| A | B |
|---|
| nirvana | Buddist belief in union with the universe and release from the cycle of rebirth |
| nomad | person who moves from place to place in search of food |
| non-alignment | not allied with either side in a war or conflict |
| nuclear family | family unit consisting of parents and children |
| nuclear proliferation | spread of nuclear weapons and technology to non-nuclear nations |
| oasis | fertile area in a desert |
| oligarchy | government in which the ruling power belongs to a few people |
| oral tradition | a way for a society to pass down its history and culture through oral stories instead of written |
| pacifist | person who opposes war |
| pact | an agreement or treaty between two or more nations |
| pagoda | multi-story Buddhist temple with eaves that curve up at the corners |
| Pan-Africanism | an idea of political alliance or union of all African nations |
| parliament | legislative body of Great Britian and several other nations |
| passive resistance | protesting using non-violent methods |
| patrician | member of the landholding upper class in ancient Rome |
| patrilineal | family organization where kinship ties are traced through the father |
| peninsular | member of the highest class in Spain's colonies in the Americas |
| per-capita | income for each individual person |
| perestroika | restructuring of the Soviet government and economy during the 1980s |
| pharoah | title of the rulers of ancient Egypt |
| philosohpe | member of a group of Enlightenment thinkers who tried to apply the methods of science to improve society |
| philosopher | person who regulates their life, actions and thoughts by philosophy and reason |
| pictograph | drawing used to represent a word |
| plantation | large estate run by and owner or an overseer and worked by laborers who live there, such as slaves |
| plebian | member of the lower class in ancient Rome |
| pogrom | violent mob attack on a Jewish community |
| population density | the number of people living in a given area, per square mile |
| polytheism | belief in many gods |
| possession | something that is owned or controlled by a person or a state |
| prehistoric | period of time before written history |
| prime minister | head of the cabinet in a parliamentary government |
| proletariat | working class |
| propaganda | spreading of ideas to promote a certain cause or to damage an opposing cause |
| quotas | the upper limit on a number of goods someone receives, or the number of people allowed in an area |
