is believed to depict a bird.
$5 vocabulary words
(words highlighted in blue are root elements which can be combined to form new words, ie. geo+glyph = geoglyph; in addition words highlighted in blue or preceded by a blue triangle are vocabulary words for Units 1 - 4 and will appear on the exam for those units.)
(words highlighted in white are linked to additional information)
Anglophone-- A speaker of English or the speaker of a language descended from English.
anim -- spirit.
anthropo -- human.
∆ archaic -- pre 1493.
asphaltum - a naturally occurring petroleum tar used as an adhesive.
atlatl -- a spear throwing stick.
balsa -- a boat constructed of bundled reeds.
basket -- a semi-rigid container made by uniting two or more flexible lengths of fiber positioned at 90 degrees to each other.
∆ Beringia -- the land now covered by the Bering Straits between Alaska and Russia once exposed as a result of the age of glaciation over which some theorize the ancestors of contemporary Native Americans migrated into the Americas.
bi -- two (2).
∆ binder -- a kind of sticky liquid added to pigment to form paint, usually fat, blood, or prickly-pear cactus juice.
burden basket -- a conical basket which is used to transport heavy loads.
chickee -- a shade roof.
∆ chronology -- the general periods into which we divide time. In North America we use the terms archaic/precontact, historic, and modern/contemporary.
chrome -- color.
Cipapu -- see Sipapu.
cliff dwelling -- a shelter built within a shallow cave on a sheer cliff wall usually fashioned out of masonry.
clam shell disc beads -- the major currency of California.
cordage -- a length of plied fibers.
∆ craft specialization -- the ability of a culture to support artisans who develop a craft to a high level. In order for craft specialization to occur the community must be rich enough to support the artists and the artists must have complete control over their materials.
∆ cultural relativism -- the idea that what is morally wrong/right and socially acceptable/unacceptable in one culture may be just the opposite in another culture.
∆ currency -- economic units that serve as a standard medium of exchange, which 1) have an arbitrarily set value and 2) occur abundantly enough so that they can circulate widely. See treasure below.
∆ ecozone -- a geographic area typified by a characteristic plant community.
∆ effigy -- a three-dimensional image of some thing usually and animal or person.
|
This hisat
sinom clay effigy jar
is believed to depict a bird. |
Europhone -- the speaker of an European language or the speaker of a language descended from a European language.
geo -- earth.
glyph -- a two-dimensional sign or symbol.
granary -- a storage container for seeds or grain.
graph -– a record.
Hispanophone -- a speaker of Spanish or Portuguese or one of the languages descended from Portuguese and Spanish.
icon -- a two-dimensional image of some thing.
∆ insider -- someone initiated into a culture, see "outsider."
ism -- a system of belief.
kiva -- a semisubterranean room, usually circular and often windowless, characterized by a stone altar, a stone hearth, a foot drum, bench seats at the perimeter, and an entryway in the roof.
lineage -- the family group to which one belongs.
∆ magic -- the mechanism for controlling dynamistic powers. See dynamism.
∆ mana -- a dangerously high level of power.
∆ material culture -- everything people make or use.
matrilineal -- following the female line of descent.
matrilocal -- at the location where the mother lives.
meta -- change.
mitigate -- to reduce the impact of something, especially when the impact is negative.
moiety -- a social structure which exists to regulate who marries whom.
morph -- form.
mnemonic device -- a memory aide.
Native American Indian Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) -- an act signed into law in 1990 by President George Bush which is designed to return culturally relevant materials to the living descendants.
olla -- a pottery vessel, generally with a neck and rim of smaller diameter than the body.
outsider -- someone not initiated into a culture group, see "insider."
Paleo-Indian -- before the arrival of Europhones.
paradigm -- a widely accepted explanation for a phenomenon.
patrilineal -- following the male line of descent.
patrilocal -- at the location where the father lives.
petro -- stone.
∆ phenomenon -- an observable fact, experience, trend, occurance, incident, occasion.
phyto -- plant.
picto -- picture.
∆ pigment -- an opaque coloring material, usually ground minerals, charcoal, or pollen.
pitch -- sap from a tree.
∆ pit house -- a type of semisubterranean house, usually set two to three feet below ground level.
ply - one of two or more threads twisted into a single cord.
poly -- many.
PreColombian -- before the arrival of Columbus.
∆ profit -- taking more than you give.
∆ propitiate -- to appease, plead, or beg through the use of offerings.
ramada -- a shade roof.
∆ reciprocity -- exchange.
∆ religion -- a type of political system that always involves interaction between humans and the Supreme Being, God, the Creator, or the Great Spirit. Interaction with spirits and ghosts are not essential nor is magic necessarily involved.
relative surplus population -- those persons who cannot survive economically and therefore are subject to governmental, corporate, and individual exploitation characterized by low wages, short-life expectancy, institutionalization, and poverty.
∆ semi subterranean -- partially below ground level.
∆ Sinodonty -- a set of dental characteristics common to a group of ancient Siberians and to modern American Indian people.
Sipapu -- an effigy of the place of emergence of many peoples of the Southwest.
snood -- a type of hair net used to anchor picks and pins during ceremonies and displays of wealth.
∆ taboo -- a social prohibition against a particular behavior.
tipi -- a conical house constructed of peeled poles covered with skins. A liner may be added in winter.
∆ treasure -- a nonstandard economic unit that serves as a medium of exchange, which 1) is relatively rare and 2) has a value that is negotiated between the buyer and seller. See currency above.
tump line -- a strap worn across the forehead from which a load is suspended down the back.
∆ ubiquitous -- present everywhere.
warp -- the structural elements of a textile.
wigwam -- a long house built of bent poles covered with bark.
wikiup -- a conical shelter built from brush. In cold weather it may be covered with mats woven of tules.
weft -- the covering skin of a textile.
zoo –- animal.