Unit 3

• Mayas


  A Native American people, living in what is now Mexico and northern Central America, who had a flourishing civilization from before the birth of Jesus until around 1600, when they were conquered by the Spanish. They are known for their astronomical observations, accurate calendars sophisticated hieroglyphics, and pyramids.
• Aztecs


  A civilization that existed in central Mexico from 1300 to 1521. They grew corn, engaged in frequent warfare to conquer others, worshipped many gods, and practiced human sacrifices.
• Incas


  A Native American people who built a notable civilization in western South America in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The center of their empire was in present-day Peru. Francisco Pizarro of Spain conquered the empire.
• Chinampas


  Floating gardens
• Moche Civilization


  An important Andean civilization that built extensive irrigation networks as well as impressive urban centers dominated by brick temples (200-700 C.E.).
• Toltecs


  Powerful postclassic empire in central Mexico (900-1168 C.E.). It influenced much of Mesoamerica. Aztecs claimed ties to this earlier civilization.
• Bedouin


  Nomadic pastoralists of the Arabian peninsula; culture based on camel and goat nomadism; early converts to Islam.
• Mecca


  City in western Arabia; birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad, and ritual center of the Islamic religion.
• Medina


  City in western Arabia to which the Prophet Muhammad and his followers emigrated in 622 to escape persecution in Mecca.
• Kaaba


  A black stone building in Mecca that is shaped like a cube and that is the most sacred Muslim pilgrim shrine.
• Mohammad


  The Founder of Islam. Muslims believe that Mohammad was God's last Prophet and that he received the word of God from the angel Gabriel.
• 5 Pillars of Islam

  • Make a declaration of faith
  • Pray five times daily
  • Give to charity
  • Fast from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan
  • Pilgrimage to Mecca
• Quran


  Book composed of divine revelations made to the Prophet Muhammad between ca. 610 and his death in 632; the sacred text of the religion of Islam.
• Umma


  The Muslim community or people, considered to extend from Mauritania to Pakistan.
• Shari'a


  The divine law, derived from the qur'an and the sunna, encompassing all and setting forth in detail how muslims are to live.
• Jihad


  A holy struggle or striving by a Muslim for a moral or spiritual or political goal.
• Sunni


  One of the two main branches of orthodox Islam, a member of the branch of Islam that accepts the first four caliphs as rightful successors to Muhammad.
• Shi'ite


  One of the two main branches of orthodox Islam; a member of the branch of Islam that regards Ali as the legitimate successor to Mohammed and rejects the first three caliphs.
• Dar al Islam


  An Arabic term that means the "house of Islam" and that refers to lands under Islamic rule.
• "people of the book"


  What Muslims called Christians and Jews which means that they too only believe in one god.
• Caliph


  Successor to Muhammad as political and religious leader of the Muslims.
• Sufis


  A mystical Muslim group that believed they could draw closer to God through prayer, fasting, and a simple life.
• Grand Canal


  The 1,100-mile waterway linking the Yellow and the Yangzi Rivers. It was begun in the Han period and completed during the Sui Empire.
• Equal Field System


  This Chinese system allotted land to individuals and their families according to the land's fertility and the recipients' needs.
• Empress Wu


  The only woman to rule China in her own name, expanded the empire and supported Buddhism during the Tang Dynasty.
• Neo-Confucianism


  The Confucian response to Buddhism by taking Confucian and Buddhist beliefs and combining them into this. However, it is still very much Confucian in belief.
• Magnetic Compass


  Chinese invention that aided navigation by showing which direction was north.
• Flying Money


  Chinese credit instrument that provided credit vouchers to merchants to be redeemed at the end of the voyage; reduced danger of robbery; early form of currency.
• Foot binding


  Practice in Chinese society to mutilate women's feet in order to make them smaller; produced pain and restricted women's movement; made it easier to confine women to the household.
• Sinification


  Extensive adaptation of Chinese culture in other regions.
• Feudalism


  A political and social system that developed during the Middle Ages; nobles offered protection and land in return for service.
• Shogun


  A hereditary military dictator of Japan.
• Daimyo


  A Japanese feudal lord who commanded a private army of samurai.
• Samurai


  A Japanese warrior who was a member of the feudal military aristocracy.
• Genin


  One of Japan's lower classes; landless laborers who could be bought and sold like slaves.
• Shinto


  A Japanese religion whose followers believe that all things in the natural world are filled with divine spirits.
• Zen Buddhism


  School of Mahayana Buddhism asserting that enlightenment can come through meditation and intuition rather than faith.
• Vikings


  One of a seafaring Scandinavian people who raided the coasts of northern and western from the eighth through the tenth century.
• Norman


  Belonging or relating to the people from northern France, especially those who invaded England in 1066 and became its rulers, or to the buildings which were made during their rule.
• Seljuk Turks


  Nomadic Turks from Asia who conquered Baghdad in 1055 and allowed the caliph to remain only as a religious leader. They governed strictly.