Latin America Key Terms

Question 1

Slash-and burn agriculture

Answer 1

Farming method in which trees and other plants on a plot of land are cut down and burned and ash is used for fertilizer

Question 2

Quetzal

Answer 2

Colorful tropical bird

Question 3

Hieroglyphic

Answer 3

Symbol that stands for a word, idea, or sound

Question 4

Basin

Answer 4

Bowl-shaped area

Question 5

Chinampa

Answer 5

Artificial island built by the Aztecs

Question 6

Dike

Answer 6

A wall a hold back water

Question 7

Aqueduct

Answer 7

A canal or pipe that carries fresh water

Question 8

Conquistador

Answer 8

Conqueror in Spanish; a leader in the Spanish conquests of America, Mexico and Peru in the Sixteenth century.

Question 9

Encomienda

Answer 9

Right granted by the Spanish government to its American colonists to demand labor or tribute from American Indians

Question 10

Penisular

Answer 10

In Spanish colonial America, a person born in Spain

Question 11

Creole

Answer 11

A language that mixes two or more parent languages

Question 12

Mestizo

Answer 12

In Spanish colonial America, a person of mixed Spanish and American Indian ancestry

Question 13

Mulatto

Answer 13

In Spanish colonial America, a person of African and European descent

Question 14

Columbian Exchange

Answer 14

Exchange of people, plants and animals and ideas between the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere

Question 15

Nationalize

Answer 15

Government taking ownership of a company or industry

Question 16

Embargo

Answer 16

A complete ban trade with a country

Question 17

Diaspora

Answer 17

A movement of people from their homeland to other places

Question 18

Cultural diffusion

Answer 18

The spread of cultural traits from one culture to another

Question 19

Ecotourism

Answer 19

Tourism that focuses on the environment seeks to minimize environmental impact

Question 20

Specialization

Answer 20

Act of concentrating on a limited number of goods or activities

Question 21

Interdependence

Answer 21

The state of people or countries being dependent on one another

Question 22

Infrastructure

Answer 22

Body of public works, such as roads, bridges, and hospitals, that a country needs to support a modern economy

Question 23

Cartel

Answer 23

A group of businesses that control an industry

Question 24

Digital divide

Answer 24

A wide gap in access to the internet

Question 25

Domesticate

Answer 25

To change the growth of plants or behavior of animals in ways that are useful for humans

Question 26

Nomad

Answer 26

Person who moves from place to place without a permanent home

Question 27

Andes

Answer 27

A mountain range that runs along the western edge of South America

Question 28

Terrace

Answer 28

A strip of level land cut into a mountain slope that is planted with crops

Question 29

Quipu

Answer 29

Record-keeping device made of knotted strings, used by the Incas

Question 30

Hierarchy

Answer 30

System for ranking members of a group per their importance

Question 31

Ayllu

Answer 31

In Incan society, a group of related families that pooled its resources to meet peoples need

Question 32

Mita system

Answer 32

Incan system of payment of taxes with labor

Question 33

Line of Demarcation

Answer 33

Line set by the Treaty of Tordesillas dividing the non-European world into two zones, one controlled by Spain and one controlled by Portugal

Question 34

Treaty of Tordesillas

Answer 34

Treaty signed between Spain and Portugal in 1494 that divided the non-European world between them

Question 35

Mechanization

Answer 35

Use of machines to do work that had been done by animals or humans

Question 36

coup

Answer 36

Sudden violent overthrow of government, often by force

Question 37

Ethnic group

Answer 37

Group of people who share a distinct culture, language, and identity

Question 38

telenovela

Answer 38

Long serial drama made for television

Question 39

Diversified

Answer 39

Depending on a variety of exports or products

Question 40

Privatize

Answer 40

To sell government-owned businesses to private individuals and groups

Question 41

Literacy rate

Answer 41

A locations rate of people able to read or write

Question 42

Corruption

Answer 42

Use of power for personal gain

Question 43

Deforestation

Answer 43

Loss of forest cover that results from so many trees being removed that trees cannot grow back

Question 44

Free trade zone

Answer 44

Area within which all countries can freely trade with one another

Question 45

Nongovernmental organization

Answer 45

Group, usually nonprofit, that operates with private funding