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Glossary|
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Glossary |
Glossary
adobe: bricks made from mud and straw and baked in the sun.
Ancestor: a relative who lived before you.
Apprentice: a person who lives with a master craftsman to learn a a trade.
archaeologists: a scientist who learns about ancient people by studying the things they left behind.
archaic: ancient; very old.
artifact: an object made and left behind by people long ago.
Astronomy: the study of stars and planets/
atlatl: a tool that helped early people throw a spear.
awl: a pointed tool used to make small holes in leather and wood.
barnstormer: a person who travels around the country doing airplane stunts.
barter: to trade one thing for another without using money.
battalion: a large body of troops organized to ac together, a military unit.
bill: a written idea for a law
blizzard: a heavy storm of wind and snow.
bond: a certificate sold by the government to raise money for the war effort.
bounty: a reward; money paid to a person for killing certain animals
brand: to mark by burning; a label or mark on a product.
burlap: a rough fabric used for bags or wrappings.
canal: a waterway made by people, not nature.
capital goods: things that are already made that are used to make something else.
chant: a song or words said by Native Americans in ceremonies.
chaparral: a thicket of shrubs, thorny bushes, and other plants.
checks and balances: a system that limits the power of any one branch of government.
citizen: s member of a city or country.
civil: of or relating to citizens or the state.
civil rights: the rights that belong to every citizen.
clan: a group of people united in a common interest or relationship
climate: the weather of an area over a long period of time.
colony: a settlement or territory under the control of another nation.
commercial: having to do with selling and making a profit.
communication: the exchange of information between persons.
communism: a system in which the government, not the people, owns and runs the businesses and means of production.
compromise: an agreement reached when each side gives up part of its demands.
concentration camp: a horrible prison camp for German prisoner's during World War II.
concrete: a hardened mixture of cement, sand, and water used in construction.
conquer: to win or overthrow.
constitution: a set of written laws and rights.
consumer: a person who spends money on goods or services.
continent: one of the seven large land areas in the world.
convert: to change someone's religion or beliefs.
country: a land region under the control of one government.
county seat: the city where the county government has its offices.
crater: a hole in the ground formed by a bomb, mine, or impact of a meteorite.
dam: a barrier to hold back rivers or other bodies of water.
dedicate: to set apart for a certain purpose.
descendant: someone who comes from an ancestor.
dictator: a ruler with all the power.
discrimination: treating people unfairly because they are different in some way.
economics: the study of how people use their resources to make, sell, buy, and use goods and services.
elevation: how high a place is above sea level.
employee: a person who works for wages at a company or for someone else.
entrepreneur: a person who has and idea and the courage to start a business.
erupt: to break through the surface, to burst forth.
etch: to make a design on a hard surface by wearing away part of the surface, usually with acid.
expense: a cost: money spent; in business, the money spent to make a good or provide a service.
extinct: no longer existing on earth.
flint: a hard stone that produces a spark when hit by metal.
fossil: an imprint or actual remains of a plant or animal in rock.
free enterprise: a system where the people, not the government, run and own the businesses.
freight: a load of goods to be transported; cargo.
geography: the study of the earth and the people, animals, and plants living on it; locations of places on earth.
geologist: someone who studies the history of the earth, including its rocks and physical changes over time.
geometric: a shape that has straight lines, triangles, or circles.
glaciers: a large mass of ice built up over a long period of time.
goods: products that are made, bought, and sold.
habitat: the natural home of an animal.
harbor: a sheltered part of a body of water deep enough for anchoring ships.
hemisphere: half of the earth, usually divided by the equator or prime meridian.
hibernate: to spend the winter resting.
Hogan: an eight-sided house made by the Navajo.
