| A | B |
|---|
| history | the written and other recorded events of people |
| prehistory | before history; the events in the period of time before writing was invented |
| archaeologist | scientist who examines bones, tools, structures, and other objects to learn about past peoples and cultures. |
| oral tradition | stories passed down through generations by word of mouth. |
| nomad | person who has no single, settled home |
| hominid | a modern human or a member of an earlier group that may have included ancestors or relatives or modern humans. |
| domesticate | to tame animals and raise them to be used by humans. |
| irrigation | supplying land with water through a network of canals. |
| surplus | more of a thing or product than is needed |
| artisan | a worker who is especially skilled in making something, such as baskets, leather goods, tools, jewelry, pottery, or clothes. |
| civilization | a society with cities, a central government run by official leaders, and workers who specialize in certain jobs, leading to social classes. |
| social class | group, or class, that is made up of people with similar backgrounds, wealth, and ways of living. |
| scribe | a professional writer. |
| city-state | a city with its own traditions and its own government and laws. |
| polytheism | the belief in many gods. |
| myth | a traditional story; in some cultures, a legend that explains people beliefs. |
| empire | many territories and people who are controlled by one government. |
| caravan | a group of traders traveling together. |
| bazaar | a market selling different kinds of goods |
| code | an organized list of laws or rules. |
| cuneiform | a form of writing that uses groups of wedges and lines. |
| alphabet | a set of symbols that represent the sounds of a language |
| monotheism | the belief in one god. |
| famine | a time when there is so little food that many people starve. |
| exile | to force someone to live in another country. |
| covenant | a binding agreement |
| prophet | a religious leader who told the Israelites what God wanted them to do. |
| diaspora | the scattering of people who have a common background or beliefs. |
| delta | a triangular-shaped plain at the mouth of a river. |
| cataract | a large waterfall; any strong flood or rush of water. |
| silt | rich, fertile soil deposited by the flooding of a river. |
| pharaoh | the title of kings of ancient Egypt. |
| dynasty | a family of rulers |
| regent | someone who rules for a child until the child is old enough to rule. |
| artisan | a worker who is especially skilled in making something. |
| mummy | a dead body preserved in lifelike condition. |
| pyramid | a huge building with four sloping outside walls shaped like triangles. |
| hieroglyphs | a kind of picture writing in which some pictures stand for ideas or things and others stand for sounds. |
| papyrus | an early form of paper made from a reedlike plant found in the marshy areas of the Nile delta. |
| astronomer | scientist who studies the stars and other objects in the sky. |
| afterlife | the next life, in which the dead are believed to live again. |
| Upper Nubia | the region of ancient Nubia between the second and sixth Nile cataracts |
| Lower Nubia | the region of ancient Nubia between the first and second Nile cataracts |
| Nubia | an ancient region in the Nile River valley, on the southern Egypt and northern Sudan border |
| Giza | an ancient Egyptian city; the site of the Great Pyramid |
| Moses | an Israelite leader whom the Torah credits with leading the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan |
| Zoroastrianism | a religion that developed in ancient Persia |
| Stone Age | a period of time during which hominids made lasting tools and weapons mainly from stone |
| Fertile Crescent | A region in Southwest Asia; site of the first civilization |
| subcontinent | a large landmass that juts our from a continent |
| monsoon | a strong wind that blows across East Asia at certain times of the year. |
| citadel | a fortress in a city |
| migrate | to move from one place to settle in another area |
| caste | a social class of people |
| brahman | a single spiritual power that Hindus believe lives in everything |
| avatar | a representation of a Hindu god or goddess in human or animal form |
| reincarnation | the rebirth of the soul in the body of another living being |
| dharma | the religious and moral duties of Hindus |
| ahimsa | the Hindu idea of nonviolence |
| meditate | to focus the mind inward in order to find spiritual awareness or relaxation |
| nirvana | the lasting peace that Buddhists seek by giving up selfish desires |
| missionary | a person who spreads his or her religious beliefs to others |
| Maurya Empire | Indian empire founded by Chandragupta, beginning with his kingdom in northeastern India and spreading to most of northern and central India. |
| convert | to change one's beliefs; in particular, to change from one religion to another |
| tolerance | freedom from prejudice |
