Ch.1: Many Cultures Meet
Mr. Dzicek
U.S. History (10)
Review PowerPoint
Terms/People to Know
• Ice Age- time lasting thousands of years
when Earth was covered by ice/glaciers.
• Migrate- to move, travel.
• Mayas- Native peoples along the Gulf of
Mexico and the Caribbean coast.
Terms/People to Know
• Aztecs- Native peoples of central Mexico
(became most powerful)
• Adobe- type of sun-dried brick used to make
houses (typically in the
Southwest)(Hohokams)
• Iroquois League- Made up of Iroquois
peoples (five groups… Mohawks, Oneidas,
Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas). Designed
to promote peaceful cooperation among
member nations.
Terms/People to Know
• Middle Ages- began with fall of Rome.
No effective central government,
constant threat of famine, disease, war.
• Renaissance- 1400s Europe. Renewed
interest in learning, arts/sciences.
• Reconquista- Wars waged by
Europeans (Portugal, Aragon,Castile) to
force out Muslim Moors in SW Europe.
Terms/People to Know
• Prince Henry the Navigator- Started
Portuguese efforts to sail into Atlantic,
spread Christianity, get rid of Muslim
domination of trade.
• Ghana- Earliest kingdom in W. Africa.
Thrived in trade, had major Muslim
influence. Supplied much of gold to
Med. Region.
Terms/People to Know
• Mali- Kingdom that rose once Ghana fell.
• Mansa Musa- Most famous ruler of Mali
kingdom. Increased role of Islam, promoted
scholarship (university in Timbuktu)
• Songhai- Ruled by Askia Muhammad.
Focused on Islamic education. Conquered
Mali.
Terms/People to Know
• Bartolomeu Dias- Portuguese mariner.
Got around southern Africa.
• Vasco da Gama- Portuguese mariner
who reached India, opening trade.
Portuguese dominance of south and
east Africa.
Terms/People to Know
• Christopher Columbus- Italian. Sailed
on behalf of Spain. Seeking route to
China. Wanted to revive Christianity,
sailed west. Ended up in the Americas.
• John Cabot- Italian. Sailed on behalf of
England. Arrived in New Foundland.
• Pedro Alvarez Cabral- Portuguese
explorer who sailed to Brazil (1500)
Terms/People to Know
• Amerigo Vespucci- Italian. Explored
South American coast and declared it a
new continent. Mapmakers called both
continents the “Americas.”
• Ferdinand Magellan- succeeded in
encircling the entire globe.
Terms/People to Know
• Conquistadors- Spanish explorers who
explored Central Mexico and conquered the
Indian civilizations living there.
• Hernan Cortes- Spanish explorer. Captured
Tenochtitlan; defeated the Aztecs.
• Moctezuma- Aztec ruler. Fought against
Cortes. Originally invited Cortes into
Tenochtitlan in an effort to intimidate.
Questions to Consider
• How did the spread of civilization begin
in the Americas?
• How did the ice age lead to the
migration of people to the Americas?
• What building style did the
Mississippian culture take from Mexican
culture?
Questions to Consider
• What were three common cultural
characteristics shared by most Native
Americans?
• How did Europeans begin to explore
more of the world?
• What was the structure of European
society during the 1400s?
Questions to Consider
• How did the Crusades help to expand
Europe’s horizons?
• Why were the Portuguese venturing into
the Atlantic Ocean?
• What was life like in West Africa before
the age of European exploration?
Questions to Consider
• Why did West Africa become an
important trade center?
• What role did landownership hold in
West African culture?
• How did the Portuguese come into
contact with West Africans?
• How did European exploration affect the
Americas?
Questions to Consider
• Why was Spain eager to find a new
route across the Atlantic?
• What was Columbus’s purpose in
sailing west across the Atlantic?
• What role did disease play in the defeat
of the native populations of the
Americas?
• What was the Columbian Exchange?
The BIG Question
• How did the interaction of many cultures
after 1492 affect the Americas?