Terms

Question 1

Alluvial Fan

Answer 1

Fan-shaped deposits of sediments dropped by streams flowing out of the mountains. These areas have long been devoted to intensive cultivation.

Question 2

Exotic Rivers

Answer 2

Originate in more humid areas. Very scarce in the Gobi

Question 3

Bodhisattva

Answer 3

Spiritual being who helps others attain enlightenment. The Dalai Lama is considered to be a reincarnation of Bodhisattva of compassion.

Question 4

Taliban

Answer 4

Extremist organization that insisted that all aspects of society conform to its own harsh version of Islamic orthodoxy. Controlled Afghanistan from mid 1990’s-2001.

Question 5

Theocracy

Answer 5

Religious state. Tibet was essentially a theocracy with the Dalai Lama enjoying political as well as religious authority.

Question 6

Exclave

Answer 6

A piece of territory separated from the rest of the country.

Question 7

Transhumance

Answer 7

Move their flocks from lowland pastures in the winter to highland meadows in the summer.

Question 8

Pastoralists

Answer 8

People who raise livestock for subsistence purposes.

Question 9

Shanghai Cooperation ORganization (SCO)

Answer 9

“Shanghai Six” Composed of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The SCO seeks cooperation on such security issues as terrorism and separatism, aims to enhance trade, and serves as a counterbalance against the US. Mongolia is an “Observer”.

Question 10

Anthropogenic Landscape

Answer 10

Land that has been heavily transformed by human activities. Virtually its entire extent is either cultivated or occupied by houses, factories, and other structures of human society. North China Plain is the best example of this.

Question 11

Superconurbation

Answer 11

Megalopolis. Huge zone of coalesced metropolitan areas.

Question 12

Autonomous Region

Answer 12

Provinces that have been granted a certain degree of political and cultural autonomy, or freedom from centralized authority, owing to the fact that they contain large numbers of non-Han Chinese people. Critics contend that they have little true autonomy.

Question 13

Burakumin

Answer 13

Also known as Eta, an outcast group of Japanese whose ancestors worked in “polluting” industries such as leathercraft. Victimized people in Japan. Among the poorest and least educated people in Japan.

Question 14

Central Place Theory

Answer 14

Holds that an evenly distributed rural population will give rise to a regular hierarchy of urban places, with uniformly spaced larger cities surrounded by constellations of smaller cities, each of which, in turn, will be surrounded by smaller towns.

Question 15

China Proper

Answer 15

The eastern half of the country of China where the Han Chinese form the dominant ethnic group. The vast majority of China’s population is located in China proper.

Question 16

Diaspora

Answer 16

Scattering of a particular group of people over a vast geographical area. This has brought hundreds of thousands of Koreans to the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Question 17

Tonal

Answer 17

Their worlds are composed of a single syllable, and the meaning of each basic syllable changes according to the pitch in which it is uttered.

Question 18

Marxism

Answer 18

Demands absolute loyalty to North Korea’s political leaders. Means “self-reliance.”

Question 19

Geomancy

Answer 19

Feng shui. The Chinese and Korean practice of designing buildings in accordance with the spiritual powers that supposedly course through the local topography.

Question 20

Cold War (China)

Answer 20

China decided early on during the Cold War decades that they would isolate themselves as much as possible from Western and global culture.

Question 21

COnfucianism

Answer 21

Philosophy developed by Confucius. Came to occupy a significant position in all of the societies of the region. Some call East Asian the “Confucian world.”

Question 22

Ideographic Writing

Answer 22

Each character primarily represents an idea rather than a sound. Ideographic writing requires the use of a large number of distinct symbols.

Question 23

Laissez-faire

Answer 23

French term meaning “Let it be.” Hong Kong has a very strong laissez-faire economic system, meaning to have a great amount of market freedom from government interference.

Question 24

Social and Regional Differntiation

Answer 24

Certain groups of people and certain portions of the country prospered far more than others during the Chinese economic surge.

Question 25

Sediment Load

Answer 25

Suspended clay, silt, and sand. Makes the Huang He the world’s muddiest major river.

