Summary

This document provides a vocabulary list for a social review, focusing on terms related to indigenous peoples, including toponyms, tribes, and various cultural groups. The document also includes sections on geographic and cultural regions with associated indigenous cultures.

Full Transcript

Social Review Vocabulary: 1. **Toponym** -- proper name of a place 2. **Tribes** -- group of nomadic people or families that share a way of life, language, and customs 3. **Inuit** -- meand "the people" group of indigenous people who inhabited the Arctic regions of the North America t...

Social Review Vocabulary: 1. **Toponym** -- proper name of a place 2. **Tribes** -- group of nomadic people or families that share a way of life, language, and customs 3. **Inuit** -- meand "the people" group of indigenous people who inhabited the Arctic regions of the North America territory. They came from Siberia across the Bering Strait. 4. **Qamutik** -- sled (trineo) made of wood, animal bones, baleen from the mouths of whales, and frozen fish 5. **Totem poles** -- wooden columns carved with figures of people and animals. Its purpose was to represent the history of a family. 6. **Adobe** -- indigenous homes molded in the form of bricks, made of mixture of straw and mud. 7. **Arawaks** -- an indigenous group that **migrated** to the Antilles and the surrounding Caribbean region **from Venezuela and the Guayanas** 8. **Cacique** -- Taíno's supreme chief; occupied the highest position 9. **Nitaínos** -- indigenous nobles and warriors who governed the regions which formed the chiefdoms 10. **Bohíque** - who organized the areitos, or religious ceremonies, communicated traditions, and healed the sick. 11. **Areitos** -- indigenous festivity of the Taínos. 12. **Naborias** -- the Taíno **working class** that was **in charge of fishing and hunting**. Woman worked in agriculture and raise the children. 13. **Casabe** -- Food of the Taínos. Edible, starchy tuber, used to make cassava bread. 14. **Petroglyphs** -- symbolic designs engraved on rocks 15. **Caribs** -- another group from **South America** that migrated to the Minor Antilles. They were a **warrior** people. 16. **Raids** -- performed by the Caribs where they captured women from other tribes and made them their wives. 17. **Kaligano** -- how the Caribs called themselves. Cannibals; they ate human flesh as part of a spiritual ritual. 18. **Colonization** -- is the process by which one country, culture, or group dominates another. 19. **Globalization** -- system in which economic activity in the world takes place between people living different countries. 20. **Reservations** -- small areas set aside by the government. Living conditions are poor. **The indigenous peoples of the North** The indigenous peoples of North America were originally hunter- gatherer societies. In other words, their activities consisted of hunting, fishing, and gathering. Later, they developed agriculture. Most of the time they led nomadic lives and were organized into tribes. Today, some of these indigenous peoples of North America continue to exist, although under very different conditions from those of their ancestors. Before the European conquest of North America, the indigenous peoples who inhabited the region formed many separate and distinct cultural groups. These peoples adapted their ways of life to the geography of each place. For this reason, they can be classified into the following cultural regions: Peoples of the Arctic zones, peoples of the desert zones, peoples of the plains, and peoples of the northwest coast. **Inuit** The word **Inuit** means \"the people\". The term is used to refer to the broad group of early settlers of the Arctic region. The Inuit lived in the tundras and engaged in hunting and fishing. They used the animals they hunted for food and to create weapons and tools. During the winter, some lived in igloos. The sled dog played an important role for them. Its strength allowed the dog to drag the qamutik, a sled made of wood, animal bones, baleen from the mouths of whales, and even frozen fish. **Chinook** The Chinook are several ethnic groups located on the Pacific coast of the United States. They were the most important traders in the northwest region. Trade was difficult between the different indigenous groups because they spoke different languages, so the Chinook created a specific dialect for trade. They also engaged in fishing, hunting, and food gathering. The tribes of this region celebrated the potlatch. In this ceremonial feast, the host showed his wealth by giving away his possessions. **Kwakiutl** The Kwakiutl, also known as Kwakwaka\'wakw, were located on the west coast of Canada and on Vancouver Island. Culturally, they are known for the totem poles and ritual masks. Totem poles are wooden poles carved with figures of people and animals. It was a way of representing a family\'s history and important events. They used the masks in winter ceremonies. Through dance, they expressed the relationship of their ancestors with spiritual beings. **Pueblo** In the desert region, there were tribes known as the Pueblo people. Among these were the Hopi and the Zuni. The Pueblos built their villages in tiers, and the homes consisted of one room that was used mostly for sleeping. All other activities, such as cooking and weaving, took place outside. They traveled long distances into the mountains to cut down trees so that they could use the wood for construction. **Navajo** The Navajo came to the southern desert region after the Pueblo indigenous people. From the Hopi, for example, they learned to grow crops and to make clothing from cotton. For them, people, animals, plants, mountains, and the Earth were intertwined. To achieve their harmony, they based their concepts of happiness, peace, beauty and justice on spiritual songs, and they were governed by a strict code of conduct. The indigenous people of this area built block-like houses, made of a mixture of straw and mud known as adobe. **Nomadic** Among these nomads were the Cheyenne, the Apsaalooke, the Kiowa, and the Comanche. They moved