01:512:104 Study Guide - Spring 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - United States Congress, Federal Government Of The United States, President Of The United States
12 Oct 2018
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01:512:104
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
Chapter 01 - Three Old Worlds Create a New, 1492-1600
I. Introduction
Conflict between European kingdoms led to an interest in colonies and trading
posts that might strengthen the emerging nations. This expansionism
introduced Europeans to African and American societies that had evolved
over centuries, and the cultural interaction that followed initial contacts
between these civilizations profoundly influenced western history.
II. American Societies
A. Paleo-Indians
Paleo-Indians arrived some 12,000 to 14,000 years ago and survived by
hunting large game. As the prehistoric animals disappeared, however, people
grew more dependent on agriculture, a change that allowed for the
emergence of more sophisticated civilizations.
B. Importance of Agriculture
By 9,000 years ago, the inhabitants of Central and South America began
cultivating various crops, and wherever agriculture dominated the economy,
complex civilizations flourished.
C. Mesoamerican Civilizations
Early civilizations emerged in what is now Mexico as early as 3,000 years
ago. A number of powerful and complex societies developed, including the
Olmecs, the Mayas, and the Aztecs.
D. Mound Builders, Anasazi, and Mississippians
Besides the empires of Mesoamerica, great civilizations arose further north
including the Moundbuilders of the Ohio River region, the Anasazi people of
the modern states of Arizona and New Mexico, and the Mississippian culture
of the Midwestern and southeastern United States.
E. Aztecs
The Aztecs moved into the Valley of Mexico in the twelfth century where they
ultimately established an empire built on a warrior tradition that included
human sacrifice and conquered people’s tribute.
III. North America in 1492
A. Sexual Division of Labor in North America
The nomadic tribes assigned the task of hunting to men, while women
prepared the food, made clothing, and raised children. In the agricultural tribes
of the West the men farmed, but in the East women performed that task.
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B. Social Organization
The social organizations of the agricultural peoples of the southwest and east
were similar, with extended families being defined matrilineally. The nomadic
Indians of the Great Plains, by contrast, were usually related patrilineally.
C. War and Politics
The Indians of North America engaged in wars with each other long before the
coming of Europeans. Indian leadership reflected a widespread democracy,
but political structure, including the role of women, varied widely from tribe to
tribe.
D. Religion
Generally polytheistic, Indian religion was more varied than their politics.
IV. African Societies
A. West Africa (Guinea)
Most of the enslaved Africans that came to America originated in West Africa,
or Guinea. Upper Guinea had a culture that reflected contact with the Islamic
Mediterranean region, while Lower Guinea remained less cosmopolitan.
B. Slavery in West Africa
Slavery existed in West Africa primarily as a means of accumulating lands and
wealth, but after contact with Europeans and the establishment of slave-
trading posts, the internal slave trade adapted readily to meet the new
demands from abroad.
C. Sexual Division of Labor in West Africa
In West Africa men and women shared agricultural duties, with the men also
hunting or herding while the women performed household tasks and managed
local commerce. In Lower Guinea, society developed based on the “dual-sex
principle.”
D. West African Religion
West African religious beliefs stressed complimentary male and female roles.
V. European Societies
A. Sexual Division of Labor in Europe
Males did most of the farming or herding; women concentrated on the
household and children. Men dominated European society, relegating females
to positions of inferiority.
B. Black Death
Bubonic Plague first struck Europe in 1346, then struck again in the 1360s
and 1370s, killing a third of the continent’s population.
C. Political, Economic, and Technological Change
European leaders took advantage of the chaos resulting from the Black
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