Glossary

Beringia

Beringia is the name of the prehistoric land bridge linking Asia and America that early humans used to travel from Siberia to Alaska.

Black Legend

Written by a Dominican priest, Bartolome de Las Casas, A Very Brief Relation of the Destruction of the Indies became the basis of the "Black Legend," a tale of Spanish atrocities against Native Americans that other Europeans employed as a rationale for challenging Spanish supremacy in the New World.

encomienda

Initially approved by the Spanish Crown as a way of rewarding conquistadores for outstanding service, the encomienda system helped solve the problem of a shortage of labor in the Spanish colonies. In this system landlords gained control of the labor of entire villages.

Inter Caetera

Pope Alexander VI settled a dispute over ownership of the New World by issuing a papal bull, Inter Caetera, that divided the unknown world between Portugal and Spain.

matrilineal

Tribal organization among the Five Nations of Iroquois was matrilineal. Women headed individual family units, headed clans, and chose the males who sat on tribal councils that considered policies regarding diplomacy and war.

Mayas

One of the sophisticated Native American societies that emerged before 300 A.D. in Mexico and Guatemala, the Mayas based their civilization on abundant agricultural production.

Mound Builders

Also known as the Adena and Hopewell peoples, the Mound Builders appeared in the Ohio River valley around 1000 B.C. and lasted until A.D. 700. These Native Americans were fascinated with death and built elaborate burial sites, such as the Great Serpent Mound.

pueblos

The Hopi and Zuni tribes of the Southwest are best known for their flat-roofed, multitiered villages that the Spanish called pueblos.

Renaissance

The great merchants of the Italian city-states such as Venice and Genoa underwrote a resurgence of learning, known as the Renaissance.

shamans

Essential to the religious beliefs of the Eastern Woodland Indians was the notion of an animate universe. Tribal shamans, or medicine men, communicated with the spirits and prescribed elaborate rules, or taboos, regarding the treatment of plants and animals that were considered spiritually alive.

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