600 CE - 1450 vocab

Ka’aba

A black stone or meteorite that became the most revered shrine in Arabia before the introduction of Islam; situated in Mecca, it later was incorported in the Islamic faith.

Syncretism

A blend of two or more cultures or cultural traditions

Austronesian

A branch of languages originating in Oceania

Hadith

A collection of the sayings and deeds of Mohammed

Magna Carta

A document written in England in 1215 that granted certain rights to nobles; later these rights came to be extended to all classes

Harem

a household of wives and concubines in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia

Daimyo

a japanese fuedal lord in charge of an army of samurai

chivalry

a knight’s code of honor in medival Europe

mita

a labor system used by Andean societies in which community member shared work owed to rulers and the religious community

Maori

A member of a Polynesian group that settled in New Zealand about 800 CE

Shoguate

A military government established in Japan after the Gempi Wars; the emperor became a figurehead while real power was concertrated in the military; including the samurai

khan

a Mongol ruler

astrolabe

a navigational instrument used to determine latitude by mesuring the positioning of the stars

serf

a peasant who is bound to the land he or she works

neo-confucianism

a philosophy that blended Confucianism and Buddhist thought

fuedalism

a political, economic, and social system based on the relationship between lord and vassal in order to provide protection

parliament

a representative assembly, most notably in England

kowtow

a ritualistic bow practiced in the Chinese court

stateless society

a society that is based on the authority of kinship groups rather than on a central government

quipus

a system of knotted cords of different sizes and colors used by the Incas for keeping records

manorialism

a system of self-suffcient estates that arose in medival Europe

zakat

a tax, comprising precentage of personal income of every kind, levied as almsgiving for the relief of the poor: the third of the Pillars of Islam

People of the book

a term applied by Islamic governments to Muslims, Christians, and Jews in reference to the fact that all three religions had a holy book

minaret

a tower attached to a mosque from which muslims are called to worship

lateen sails

a triangular sail attached to a short mast

age grade

age groups into which children were placed in Bantu socieites of early sub-Saharan Africa; children within the age grade were given responsibilities and privileges suitable for their age and in this manner were prepared for adult reponsibilities.

abacus

and ancient chinese counting device that used rods on which were mounted movable counters

tea ceremony

an ancient shinto ritual still performed in the traditional japanese capital of kyoto

quechua

an andean society also known as the Inca

perspective

an artisitc technique commonly used in Renaissance painting that gave a 3D appearance to works of art

sultan

an islamic ruler

gothic architecture

architecture of the 12 century europe, featuring stained-glass windows, flying buttresses, tall spires, and pointed arches

arabesque

artwork first seen in muslim lands. A type of curvillinear decoration in painting, metalwork, ect, with intricate intertwining leaf flower animal or geometrical designs