VOCABULARY: Early Africa, World Exploration, Latin America, and Individuals
Category Term Definition
1 - Early Africa "Dark Continent" how Europeans referred to Africa before 1900 because they didn't know much about it
1 - Early Africa Ancient Egypt one of the first great civilizations - circa 3000 BCE - 1000 BCE
1 - Early Africa Axum / Aksum an African civilization [100 BCE - 600 AD] site of trade between Africa and Asia: India
1 - Early Africa Benin African "forest" kingdom [1000 AD - 1500 AD] noted for woodcarvings & metal work - sculptures
1 - Early Africa Ghana an early west African civilization - [400 AD - 1100 AD] - site of gold & salt trade
1 - Early Africa Great Rift Valley a canyon [a series of small mountains] running down the east side of the African continent - anthropologists say its where mankind first began
1 - Early Africa Great Zimbabwe southern African civilization - [1000 AD - 1500 AD] - truly African civilization - stone buildings
1 - Early Africa Islam a major religion in the northern part of the African continent
1 - Early Africa Kush an African civilization [1700 BCE - 1000 BCE] - located south of Egypt - rule by female monarchs
1 - Early Africa Mali an early west African civilization - [1000 AD - 1400 AD] - center of trade: gold & salt, Islamic center of learning
1 - Early Africa Mansa Musa king of Mali Empire - 1300s made a pilgrimage to Mecca - crossed the Sahara Desert in the process
1 - Early Africa matrilineal when rule comes from the female side of the family
1 - Early Africa nomadic people who move from place to place
1 - Early Africa Songhai a north-central African civilization - [1400 AD - 1600 AD] - standardized weights & measures - Islamic legal system
1 - Early Africa Timbuktu capital of Mali Empire: center of trade & Islamic learning
2 - Africa: Geography desertification when the desert expands using up valuable farm land
2 - Africa: Geography extended family mom, dad, kids, grandparents, relatives, etc.
2 - Africa: Geography Great Rift Valley a canyon [a series of small mountains] running down the east side of the African continent - anthropologists say its where mankind first began
2 - Africa: Geography matriarchal when the mother rules the family
2 - Africa: Geography matrilineal when everything is passed down through the female side of the family
2 - Africa: Geography modern up-to-date, constantly changing
2 - Africa: Geography nationalism being loyal to your country/nation first
2 - Africa: Geography Nile River longest river in the world, "source of life"
2 - Africa: Geography nuclear family mom, dad & kids
2 - Africa: Geography patriarchal when the father rules the family
2 - Africa: Geography patrilineal when everything is passed down through the male side of the family
2 - Africa: Geography polyrhythmic multiple rhthyms going through one piece of music, sometimes as many as 5
2 - Africa: Geography rural out in the country, the Town of Montgomery or Pine Bush
2 - Africa: Geography Sahara Desert acts as a "natural barrier" - increases "cultural diversity"
2 - Africa: Geography savanna grassland
2 - Africa: Geography traditional doing things the way they've always been done, slow change
2 - Africa: Geography tribalism when a person is loyal to his/her tribe, rather than his/her nation
2 - Africa: Geography tropical rainforest hot, humid, dense vegetation [a lot of trees, vines, bushes]
2 - Africa: Geography urban the city, New York City, the City of Newburgh
2 - Explorers Bartholomeu Diaz late 1400s - 1st European to reach tip of southern Africa
2 - Explorers Christopher Columbus European Explorer: "discovered" Western Hemisphere for Spain in 1492
2 - Explorers Vasco da Gama late 1400s - 1st European to reach India by water route [from Atlantic to Indian Ocean]
2 - Explorers Vikings explored areas west of Europe: Iceland, Greenland, & North America: Maine
3 - Explorers Balboa 1st European to see the Pacific Ocean - went from Atlantic to Pacific Oceans by cutting through 45 miles of jungle in 24 days
3 - Explorers Ferdinand Magellan 1st person to prove the world was actually ROUND - sailed around it in a round-a-bout way
3 - Latin America Aztecs civilization located in Mexico [1300 AD - 1500 AD] - began as agricultural - turned to war - ritual sacrifices - noted for capital built on islands connected by bridges
3 - Latin America Incas civilization located in South America: Andes Mountains [Peru & Bolivia] - built roads, bridges, tunnels, terrace farming, self-sufficient agriculture
3 - Latin America land-bridge Siberia [Russia] across Bering Sea/Strait to Alaska - how early man entered the Western Hemisphere
3 - Latin America Mayas civilization located on Yucatan Peninsula in southern Mexico - [300 AD - 900 AD] - noted for pyramid like structures of worship & writing system
3 - Latin America Olmec one of the earliest American civilizations [1200 BCE]- located in central Mexico on the Gulf of Mexico - agricultural
3 - Latin America terrace-farming farming on sides of mountains by carving out flat steps in them
