HIS 3314 Study Guide overview
MAP SKILLS - KNOW LOCATIONS
Major Mesoamerican Civilizations
OLMEC
• Location: Hot Gulf Coast of Mexico
• Geography: Tropical coastal region
• Major sites: La Venta (famous pyramid)
• Time period: 1200-400 BCE
• Why important: "Mother culture" - foundation for all later Mesoamerican
civilizations
MAYA
• Location: Mexico (Yucatán Peninsula), Belize, Honduras, Guatemala
• Geography: Varied - tropical rainforests, highlands
• Major cities: Copan, Tikal, Chichen Itza
• Key site: El Castillo temple at Chichen Itza
• Time period: 2000 BCE-900 CE
• Why important: Most advanced writing system and astronomical knowledge
AZTEC
• Location: Central Mexico, specifically Tenochtitlán (modern-day Mexico City)
• Geography: Island in Lake Texcoco in Valley of Mexico
• Capital: Tenochtitlán - largest city in Western Hemisphere by 1519
• Time period: 1325-1521 CE
• Why important: Largest, wealthiest empire when Europeans arrived
Inca Empire
INCA
• Location: Along Pacific coast of South America, straddling Andes Mountains
, • Geography: Stretches 2,500 miles from modern Colombia (north) to Chile (south);
cities built at 14,000 feet altitude
• Capital: Cusco, Peru
• Famous site: Machu Picchu (50 miles NW of Cusco, at 8,000 feet)
• Time period: 15th-16th centuries (peaked)
• Why important: Largest empire in South America; sophisticated road system
Pueblo Cultures (Southwest US)
MOGOLLON
• Location: Mimbres Valley, New Mexico
• Time period: 150 BCE-1450 CE
HOHOKAM
• Location: Arizona desert region
• Time period: 600 CE-1300 CE
• By 1300: Most highly populated settlements in Southwest
ANASAZI
• Location: High desert of New Mexico; Canyon de Chelly (Arizona), Mesa Verde
(Colorado)
• Time period: Pre-1150 CE
• Famous for: Cliff dwellings accessed by ladders/ropes
• Connected to: Chaco Canyon (administrative/religious center by 1050 CE)
Cahokia
CAHOKIA
• Location: Along Mississippi River near present-day St. Louis, Missouri
• Geography: Five-square-mile city on Mississippi floodplain
• Size: 10,000+ residents in city; tens of thousands more on surrounding farms
• Time period: Peak around 1100 CE; declined after 1300 CE
• Features: 120 earthen mounds/pyramids; largest mound covered 15 acres
MAP SKILLS - KNOW LOCATIONS
Major Mesoamerican Civilizations
OLMEC
• Location: Hot Gulf Coast of Mexico
• Geography: Tropical coastal region
• Major sites: La Venta (famous pyramid)
• Time period: 1200-400 BCE
• Why important: "Mother culture" - foundation for all later Mesoamerican
civilizations
MAYA
• Location: Mexico (Yucatán Peninsula), Belize, Honduras, Guatemala
• Geography: Varied - tropical rainforests, highlands
• Major cities: Copan, Tikal, Chichen Itza
• Key site: El Castillo temple at Chichen Itza
• Time period: 2000 BCE-900 CE
• Why important: Most advanced writing system and astronomical knowledge
AZTEC
• Location: Central Mexico, specifically Tenochtitlán (modern-day Mexico City)
• Geography: Island in Lake Texcoco in Valley of Mexico
• Capital: Tenochtitlán - largest city in Western Hemisphere by 1519
• Time period: 1325-1521 CE
• Why important: Largest, wealthiest empire when Europeans arrived
Inca Empire
INCA
• Location: Along Pacific coast of South America, straddling Andes Mountains
, • Geography: Stretches 2,500 miles from modern Colombia (north) to Chile (south);
cities built at 14,000 feet altitude
• Capital: Cusco, Peru
• Famous site: Machu Picchu (50 miles NW of Cusco, at 8,000 feet)
• Time period: 15th-16th centuries (peaked)
• Why important: Largest empire in South America; sophisticated road system
Pueblo Cultures (Southwest US)
MOGOLLON
• Location: Mimbres Valley, New Mexico
• Time period: 150 BCE-1450 CE
HOHOKAM
• Location: Arizona desert region
• Time period: 600 CE-1300 CE
• By 1300: Most highly populated settlements in Southwest
ANASAZI
• Location: High desert of New Mexico; Canyon de Chelly (Arizona), Mesa Verde
(Colorado)
• Time period: Pre-1150 CE
• Famous for: Cliff dwellings accessed by ladders/ropes
• Connected to: Chaco Canyon (administrative/religious center by 1050 CE)
Cahokia
CAHOKIA
• Location: Along Mississippi River near present-day St. Louis, Missouri
• Geography: Five-square-mile city on Mississippi floodplain
• Size: 10,000+ residents in city; tens of thousands more on surrounding farms
• Time period: Peak around 1100 CE; declined after 1300 CE
• Features: 120 earthen mounds/pyramids; largest mound covered 15 acres
