Vocabulary

Example template:

Chapter 1 Vocabulary

Archaeologist: an expert who studies the past by examining objects that people have left behind.

Historian: an expert who studies and records the past.

Geographer: an expert who studies and creates maps of Earth’s natural and human-made features.

Artifact: an object made or used by people in the past.

Prehistoric: before written history.

Ritual: relating to a ceremony, such as a religious ceremony.

Chapter 2 Vocabulary 

  1. Migrate To move from one geographic region to another
  2. Anthropologist A scientist who studies human development and culture
  3. Hominids  An early ancestor of Humans
  4. CapabilityAbility or skill
  5. SkeletonThe bones that make up the body of a person or animal
  6. TraitA special feature or characteristic
  7. IntelligenceA strong mental ability to reason and gain knowledge
  8. Community A group of people who live in the same area and are united by common interests
  9. Contribute      To give, along with others, to a common cause

Chapter 3:

Agriculture: the business of farming; growing crops and raising animals.

Catal Hoyuk: a Neolithic town discovered in central Turkey

Domesticate: to train a wild animal to be useful to humans

Fertile Crescent: an arc-shaped region in southwest Asia, with rich soil

Neolithic Age: the later part of the Stone Age, called the New Stone Age, lasted from around 8000 B.C.E. to 3000 B.C.E

Nomad: One who moves from place to place with no permanent home

Paleolithic Age:  .the first period of the Stone Age called the Old Stone Age. From about 2 million years ago to around 8000 B.C.E.

Resource: something that can be used to fulfill a need

Trade: the business of buying and selling or exchanging items

Chapter 4: The Rise of Sumerian City-States

Mesopotamia: in ancient times, the geographic area located between the Tigris and Euphrates River

Tigris River: one of the two largest rivers in Southwest Asia that flow from the mountains in Turkey to the Persian Gulf

Euphrates: one of the two largest rivers in Southwest Asia that flow from mountains in Turkey to the Persian Gulf

Sumer: an area in southern Mesopotamia, where cities first appeared

Irrigation: a means of supplying land with water

Levee: a wall of earth built to prevent a river from flooding its banks

Silt: fine particles of rock

City-state: an early city that was like a small, independent country with its own laws and government

Chapter 5: Ancient Sumer

Civilization: A society marked by developed arts, sciences, government, and social structure

Social structure: The way a civilization is organized

Technology: The use of tools and other inventions for practical purposes

Merchant: A person who makes money by selling goods

Artisan: A craftsperson

Scribe: A person who writes

Ziggurat: An ancient Mesopotamian temple tower with outside staircases and shrine at the top

Culture: A characteristic of civilization that includes the beliefs and behaviors of a society or a group of people

Cuneiform: Writing that uses wedge-shaped characters

Pictograph: A symbol that stands for an object

DOC: ch 5 illustrated dictionary

Chapter 6: Mesopotamian Empires

empire:  A large territory in which several groups of people are ruled by a single leader or government

Tribute: Wealth sent from one country or ruler to another as sign that the other is superior

Economy: The way a region or country uses resources to produce and sell or trade goods and services to meet people’s needs and wants
Capital: A city that is the center of government

Code of Laws: A collection of written laws and rules

Siege: A military blockade and attack on a city to force it to surrender

Invader: Someone who forces entry into a place where they are unwanted

Unify: To join together

ch6 illustrated dictionary

Chapter 7-8: 

Chapter 7-8:

Nile River: The longest river in the world, flowing through eastern Africa to a delta in northeast Egypt

Egypt: A nation in northeast Africa, first settled around 3100 B.C.E.

Kush: A society along the Nile River, south of Egypt, from about 2000 B.C.E. to 350 C.E.

Mediterranean Sea: A body of water north of Africa

Pharaoh: A ruler of ancient Egypt

Hatshepsut: The first woman Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt

Ramses II: An ancient Egyptian pharaoh, known as “Ramses the Great”; skilled as a military leader; and responsible for building many monuments, including the temple at Abu Simbel.

Treaty: A written agreement by which two or more states agree to peaceful relations

Period: a length of time

Accomplish: to complete something successfully

Structure: something that has been built

Authority: the government or controlling power

Reign: the period of time someone rules, usually royalty

ch 7-8 illustrated dictionary

Chapter 9: Daily Life in Ancient Egypt

Social Pyramid: A pyramid outline showing the positions of social classes according to their status in a society

Social Class: A group in a society that is ranked by factors such as wealth, property, and rights.

Status: Importance

Noble: Of high birth or rank

Peasant: A person who does farmwork for wealthy landowners.

Afterlife: An existence after death.

Hieroglyph: A symbol used in hieroglyphics, a system of writing developed around 3000 B.C. E.

Supreme: The highest ruling level

Occupy: To take up or fill

Rigid: Stiff; unable to bend

Role: A position based on socially expected behavior

Neutral: Not taking sides or getting involved in disagreements

ch 9 illustrated dictionary

World Religions Vocabulary:

DOC: World Religions Vocabulary

PDF: World Religions Vocabulary

Chapter 20:

EQ: What do Shang artifacts reveal about this Civilization?

Anyang: Location where ruins were found from the Shang dynasties, China’s first civilization

Shang Dynasty: One of the first Chinese dynasties, ruled from 1700 to 1122 B.C.E.

Clan: A large group of family members and friends.

Bronze: A strong metal alloy made from copper.

Military: Relating to the Army.

Ancestor Worship: Honoring of ancestors through rituals, such as offering food to the spirits of the dead.

Oracle bone: A piece of bone or shell heated and cracked by holy men to seek advice from a king’s ancestors.

Chapter 21

Three Chinese Philosophies 

Zhou Dynasty: A line of rulers in China, from about 1045 to 256 B.C.E.

Mandate of Heaven: A power or law believed to be granted by a god

Feudalism: A system of government based on landowners and tenants

Confucianism: A Chinese philosophy that emphasizes proper behavior

Civil servant: A person who works for a government

Daoism: A Chinese Philosophy that emphasizes living in harmony with nature

Yin and Yang: The Daoist concept of opposing forces of nature

Legalism: A Chinese philosophy that emphasizes strict obedience to laws

ch21 illustrated dictionary

Chapter 24

Silk Road: A network of trade routes that stretched for more than four thousand miles across Asia

Trade route: A network of roads along which traders traveled

Caravan: A group of people traveling together.

Cultural diffusion: the spreading of cultural traits, such as goods and ideas, from one culture to another, or within one culture

Dominated: To have control or power over something

Linked: to connect two or more people or things

Acquire: To come into possession of something

Oxygen: A gas in the air that people and animals need to breathe to live

Occurs: To take place

Chapter 25

Geography and the Settlement of Greece

Peninsula: A body of land that is surrounded on three sides by water

Aegean Sea: An arm of the Mediterranean Sea, east of Greece

Colony: A settlement under control of a usually distant country

Consulting: To get an opinion and information from someone

Participate: To take part in something, such as a game or activity

Chapter 26

The Rise of Democracy

Monarchy: A government in which the ruling power is in the hands of one person

Aristocrat: A member of the most powerful class in ancient Greek society.

Oligarchy: A government in which the ruling power is in the hands of a few people.

Tyranny: A government in which absolute ruling power is held by a person who is not a lawful king.

Democracy: A government in which power is held by the people, who exercise power directly or through elected representative.

Citizen: A person who has certain rights and duties in a city-state or nation.

Assembly: A group of citizens, in an ancient Greek democracy, with the power to pass laws.