4 - Latin America Atlantic Slave Trade native Africans brought to the Western Hemisphere against their will to work on plantations & in mines
4 - Latin America cash-crop growing 1 crop to sell & make money off of it
4 - Latin America caudillo dictator in Latin America
4 - Latin America Cinco de Mayo Mexican holiday [May 5th] - marks Mexico's victory over France
4 - Latin America colonize to take over a piece of land & rule it
4 - Latin America colony an area controlled & ruled by another country - usually for profit
4 - Latin America conquest to take over
4 - Latin America conquistadore a Spanish warrior
4 - Latin America Creoles Spanish people who born in Latin America
4 - Latin America despot dictator
4 - Latin America economics making a living
4 - Latin America encomienda a large Latin American plantation
4 - Latin America Father Miguel Hidalgo Father of Mexican independence movement
4 - Latin America Francisco Pizarro Spanish person who conquered the Incas in early 1500s
4 - Latin America gaucho a cowboy in Argentina
4 - Latin America Gran Colombia Simon Bolivar's idea for a "United States of South America"
4 - Latin America Grito de Dolores "Ringing of the Bells", what Father Miguel Hidalgo did - it marked the beginning of the Mexican independence movement
4 - Latin America Hernando Cortez Spanish person who conquered the Aztecs in early 1500s
4 - Latin America imperialism taking over another country/area for your own benefit/gain
4 - Latin America inhabit to live
4 - Latin America Jose de San Martin leader of southern, South American independence movement
4 - Latin America Latin America all land from Mexico & Cuba - south to Chile & Argentina [southern part of North America & all of South America] - largely Spanish speaking & Roman Catholic
4 - Latin America Line of Demarcation a line on a map - drawn by the Pope - stated all land to the west of it was for Spain, all land to the east was for Portugal
4 - Latin America mercantilism economic imperialism: using a colony for a mother country's profit
4 - Latin America Montezuma leader of the Aztecs
4 - Latin America one crop economy an area/country grows 1 crop to sell - dependent on that crop - if price is good, the area benefits, if price drops or crop production goes down, people face starvation
4 - Latin America Panama Canal a strategic chokepoint vital to US trade - connects the Atlantic & Pacific Oceans
4 - Latin America peasant a poor farmer
4 - Latin America plantation a large piece of land, crops are grown with slave labor for a profit
4 - Latin America Porfirio Diaz Mexican dictator [1900] - expanded & developed Mexico's economy at expense of peasants
4 - Latin America Simon Bolivar Father of Latin American independence
4 - Latin America Spanish "crown" another term for the Spanish king/monarch/ruler
4 - Latin America Toussaint L'Overture leader of independence movement in Haiti, one of few "just" Latin American rulers/leaders after independence from a European power, a former slave
4 - Latin America Treaty of Tordesillas another name for the Line of Demarcation
4 - Latin America viceroy Spanish rulers in Latin America
5- Latin America: Geography Amazon River widest river in the world, provides inland transportation route, across Brazil to Peru
5- Latin America: Geography Andes Mountains natural barrier in South America, "backbone" of continent, loaded with mineral resources, promote cultural diversity
5- Latin America: Geography cultural diffusion a sharing or exchange of ideas between cultures
5- Latin America: Geography cultural diversity many different cultures in 1 area
5- Latin America: Geography debt owing money
5- Latin America: Geography deforestation cutting down trees, hurts world's oxygen supply
5- Latin America: Geography diverse many different varieties
5- Latin America: Geography ethnocentrism judging others by the standards of your own culture
5- Latin America: Geography genocide deliberately killing a group of people
5- Latin America: Geography gentry upper class: wealthy landowners
5- Latin America: Geography global warming heating up of the earth's atmosphere due to pollution
5- Latin America: Geography hinder to slow down
5- Latin America: Geography Liberation Theology Roman Catholic priests getting involved in Latin American politics, speaking out for the needs (social & political) of the local people
5- Latin America: Geography machismo strong male attitude, doing things which are "man"ly, not feminine
5- Latin America: Geography migration to move to
5- Latin America: Geography racism the deliberate elimination of a group of people
5- Latin America: Geography regionalism like "tribalism", loyalty to an area or region, INSTEAD of the nation/country
5- Latin America: Geography Roman Catholicism the major religion practiced in Latin America
5- Latin America: Geography stratified layered, tight structure, often little movement between layers/groups
5- Latin America: Geography urbanization to move from the countryside to the city for better jobs & a better way of life