Question 26

Mandarins

Answer 26

Members of the high-level bureaucracy of Imperial China (before 1911). Mandarin Chinese is the official spoken language of the country and is the native tongue of the vast majority of people living in the north, central, and southwestern China.

Question 27

Pollution exporting

Answer 27

Because of Japan’s high cost of production and its strict environmental laws, many Japanese companies have moved their dirtier factories overseas. In effect, Japan’s pollution has been partially displaced to poorer countries.

Question 28

Regulatory Lakes

Answer 28

IN periods of high water, river flows are diverted into regulatory lakes in order to reduce the flow downstream.

Question 29

Rust Belt

Answer 29

Manchurian rust belt or zone of decaying factories are not efficient. Once productive oil wells, are largely exhausted.

Question 30

Shogunate

Answer 30

The political order of Japan before 1868, in which the power was held by the military leader known has the shogun, rather than the emperor, whose authority was merely symbolic. A Shogun was a supreme military leader who theoretically remained under the emperor.

Question 31

Special Economic Zones (SEZ)

Answer 31

Foreign investment is welcome and state interference minimal. Basic strategy is to attract foreign investment that could generate exports, the income from which would supply China with the capital it needed to build its infrastructure and thus achieve conditions of sustained economic growth.

Question 32

Spheres of Influence

Answer 32

In a sphere of influence the colonial power had no formal political authority but did enjoy informal influence and tremendous economic clout. Not formally colonized. Gained for trade purposes and more generally for economic exploitation and political manipulation.

Question 33

Urban Primacy

Answer 33

Urban population concentrated in a single city.

Question 34

British East India Company:

Answer 34

Private firm that acted as an arm of the British Government. Monopolized overseas trade and began to stake out a South Asian Empire of it’s own.

Question 35

• Maharaja

Answer 35

Hindu king subject to British advisors.

Question 36

• Caste System

Answer 36

Strict division of society into different hierarchically ranked hereditary groups.

Question 37

• Mughal Empire

Answer 37

Dominated much of the region from its power center in the upper Indus-Ganges Basin. Muslim dominated stated that covered most of South Asia from the early 16th to the late 17th centuries. The last vestiges of the Mughal dynasty were dissolved by the British following the rebellion of 1857

Question 38

• Dalits

Answer 38

So-called untouchables. Group that stands outside the varna system altogether. Dalits were not traditionally allowed to enter Hindu temples. Such low status positions were derived from historically “unclean” occupations, such as those of leather workers, scavengers, latrine cleaners, and swine herders.

Question 39

• Sikhism

Answer 39

Sikhism originated in the late 1400s in Punjab. Sikhism was a new religion that came from the tension between Hinduism and Islam. The new faith combined elements of both religions and thus appealed to many who felt trapped between their competing claims.

Question 40

Jainism

Answer 40

Jainism emerged as a protest against orthodox Hinduism. This religion took nonviolence to its ultimate extreme. Jains are forbidden to kill any living creatures, and most wear masks to prevent the inhalation of small insects. Agriculture is forbidden to Jains.

Question 41

Dravidian

Answer 41

Languages of southern Indian belong to the Dravidian family, a linguistic group unique to South Asia. Tamil is an example of DL. Any modern Indo-European language of India is more closely related to English than it is to any DL. DL has borrowed many words from Sanskrit, particularly those associated with religion and scholarship.

Question 42

Linguistic Nationalism

Answer 42

The linking of a specific language with nationalistic goals. Indian nationalists of long dreamed of a national language that could help forge the different communities of the country into a more unified nation. This ideal is met with stiff resistance of provincial loyalty, which itself is intertwined with local languages.

Question 43

Federal State

Answer 43

Political system in which a significant amount of power is given to individual states. In India, these states were created upon independence in 1947 and were drawn primarily along linguistic lines so that today state power is often associated with specific ethnic groups within the nation.

Question 44

Tamil Tigers

Answer 44

Rebel force that attacked the Sri Lankan army in 1983. Tamils support political and cultural autonomy, and they have accused the government of discriminating against them. Government has favored the Sinhalese majority.