from one place to another following the route of the biso, as these animals were their most important resource. Because they were always on the move, they built dwellings that were easy to transport. These dwellings, or teepees, were cone-shaped, made of animal skins, and supported by wooden poles. **Algonquians** The Algonquians were one of the tribes that lived in the eastern woodlands area. Some of the Algonquian tribes consisted of 20 villages. Each village had between 10 and 20 houses. The Algonquians called their houses wigwams. These houses were circular in shape and covered with tree bark. Some villages were grouped under one or two chiefs. The Algonquians used threaded shells, called wampum, as coins. These shells were also used to send messages or to record historical events or treaties. **Indigenous cultures of the Caribbean** The focal point of the intermediate, or circum-Caribbean, region was in the Caribbean Sea. It included the agricultural peoples located in the Antilles and in the territories situated in the South American Caribbean, such as Colombia and Venezuela. The first settlers of the Caribbean arrived some 6,000 years ago. They are said to have crossed the sea from the Yucatán Peninsula, in what we now call Central America, to the Greater Antilles. They began to occupy the islands they found, populating them one by one from west to east. A few centuries later, other settlers arrived in the region. Between 3000 and 2000 B.C., these new settlers reached the Caribbean from the northeast coast of South America. They traveled along the Antillean arc from its eastern end, through the Lesser Antilles to the north and west, where they settled. After several generations, these travelers adapted to the region. Fortunately, the Caribbean geography allowed them to lead a simple lifestyle. Then thousands of years passed in which there were no major movements of people to the Caribbean. The inhabitants of the islands always maintained contact with the rest of the Americas, but there were no large migrations like the ones already mentioned. During this time, the inhabitants adapted very well to their environment. They hunted, fished, and used the plants available on the islands. **Saladoid** culture In the last centuries B.C., a new group of people arrived from South America. Their culture is called Saladoid. They brought the use of pottery to the Caribbean and also a diet based on the cultivation of cassava. Cassava became one of the most important crops in the entire region. **Other Caribbean cultures** The Antilles were inhabited by about a dozen indigenous peoples with different languages and customs. Among these are the **Siboney** in certain regions of Cuba and the west of La Española; the **Macorix**, in the interior of La Española; and, to the northeast of that island, the **Ciguayos**. In the Minor Antilles were the **Caribs**, who were known for their warrior skills and for the resistance they showed to the European colonizers. **The Caribs** The Caribs were another group from South America that migrated to the Lesser Antilles. They were a warrior people and many communities in the region feared them. The Caribs were known for their warrior skills and for the resistance they showed to the European colonizers. The Caribs made raids where they captured women from other tribes and made them their wives. This is why the European explorers explained in their chronicles that Carib women and men spoke different languages. The colonizers were sure that the Caribs were cannibals. The Caribs called themselves the Kaligano and yes, they ate human flesh, but only as part of a spiritual ritual to acquire the characteristics of their enemies killed in battle. Today, there are smaller communities of their descendants in some of the Lesser Antilles. **The Taíno** The Taíno culture was one of the best known of the Greater Antilles. They came from the Arawaks, a group that began migrating from Venezuela and the Guayanas. The Taínos were our indigenous ancestors. The economic base of the Taíno society was hunting, fishing, and agriculture. They were organized in social classes and the cacique was the supreme chief. Within their social organization, the cacique occupied the highest position. Each cacicazgo was divided into regions that were governed by the nitaínos or nobles. Then followed the bohíque, who organized the areitos, or religious ceremonies, communicated traditions, and healed the sick. The bohíque, apart from communicating with the gods, knew about herbs and their properties. The Taíno working class were the naborias, who were in charge of fishing and hunting. The women were dedicated to agriculture and raising children. From them, we still have the casabe or cassava bread. We have learned about Taíno society through the petroglyphs they left in caves, ceremonial parks, and various archaeological discoveries in the Caribbean. Many of the names of the towns of Puerto Rico are of Taíno origin, since at some point there was a cacicazgo in that town, before the colonizers arrived. **Colonization** is the process by which one country, culture, or group dominates another. It is a violent process that tries to eliminate the colonized culture. During the period of colonial rule by Spain and Portugal, Europeans enslaved the indigenous people. This involved forced labor and terrible living conditions. During this period, there were **many events that almost destroyed** **indigenous life**. Some of these are: 1. The conquistadors used firearms, while the indigenous people relied on bladed weapons. 2. The indigenous people were forced to do very hard work in the mines and in the fields. 3. The Europeans brought diseases that spread rapidly among the indigenous people. Their bodies did not have the biological defenses necessary to deal with them, which caused the death of many. 4. Some indigenous groups did not survive the suppression of the cultural values that kept them in harmony with their habitat. Many indigenous people preferred to die rather than endure the abuses to which they were subjected.

Use Quizgecko on...
Browser
Browser