VOCABULARY: Early Africa, World Exploration, Latin America, and Individuals
Category Term Definition
1 - Early Africa "Dark Continent" how Europeans referred to Africa before 1900 because they didn't know much about it
1 - Early Africa Ancient Egypt one of the first great civilizations - circa 3000 BCE - 1000 BCE
1 - Early Africa Axum / Aksum an African civilization [100 BCE - 600 AD] site of trade between Africa and Asia: India
1 - Early Africa Benin African "forest" kingdom [1000 AD - 1500 AD] noted for woodcarvings & metal work - sculptures
1 - Early Africa Ghana an early west African civilization - [400 AD - 1100 AD] - site of gold & salt trade
1 - Early Africa Great Rift Valley a canyon [a series of small mountains] running down the east side of the African continent - anthropologists say its where mankind first began
1 - Early Africa Great Zimbabwe southern African civilization - [1000 AD - 1500 AD] - truly African civilization - stone buildings
1 - Early Africa Islam a major religion in the northern part of the African continent
1 - Early Africa Kush an African civilization [1700 BCE - 1000 BCE] - located south of Egypt - rule by female monarchs
1 - Early Africa Mali an early west African civilization - [1000 AD - 1400 AD] - center of trade: gold & salt, Islamic center of learning
1 - Early Africa Mansa Musa king of Mali Empire - 1300s made a pilgrimage to Mecca - crossed the Sahara Desert in the process
1 - Early Africa matrilineal when rule comes from the female side of the family
1 - Early Africa nomadic people who move from place to place
1 - Early Africa Songhai a north-central African civilization - [1400 AD - 1600 AD] - standardized weights & measures - Islamic legal system
1 - Early Africa Timbuktu capital of Mali Empire: center of trade & Islamic learning
2 - Africa: Geography desertification when the desert expands using up valuable farm land
2 - Africa: Geography extended family mom, dad, kids, grandparents, relatives, etc.
2 - Africa: Geography Great Rift Valley a canyon [a series of small mountains] running down the east side of the African continent - anthropologists say its where mankind first began
2 - Africa: Geography matriarchal when the mother rules the family
2 - Africa: Geography matrilineal when everything is passed down through the female side of the family
2 - Africa: Geography modern up-to-date, constantly changing
2 - Africa: Geography nationalism being loyal to your country/nation first
2 - Africa: Geography Nile River longest river in the world, "source of life"
2 - Africa: Geography nuclear family mom, dad & kids
2 - Africa: Geography patriarchal when the father rules the family
2 - Africa: Geography patrilineal when everything is passed down through the male side of the family
2 - Africa: Geography polyrhythmic multiple rhthyms going through one piece of music, sometimes as many as 5
2 - Africa: Geography rural out in the country, the Town of Montgomery or Pine Bush
2 - Africa: Geography Sahara Desert acts as a "natural barrier" - increases "cultural diversity"
2 - Africa: Geography savanna grassland
2 - Africa: Geography traditional doing things the way they've always been done, slow change
2 - Africa: Geography tribalism when a person is loyal to his/her tribe, rather than his/her nation
2 - Africa: Geography tropical rainforest hot, humid, dense vegetation [a lot of trees, vines, bushes]
2 - Africa: Geography urban the city, New York City, the City of Newburgh
2 - Explorers Bartholomeu Diaz late 1400s - 1st European to reach tip of southern Africa
2 - Explorers Christopher Columbus European Explorer: "discovered" Western Hemisphere for Spain in 1492
2 - Explorers Vasco da Gama late 1400s - 1st European to reach India by water route [from Atlantic to Indian Ocean]
2 - Explorers Vikings explored areas west of Europe: Iceland, Greenland, & North America: Maine
3 - Explorers Balboa 1st European to see the Pacific Ocean - went from Atlantic to Pacific Oceans by cutting through 45 miles of jungle in 24 days
3 - Explorers Ferdinand Magellan 1st person to prove the world was actually ROUND - sailed around it in a round-a-bout way
3 - Latin America Aztecs civilization located in Mexico [1300 AD - 1500 AD] - began as agricultural - turned to war - ritual sacrifices - noted for capital built on islands connected by bridges
3 - Latin America Incas civilization located in South America: Andes Mountains [Peru & Bolivia] - built roads, bridges, tunnels, terrace farming, self-sufficient agriculture
3 - Latin America land-bridge Siberia [Russia] across Bering Sea/Strait to Alaska - how early man entered the Western Hemisphere
3 - Latin America Mayas civilization located on Yucatan Peninsula in southern Mexico - [300 AD - 900 AD] - noted for pyramid like structures of worship & writing system
3 - Latin America Olmec one of the earliest American civilizations [1200 BCE]- located in central Mexico on the Gulf of Mexico - agricultural
3 - Latin America terrace-farming farming on sides of mountains by carving out flat steps in them