Holocaust: the killing of European Jews and others in Nazi concentration camps during World War II.
human feature: changes people make to the land.
humid: damp, moist air.
hunters and gatherers: people who move around to hunt animals and gather wild food to survive.
hydraulic: operated, moved, or brought about by means of water.
independence: freedom from another country's control or rule.
industry: the organized action of making of goods and services for sale
insure: to make something secure.
interest: a charge for a loan.
interpreter: a person who explains to people what is being said in another language.
invasion: a conquest by an army or group.
invent: to create something for the first time.
irrigate: to water land by using canals or ditches.
isolate: to place or keep apart from others.
jury: a group of people who listen to a case to decide if a person is innocent or guilty of breaking the law.
kachina: a spirit that has special powers and is sacred to the Hopi; a kachina doll.
kivas: a religious structure built by Native Americans, often underground.
labor: the work people do.
latitude: imaginary lines on a globe or map that measures how far north or south of the equator a place is.
legislator: one of a group that makes the laws: a member of the House or Senate.
location: the place where something is.
longitude: imaginary lines on a globe or a map that measure how far east or west of the prime meridian a place is.
lumber: timber cut into boards.
manufacturing: The process of making a raw material into a finished product; especially in large quantities
majority: more than half of the people.
mesa: a small, high plateau with steep sides.
meteorite: a small particle from space that reaches the surface of the earth.
minimum wage: the lowest amount of money a business can pay an employee by law.
mission: a religious settlement.
missionary: a person sent to spread a religion to other people.
monsoon: a very rainy season.
nation: a people connected by ties of blood or by a common language, customs, traditions, or government.
native: being naturally from a certain region.
natural feature: landforms and other natural parts of the land that are not made by people.
nectar: a sweet liquid made by plants and used by bees to make honey.
ore: rock that has minerals in it.
outlaw: a person who does not live by the law.
pelt: a skin of a furry animal.
pioneer: one of the first place to do something.
pitch: a dark sticky material like tar.
plantation: a large farming escape.
plateau: a high, flat area of land that can be hundreds of miles wide.
poisonous: causing injury or illness to people, containing poison.
prairie: a large area of flat or rolling land with few trees.
precipitation: the amount of water in the air that falls as rain or snow.
prehistoric: before written history.
presidio: fort or military post.
process: to make something or to get it ready to sell to many people.
profit: the money left after expenses are paid.
pueblo: a village that has flat-rooted stone or adobe house built on top of each other.
ration: a little bit of something, like food, divided among many people.
rebel: to fight against those in power.
refugee: a person who flees to another country for safety.
region: an area that has things in common, such as landforms or economic activity.
relocation camp: places where the US government moved Japanese Americans in World War II
rendezvous: a large gathering of fur traders, where furs and supplies were bought, sold, and traded.
representative: someone who acts and speaks for a larger group.
reptile: animals like snakes, lizards, and turtles that usually have skin covered with scales.
reservation: land set aside by the US government for Native Americans.
reservoir: a place where water is stored for future use.
retire: to leave one's own occupation.
revolution: when one government takes over another government; a big change in the way things are done.
route: a set course of travel.
sacred: something that is holy and treated with reverence.
salary: money paid to an employee on a regular basis.
scout: a person who searches for information.
sediment: small pieces of material such as rocks and sand deposits by water, wind, or a glacier.
sedimentary rock: rock that is made of sediment.
segregate: to separate by race.
services: in economics, work done for another person. for money.
silversmith: a person who makes jewelry and other items from silver.
slave: a person who is owned by another person and is forced to work without pay for life.
specialize: in economics, providing a select amount of service or goods.
stagecoach: a horse-drawn coach that carries passengers and mail.
steamboat: a boat powered by steam.
stock market: a system where people buy and sell stocks, or investments in a business.
suburb: an area with houses and streets just outside of a city.
supply and demand: an economic rule that says that how much there is of something affects how much there is of something affects how much it will cost.
surrender: to give up to the other side.
switchboard: a board that has many electric switches to connect telephone lines.
telegram: a message sent by telegraph.
telegraph: a machine that sends messages by a code over wires.
timber: wood that is used in making something such as furniture.
toll road: a road that requires paying a fee for use.
tourist: people who tour or visit places for pleasure.
transportation: moving things from place to place.
unpopular: not well liked by many people.
uranium: a silvery-white metal that is the source for energy at nuclear power plants.
veto: to reject or say "no" to a bill or idea.
warrior: a person who fights in a war or battle.
wickiup: a small shelter made of grass, twigs, and brush used by some Native Americans.