Question 45

Indian Diaspora

Answer 45

Migration of large numbers of Indians to foreign countries. Gujaratis have long been famed as merchants and overseas traders, representing a large number in the Indian Diaspora. As a result, cash remittances from these emigrants help to bolster the state’s economy.

Question 46

Green Revolution

Answer 46

Green revolution is the main reason that South Asian agriculture has kept up with population growth. It originated during the 1960s in agricultural research stations established by international development agencies. A new dwarf crop was created in order to produce extra grain rather than longer stems.

Question 47

Salinization

Answer 47

Buildup of salt in agricultural fields as a result of overworked land by irrigation.

Question 48

Forward Capital

Answer 48

A city is referred to this if it signals, both symbolically and geographically, the intentions of the country. Islamabad is an example of this in Pakistan.

Question 49

Hindu Nationalism

Answer 49

Also known as Hindu fundamentalism. Hindu nationalists promote the religious values of Hinduism as the essential and fabric of Indian society. Hindu nationalists gained considerable political power both a the federal level and in many Indian states, leading to widespread agitation against the country’s Muslim minority in the mid-1990s.

Question 50

MOnsoon

Answer 50

Distinct seasonal change of wind direction that corresponds to wet and dry periods. This is the dominant climatic factor for most of South Asia.

Question 51

Orographic Rainfall

Answer 51

Results from the uplifting and cooling of moist monsoon winds over the Western Ghats. As a result, some stations receive tons of rain during the 4 month wet season. The Deccan Plateau is strongly affected by rain shadow, reducing rainfall.

Question 52

Subcontinent

Answer 52

Large segment of land separated from the main land mass on which it sits by lofty mountains or other geographical barriers. South Asia, separated from the rest of Eurasia by the Himalayas, is often called the Indian subcontinent.

Question 53

Cyclones

Answer 53

Large storms, marked by well-defined air circulation around a low pressure center. Tropical cyclones are typically called hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean and typhoons in the western Pacific.

Question 54

Animism

Answer 54

A wide variety of tribal religions based on the worship of nature spirits and human ancestors.

Question 55

Association of SOutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

Answer 55

Includes 10 of the regions 11 countries. ASEAN has brought a new level of regional cooperation.

Question 56

Sunda Shelf

Answer 56

An extension of the continental shelf stretching from the mainland through the Java Sea between Java and Borneo.

Question 57

Tsunamis

Answer 57

Often a result from volcano eruptions or earthquakes, which can devastate coastal regions.

Question 58

Transmigration

Answer 58

Government helping people move from densely populated to lightly populated parts of the country. The outer islands of Indonesia have grown rapidly since the 70s.

Question 59

SHifted CUltivators

Answer 59

In some areas, farmers have little choice but to adopt a semi swidden form of cultivation, moving to new sites once the old ones have been exhausted.

Question 60

Primate Cities

Answer 60

urban settlements that overshadow all others.

Question 61

Ramayana

Answer 61

Muslim Java the Hindu epic. Remains a central cultural feature to this day.

Question 62

Lingua Franca

Answer 62

Common trade language, in Southeast Asia it is Malay.

Question 63

Khmer Rouge

Answer 63

“Red Cambodians.” The left wing insurgent group led by French educated Marxists that ruled Cambodia from 1975-1979, during which time it engaged in genocidal acts against the Cambodian people.

Question 64

Bumiputra

Answer 64

The name given to the native Malays, who are given preference for jobs and schooling by the Malaysian government.

Question 65

Copra

Answer 65

Dried coconut meat

Question 66

Crony Capitalism

Answer 66

A system in which close friends of a political leader are either legally or illegally given business advantages in return for their political support.

Question 67

Domino Theory

Answer 67

A US geopolitical policy of the 1970s that stemmed from the assumption that if Vietnam fell to the communists, the rest of Southeast Asian would soon follow.

Question 68

Entrepot

Answer 68

a city and port that specializes transshipment of goods.

Question 69

Golden Triangle

Answer 69

An area of northern Thailand, Burma, and Laos that is known as major source region for heroin and is plugged into the global drug trade.

