Hi Class -- this site will have a LOT more added to it in the coming days. I will let you know when it has been updated. For now, here is your vocabulary list. (Note: these will be in their own folder in the future.) ~ Mrs. E
1. absolutism – A political system where all power and authority is held by a single ruler. Absolute ruler raise large armies, impose heavy taxes, control the daily life of their subjects, and regulate the power of nobles.
2. agriculture – The use of farming to maintain and support human life. It is the practice of producing crops and raising livestock that replace hunting and gathering as a result of the Neolithic Revolution.
3. aristocracy – A group of upper class citizen often referred to as nobles. This class holds political power usually resulting from land ownership and wealth.
4. bias – The perspective an individual brings to a situation based on their personal background. Bias is point of view based on where a person grew up, their cultural background, prejudices, beliefs, etc.
5. bi-pedalism – The use of two legs for means of locomotion. This is a major development in the evolution of humans.
6. bureaucracy – A government or society that is organized into a hierarchical structure. Often times duties, responsibilities, and administration of services are divided amongst several departments.
7. chiefdom – A sociopolitical organization of a group of people with a single leader. The leader is determined by heredity. The chiefdom can be broken down into smaller units called districts and villages.
8. city-state – A sovereign state made up of an independent city and the surrounding territory that it controls.
9. civilization – A society in an advanced state of social, political and cultural development. Characteristics of civilizations include writing systems, agriculture, advancements in arts and sciences, and organized political institutions.
10. commercial – Having to do with commerce. Commerce is the business of buying, selling, producing and distributing goods.
11. cultural diffusion – The spread of cultural aspects between societies. Ideas, belief systems, patterns of behavior, inventions, artistic and architectural styles, etc. can all be spread when people come in contact with each other.
12. demography – The study of populations. It studies the distribution of population, as well as characteristics of specific populations including birth and death rates, nationalities, age, religion, and ethnicity.
13. divination – An attempt to decipher omens and obtain information through supernatural means through religious rituals.
14. division of labor – The separation of work into specified tasks to increase productivity. This is the basis for the assembly line method of production.
15. dynasty – A long period of rule where power is determined by heredity and one family will rule for generations.
16. empire – An extensive territory ruled by a single authority. When one nation exercises power over several other nations or regions with varying ethnic groups.
17. epidemic – The rapid and extensive spread of something that effects a large number of people in a specific area.
18. forager – The act of looking for food and provision through hunting and gathering.
19. globalization – The emergence of the world as a single market creating an international economy.
20. indentured servant – An individual who agrees to work for a set number of years in exchange for transport, food, clothing, and shelter.
21. independent invention – An innovation that occurs on its own, even though another group of people may have created a similar innovation in a different place, at a different time.
22. interregional – A characteristic shared between more than one region of the world.
23. kingdom – A political unit of territory ruled by a sovereign, i.e. a king or queen.
24. Lucy – The most complete fossil of a hominid found to date. This female was found 40 percent intact in Tanzania in 1974.
25. medieval – Referring to something from the Middle Ages a period from approximately the 5th to 16th century in Europe.
26. merchant – An individual who buys and sells commodities for a profit, a storekeeper.
27. migrations – The process of moving from one place or region to another.
28. monotheism – The religious belief in the existence of only
one god.
29. nation – A large group of people with a common political affiliation it can refer to the people or the territory itself.
30. Neolithic Revolution - A period of human development characterized by the introduction of agriculture, domestication of animals, and a more sedentary lifestyle.
31. nobility - a socially or politically privileged class whose titles are conferred by descent or by royal decree
32. nomad - A member of a people or tribe that has no permanent settlement but moves about from place to place, usually seasonally and often following a traditional route or circuit according to the state of the pasturage or food supply.
33. Paleolithic Age – The second part of the Stone Age beginning about 700,000 to 500,000 years BCE and lasting until the end of the last ice age about 8,500 years BCE.
34. pandemic – Something that affects people all over the world, for example a pandemic disease.
35. Papacy – the government of the Roman Catholic Church, with the Pope as its leader.
36. pastoral – having the characteristics and simplicity of a rural setting.
37. polytheism – The religious belief in the existence of more than one god.
38. prehistoric - Pertaining to the period before written records were kept.
39. push and pull factors – factors which forces people away from or attracts them towards a new region.
40. primary source – a firsthand or eyewitness account of an event.
41. revolution – a radical and lasting change in society, or the overthrow of a government by the people it governs.
42. scribe – a person who makes hand copies of documents, also the act of copying these documents.
43. secondary source – any document that describes an event or person which was not created at the time of the event or by witnesses of the event.
44. serf – a person who is in a condition of servitude, tied to the land, who is required to render services to the owner of the land who is usually noble.
45. shaman – a holy person in some tribes and religions who acts as an intermediary between the natural and supernatural world.
46. slave – a person who is the property of another person.
47. specialization – the process of training people in one specific task or duty that they can then perform for the rest of their society, for example a doctor or teacher.
48. state - a politically unified people occupying a definite territory, a nation or country.
49. surplus – more crops than a farmer needs to feed his own family which may be sold or traded for other good.
50. urban – pertaining to a city or town.