Unit I Lecture and Textbook Objectives
1. Discuss the different images and attitudes American have about Native
Americans. How and why did these images change over time?
2. Describe the different theories (Western and Native) of how people
first came to the Americas.
3. Describe how Indians and Europeans had different views of nature,
time, and history. Also note how oral traditions and written traditions
employ these concepts differently.
4. Describe the theories for the extinction of Pleistocene megafauna.
5. Describe the origins of agriculture in the Old World and the New
World.
6. Describe the different cultural zones in North America and be able
to identify them on a map. What were the main characteristics of the pre-Columbian
peoples that lived in each area? Who were the most prominent groups? Describe
the subsistence patterns of each area. Note the diversity of customs, cultures,
and languages between the different culture areas.
7. Describe the "cycling" of population growth and decline among pre-Columbian
native cultures. Why were the different population centers abandoned?
8. Discuss the trade networks of pre-Columbian people. What products
and ideas were traded?
9. Compare and contrast the Hopewellian cultures with Mississippian
cultures. How did each farm the land?
10. Describe the different purposes of the mounds that each culture
built.
11. Discuss the origins of the Iroquois Confederacy. Why did they create
this confederacy? How did they distribute power? Why do it this way? What
were the results of this confederacy?
12. How did Indians of the Eastern Woodlands manage their ecology?
13. Discuss the nature of Eastern Woodlands warfare. Describe the treatment
of captives and how the tribes maintained their populations.
14. Describe how the Aztecs built upon the cultural foundations of
their predecessors.
15. Discuss the biological consequences of "Columbian Exchange." In
particular, describe the impact of European diseases on Native populations.
16. Describe the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs. How was it possible
for such a small Spanish force to conquer the Aztec empire?
17. Describe the Spanish method of colonization
18. Describe the De Soto expedition. What was he trying to do? How
did his expedition affect the Indians he encountered? What were the results
of this contact?
19. Compare and contrast French and English relations with Indians.
How did the Iroquois secure their position and play European powers off
each other?
20. Describe the relations between English colonists and Indians in
Virginia. In New England. What were the major sources of conflict? How
did each side defend themselves?
21. Describe the problems that led to King Phillipís War. How was it
fought? Describe the results of the war and how each side viewed the other.
22. Describe the importance of gift giving in the relations between
Europeans and Indians