Question 70

Swidden

Answer 70

A form of tropical cultivation in which forested or brushy plots are cleared of vegetation, burned, and the planted in crops, only to be abandoned a few years later as soil fertility declines. Also called slash and burn agriculture or shifting cultivation.

Question 71

Aoteroa

Answer 71

Land of the Long White Cloud. Indigenous name of Maori.

Question 72

Native Title Bill

Answer 72

Compensated Aborigines for lands already given up, and gave them the right to gain title to unclaimed lands they still occupied, as well as providing them with legal standing to deal with mining companies in native settled areas.

Question 73

PIdgin English

Answer 73

Found in the Solomons, Banuatu, and New Guinea, where it is the major language used between ethnic groups. In Pijin, a largely English bacillary is reworked and blended with Melanesian grammar.

Question 74

Haoles

Answer 74

Light skinned European and American foreigners were successfully profiting from commercial sugarcane plantations and Pacific shipping contracts.

Question 75

White Australia Policy

Answer 75

Governmental guidelines promoted European and North American immigration at the expense of other groups.

Question 76

Kanakas

Answer 76

Melanesia workers imported to Australia, historically concentrated along Queensland’s “Sugar coast.” Spatially and socially segregated from their Anglo employers but further diversified the cultural mix of Queensland’s sugar coast.

Question 77

High Islands

Answer 77

Form from larger active and recently active volcanoes that often rise to a considerable elevation and cover a large area.

Question 78

Mallee

Answer 78

A vegetation that is scrubby eucalyptus woodland.

Question 79

Outback

Answer 79

Australia’s huge and dry interior is commonly called the Outback. It is thinly settled, similar to the Sahara.

Question 80

Melanesia

Answer 80

Means dark islands. Contains the culturally complex, generally darker skinned peoples of New Huinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Fiji.

Question 81

Archipelagos

Answer 81

Small island groups.

Question 82

Polynesia

Answer 82

The small island groups of the central South Pacific. Linguistically unified subregion includes French controlled Tahiti in the Society Islands, the Hawaiian Islands, and smaller political states such as Tonga, Tuvalu, and Samoa.

Question 83

Maori

Answer 83

Polynesia’s native peoples. Share many cultural and physical characteristics with the somewhat lighter skinned peoples of the mid pacific region.

Question 84

Micronesia

Answer 84

North of Melanesia and west of Polynesia. Includes microstates such as Nauru and the Marshall Islands, as well as the U.S. territory of Guam.

Question 85

Atoll

Answer 85

Combination of narrow sandy islands, barrier coral reefs, and shallow central lagoons is known as an atoll. The islands and reefs of an atoll characteristically form a circular or oval shape, although some are irregular.

Question 86

Asia-Pacific Economic Corporation Group (APEC)

Answer 86

an organization designed to encourage economic development in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Basin. The region’s economic ties to Asia also carry risks, however, the Asian downturn in the 1990’s slowed the popular Korean tourist trade to New Zealand and also lowered China’s demand for a variety of Australian raw material exports.

Question 87

Closer Economic Relations (CER) Agreement

Answer 87

Promotes more economic integration within the region of Australia and New Zealand. It successfully slashed trade barriers between the two countries. As a result New Zealand benefitted from the opening of larger Australian markets to New Zealand exports, and Australian corporate and financial interests gained new access to New Zealand business opportunities.

Question 88

Oceania

Answer 88

a collection of islands that reach from New Guinea and New Zealand to the U.S. state of Hawaii in the mid Pacific.

Question 89

Un-contacted peoples

Answer 89

Cultural groups that have yet to be discovered by the western world. Some of these groups are in the New Guinea highlands.

Question 90

Hot Spot

Answer 90

The entire island of Hawaii is a geological hot spot where slowly moving oceanic crust passes over a vast supply of magma from Earth’s interior, thus creating a chain of volcanic islands.

Question 91

Viticulture

Answer 91

Grape cultivation. Increasingly shapes the rural scene in places such as South Australia’s Barossa Valley, the Riverina district in New South Wales, and Western Australia’s Swan Valley.