Unit 2: Native Americans and Exploration

Unit 2 Vocabulary

1. Native American- people “native to” the Americas
2. Artifact- human made objects like a pot, weapon, or a mask that gives clues to the culture from which it comes from.
3. Slash and burn- farming method in which trees and brush are burned to clear land for fields and villages
4. Anthropologist- a scientist who studies human culture
5. Culture Region- areas where methods of living are alike
6. Culture- a people’s way of life including the tools they make, the food they eat, and the language they speak
7. Drought- a long period with no rain
8. Pueblo- spanish word for town
9. Mesa- a flat top, steep-sided plateau
10. Columbian Exchange- the movement of living things between the Eastern and Western hemispheres
11. Immunity- the body’s ability to fight off diseases & illnesses
12. Missionaries- people who teach their religion to people of other faiths
13. Conquistadors- also known as conquerors, were explorers seeking “gold, god and glory”
14. Lucas Vas’quez de Ayllon- Spanish explorer who unsuccessfully led the only Spanish attempt to colonize North Carolina
15. Hernando Cortes- Spanish explorer who conquered the Aztec Empire
16. Francisco Pizarro- Spanish explorer who conquered the Inca Empire
17. Giovanni da Verrazano- explorer for France who became the first European to visit present-day North Carolina and search for a water route to Asia
18. Treaty of Tordesillas- treaty that divided newly discovered lands outside Europe between Portugal and Spain
19. Clan- a group of related people
20. Oral Histories- stories passed down by word of mouth from generation to generation