1.
Amerigo Vespucci: Italian sailor who reached the coast of South America in 1499
2.
Aztec: a great civilization and military empire that thrived in central and southern Mexico from about 1325 until it was discovered by the Spanish in 1519
3.
Beringia: A strip of land that once joined Asia and the Americas; this land bridge once connected Siberia in northeastern Asia to present-day Alaska, the westernmost of the Americas
4.
Cahokia: City built by Mississippians 8 miles from St. Louis, Missouri
5.
Francisco Pizarro: Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca of Peru in 1532
6.
Henry the Navigator: set up a center for astronomical and geographical studies at Sagres on Portugal's southern tip
7.
Hernan Cortes: Spanish conquistador who came to present-day Mexico in search of wealth; he conquered the Aztecs and seized control of their land
8.
Iroquois Confederacy: a powerful group of Native Americans in the eastern part of the United States made up of five nations: the Mohawk, Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, and Oneida
9.
Maya: A ancient civilization that once lived in present-day Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Belize; ruled by religious leader, it reached it peak in 700 A.D. These people were skilled astronomers who had a 365-day calender and a form of writing
10.
Mesoamerica: the region that today includes central and southern Mexico and Central America
11.
Samuel de Champlain: founded Quebec