of the Aztecs.
• Hun-Hunahpu: the Maize God of the Mayan.

North America

Southwest

• Ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi): an ancient Native American culture that thrived in the southwestern United States, mainly in the Four Corners region.
• Sedentary: they lived in one place, with established settlements like Mesa Verde.
• Mesa Verde: cliff dwellings that served as homes for the Ancestral Puebloans, providing protection from the elements and invaders.

Great Plains & Great Basin

• Nomadic: people who moved from one place to another, without permanent settlements.
• Hunter-gatherer: people who lived by hunting and gathering food.
• Ute People: an indigenous tribe of the Great Basin, who traveled using known routes like the Ute Trail.

Pacific Northwest

• Fishing Villages: Chinook People were famous as traders, with connections stretching as far as the Great Plains.
• Chumash People: first settled 13,000 years ago, experienced population growth and adaptation to the local environment.
• Villages along the coastline, islands, and interior traded resources.

Southeast

• Hopewell People: centered in Ohio and Illinois, advanced in mound-building and agriculture, characterized by geometric earthworks, large burial mounds, corded pottery, ornamental knives, and extensive trading.
• Cahokia People: known for their sophisticated and expansive urban center, marked by the Cahokia Mounds.
• Iroquois People: known for their elaborate systems for choosing leaders and making important decisions.

European Exploration

• Europeans explored the Americas due to population increase, political unification, and desire for luxury goods.
• Portugal: the major player in using sea-based trade routes to Asia, led by Prince Henry the Navigator.
• Caravels: small 15th and 16th-century ships used for exploration.
• Astronomical Table: a tool designed to facilitate the calculation of planetary positions, lunar phases, eclipses, and calendrical information.
• Reconquista: the military campaign to remove Muslims from Spain.
• Christopher Columbus: an Italian explorer and navigator who led four voyages to the Americas, starting in 1492.
• Vikings in North America: the Norse explorer Leif Eriksson, who led one of the earliest European expeditions to North America.