Box Quiz Vocabulary

Hellems Global 9

Culture

All the things that make up a people's entire way of life

Nuclear

A family made up of a wife, husband, and their children

Extended

A family consisting of several generations living in the same household

Patriarchal

Term for a male dominated family or society

Matrilineal

Tracing one's ancestry through their mother's relatives

Theocracy

A region or country ruled by religious leaders

Monotheism

Belief in one God

Dictator

An individual who holds power by force

Traditional

An economy where individuals produce all of what they need to subsist

Surplus

Production of goods in excess of what an individual needs to subsist

Latitude

Imaginary lines on a map that measure distance North and South of the Equator

Migration

The movement of people or animals from one place to another

Cultural Diffusion

The movement of things or ideas from one culture to another

Longitude

Imaginary lines on a map that measure East and West of the Prime Meridian

Topography

The study of the physical features of a region

Ethnocentrism

Judging other cultures by your standards because you consider your own culture to be the best

Market Economy

An economic system where individuals and the profit motive determine what to produce, who to produce it for, and how to produce it

Social Mobility

The ability to move up and down the social ladder

Racism

The belief that one race is superior to another

Command Economy

An economic system where the government determines what to produce, whom to produce it for, and how to produce it

Neolithic

The "New Stone Age"-from 8,000-3,000 B.C. Includes the agricultural revolution

Nationalism

Pride and loyalty to one's country

Archaeology

The study of objects left by early people

Cash Crop

A crop grown to be sold on world markets

Civilization

Highly organized group of people with their own language and culture

Agricultural Revolution

The beginning of farming in river valleys

Imperialism

Control by one country of another country or region

Artisan

A skilled craft worker

Urbanization

The growth of cities and the movement of people to them

Polytheism

The belief in many gods

Pictographs

Pictures that represent objects

Escarpment

Steep cliffs that separate the plateau from the coastal plain in Africa

Sumer

World's oldest civilization, 3,500 B.C. Mesopotamia

Cataracts

Large waterfalls in Africa, they often restrict movement on rivers

Homo Habilis

"Man with ability" first tool makers, lived in Paleolithic era

Population Density

The average number of people living in an area of specific size

Literate

The ability to read and write

Strait

A narrow channel that connects two larger bodies of water

Natural Selection

Darwin's belief that certain genetic traits are better suited to survival

Evolution

Darwin's belief that life began as a simple, single cell, but slowly became more complex

Infrastructure

The basic economic, social, and military facilities of a nation (like a "back bone")

Animism

Religion where all things in nature have a spirit, particularly in Africa.

Mansa Musa

Ruler of Mali who made a pilgrimage to Mecca

Timbuktu

West African city which gained prominence as a center of Islamic learning under the Songhai

Polygamy

The practice of having more than 1 spouse

Mosque

Islamic place of worship

Subsistence

Growing just enough food to survive

Berbers

North African merchants who crossed the Sahara and brought Islam with them

Slash and Burn

Method used to clear forest land for farming, can lead to desertification

Clan

A group of families that trace their lineage back to a common ancestor

Monsoons

Seasonal winds which dominate India's climate

Khyber Pass

Gap in the Hindu Kush mountains which may have been used by migrants from the north of India

Harappan

Civilization located in the Indus River valley

Mohenjo-Daro

Early city located along the Indus known for advanced plumbing and city planning

Indo-Europeans

A group of semi-nomadic people who came to India from the steppes

Aryans

Indo-European people who crossed over the northwest mountain passes into the Indus River Valley

Caste System

Social class system in India which created a strict division in Indian society, still visible today

Reincarnation

A process of an individual's soul being born again and again

Jainism

Founded by Mahavira, this religion believed that everything has a soul and should therefore not be harmed

Siddharrtha Gautama

Born into a noble Hindu family, he was the founder of Buddhism

Ganges

River sacred to Hindus

Buddhism

religion that preaches the Four Noble Truths as a means to salvation

Sikhism

Indian Religion which blended Hindu and Muslim beliefs

Indus

River where Harappan culture first appeared, led to the name India

Jainism

Indian religion stressing extreme non-violence to other creatures, many monks sweep the roads so as to not harm any living creatures

Karma

All the good and bad deeds if an individuals' life that decide how a person will be reborn

Moksha

Release from the Hindu cycle of birth and death

Untouchable

Lowest social class in India, considered below the caste system

Strait of Malacca

Body of water where international spice trade took place

Angkor Wat

Famous ancient Hindu temple built by the Khmer peoples

Loess

Yellowish-brown fertile soil, which due to the blowing of the wind, is deposited into the Yellow River

Huang He

​Nicknamed "China's Sorrow" due to its periodic flooding

Three Gorges Dam

​Being built along the Yangtze River, when completed, it will provide China with 10% of its national electric needs and displace over 1 million people

Xia

Legendary Chinese dynasty, said to have been located around the Huang He, much debate as to its actual existence

Oracle Bones

Animal bones and tortoise shells on which priests would etch questions for the gods

Mandate of Heaven

Created by the Zhou dynasty, this was the idea that rulers had divine approval

Dynastic Cycle

Pattern of rise, decline and replacement of a dynasty

Feudalism

Political system in which nobles, or lords, are granted the use of lands that legally belong to the king

Filial Piety

Respect for parents and elders

Qin

Founded by Shi Huangdi, this dynasty rose after the fall of the Zhou and followed a policy of Legalism. China gets its name from this dynasty

Archipelago

A chain of islands

Honshu

Japan's largest island, the capital is located here

Homogeneous

A society with almost no ethnic minorities

Kobe (Hanshin)

An earthquake took place here in 1995 causing over hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damages and killing over 5,000

Bushido

Known simply as "the way of the warrior" this was a code of ethics and behavior that all Samurai followed

Terrace

Type of farming where steps are cut into the sides of mountains

Shinto

Religion which worships nature gods and honors thousands of local deities. It means "Way of the gods"

Amaterasu

The sun goddess who is ever present in the Japanese original myth

Un-navigable

Fast moving river which is poor for transportation but excellent for irrigation and power

Samurai

Lived by a code of honor called Bushido, these warriors committed themselves to bravery and loyalty to their lord. It means, "One who Serves"

Creoles

American born descendants of Spanish settlers

Pampas

Fertile region in Paraguay and Argentina

Amazon River

2nd longest river in the world, flows through much of Brazil

Andes

Mountain range in South America which extends from the northern region to the southern tip

Francisco Pizarro

Conquered the Incas in 1535

Mestizo

People of mixed European and Native American ancestry

Aztec

This civilization built their empire on the Central Plateau, around the city of Tenochtitlan (modern day Mexico City)

Conquistadors

Spanish warriors who took over much of Latin America

Hernan Cortes

Conquered the Aztecs in 1521

Montezuma II

Aztec emperor who didn't want to fight Cortes because he believed Cortez was the god king Quetzalcoatl returning as promised