Ancient America Vocabulary
1. Ice Age – Any of the periods of time in the past lasting for millions of years when glaciers spread to cover nearly half of Earth’s land.
2. Glacier – A great sheet of ice that moves slowly over a land surface.
3. Tropical – Of or relating to the area of Earth between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
4. Rain Forest – A warm, wet forest that receives more than 80 inches of rain per year.
5. Climograph – A graph that shows the temperature and precipitation in a place over a period of months.
6. Slash and Burn – A farming method involving the cutting of trees, then the burning of them to provide ash-enriched soil for the planting of crops.
7. Classic Period – A time of great cultural achievement for a civilization.
8. Maize – Corn; a crop first grown in Middle America about 5,000 B.C.
9. Glyph – A writing symbol, often carved into stone that stands for an object or a sound.
10. Stela – A tall, flat stone, often carved with writing, used to mark an important historical event.
Places
1. Beringia – A land bridge that connected North America and Asia during the Ice Age; located where the Bering Strait is today.
2. Central Plateau – A high plateau extending throughout central Mexico and bounded by high mountain ranges.
3. Copán – An ancient city of Middle America, in what is now Honduras, that was the center of classic Maya culture.
4. La Venta – An ancient island town of Middle America on the east coast of what is now Mexico; center of Olmec culture in 1000 B.C.
5. Middle America - An ancient region of North America that included southern Mexico and much of Central America. It was the birthplace of the ancient Olmec and Maya civilizations.