ADVANCED HISTORY VOCABULARY

Neolithic: relating to the period when humans used tools and weapons made of stone and had just developed.

Sentence: The village is home to a Neolithic dig site where late Stone Age pieces have been discovered.

Stratification: the arrangement or classification of something into different groups.

Sentence: She was concerned about the stratification of American society.

Theocracy: a country that is ruled by religious leaders

Sentence: The mayor is such a religious man he runs the small town like a theocracy and insists all community activities begin with a prayer

Hieroglyph: a picture or symbol that represents a word, used in some writing systems, such as the one used in ancient Egypt:

Sentence: The scientists looked at physical evidence to test the hieroglyph’s claims of the city having been burned.

Ethnography: the scientific description of peoples and cultures with their customs, habits, and mutual differences.

Sentence: One of the aims of ethnography is to contribute to an understanding of the human race.

Levee: a wall made of land or other materials that is built to stop a river from overflowing

Sentence: The construction of a sturdy levee along the riverbank successfully shielded the town from the devastating floods.

Oligarchy: a small group of very powerful people that controls a government or society

Sentence: Eventually oligarchy took over from democracy.

Scribes: a person employed before printing was invented to make copies of documents

Sentence: In the old days, uneducated people would often hire a scribe to write down their family histories.

Topography: the arrangement of the natural and artificial physical features of an area.

Sentence: The topography of the river’s basin has changed significantly since the floods.

Covenant: a formal agreement or promise between two or more people

Sentence: They covenanted with the landlord to pay the rent

Aqueduct: a structure for carrying water across land, especially one like a high bridge with many arches

Sentence: The soldiers built an aqueduct to carry water from the fresh spring to the fort nearby.