4 - Latin America Atlantic Slave Trade native Africans brought to the Western Hemisphere against their will to work on plantations & in mines
4 - Latin America cash-crop growing 1 crop to sell & make money off of it
4 - Latin America caudillo dictator in Latin America
4 - Latin America Cinco de Mayo Mexican holiday [May 5th] - marks Mexico's victory over France
4 - Latin America colonize to take over a piece of land & rule it
4 - Latin America colony an area controlled & ruled by another country - usually for profit
4 - Latin America conquest to take over
4 - Latin America conquistadore a Spanish warrior
4 - Latin America Creoles Spanish people who born in Latin America
4 - Latin America despot dictator
4 - Latin America economics making a living
4 - Latin America encomienda a large Latin American plantation
4 - Latin America Father Miguel Hidalgo Father of Mexican independence movement
4 - Latin America Francisco Pizarro Spanish person who conquered the Incas in early 1500s
4 - Latin America gaucho a cowboy in Argentina
4 - Latin America Gran Colombia Simon Bolivar's idea for a "United States of South America"
4 - Latin America Grito de Dolores "Ringing of the Bells", what Father Miguel Hidalgo did - it marked the beginning of the Mexican independence movement
4 - Latin America Hernando Cortez Spanish person who conquered the Aztecs in early 1500s
4 - Latin America imperialism taking over another country/area for your own benefit/gain
4 - Latin America inhabit to live
4 - Latin America Jose de San Martin leader of southern, South American independence movement
4 - Latin America Latin America all land from Mexico & Cuba - south to Chile & Argentina [southern part of North America & all of South America] - largely Spanish speaking & Roman Catholic
4 - Latin America Line of Demarcation a line on a map - drawn by the Pope - stated all land to the west of it was for Spain, all land to the east was for Portugal
4 - Latin America mercantilism economic imperialism: using a colony for a mother country's profit
4 - Latin America Montezuma leader of the Aztecs
4 - Latin America one crop economy an area/country grows 1 crop to sell - dependent on that crop - if price is good, the area benefits, if price drops or crop production goes down, people face starvation
4 - Latin America Panama Canal a strategic chokepoint vital to US trade - connects the Atlantic & Pacific Oceans
4 - Latin America peasant a poor farmer
4 - Latin America plantation a large piece of land, crops are grown with slave labor for a profit
4 - Latin America Porfirio Diaz Mexican dictator [1900] - expanded & developed Mexico's economy at expense of peasants
4 - Latin America Simon Bolivar Father of Latin American independence
4 - Latin America Spanish "crown" another term for the Spanish king/monarch/ruler
4 - Latin America Toussaint L'Overture leader of independence movement in Haiti, one of few "just" Latin American rulers/leaders after independence from a European power, a former slave
4 - Latin America Treaty of Tordesillas another name for the Line of Demarcation
4 - Latin America viceroy Spanish rulers in Latin America
5- Latin America: Geography Amazon River widest river in the world, provides inland transportation route, across Brazil to Peru
5- Latin America: Geography Andes Mountains natural barrier in South America, "backbone" of continent, loaded with mineral resources, promote cultural diversity
5- Latin America: Geography cultural diffusion a sharing or exchange of ideas between cultures
5- Latin America: Geography cultural diversity many different cultures in 1 area
5- Latin America: Geography debt owing money
5- Latin America: Geography deforestation cutting down trees, hurts world's oxygen supply
5- Latin America: Geography diverse many different varieties
5- Latin America: Geography ethnocentrism judging others by the standards of your own culture
5- Latin America: Geography genocide deliberately killing a group of people
5- Latin America: Geography gentry upper class: wealthy landowners
5- Latin America: Geography global warming heating up of the earth's atmosphere due to pollution
5- Latin America: Geography hinder to slow down
5- Latin America: Geography Liberation Theology Roman Catholic priests getting involved in Latin American politics, speaking out for the needs (social & political) of the local people
5- Latin America: Geography machismo strong male attitude, doing things which are "man"ly, not feminine
5- Latin America: Geography migration to move to
5- Latin America: Geography racism the deliberate elimination of a group of people
5- Latin America: Geography regionalism like "tribalism", loyalty to an area or region, INSTEAD of the nation/country
5- Latin America: Geography Roman Catholicism the major religion practiced in Latin America
5- Latin America: Geography stratified layered, tight structure, often little movement between layers/groups
5- Latin America: Geography urbanization to move from the countryside to the city for better jobs & a better way of life

Last Updated on 1/15/2001
By Jim Joyce