The Search for Early Americans

VocabularyFor Mrs. Berg’s Class

acknowledge

• adjective,verb gave credit to

adobe

• noun mud brick dried by the sun, used to build small homes

alkali

• noun, adjective containing dissolved salts

• Alkali soil

• Alkali metals • Click here for video

amazed

• adjective surprised, filled with wonder

ancestors

• noun relatives who came before us

arroyo

• noun (southwestern United States) a stream, brook, or gully

awl

• noun A pointed tool for marking surfaces or for punching small holes.

bandannas

• noun large handkerchiefs

cliff dwellings

• noun homes built into cliff ledges or caves in the side of a hill

cultural center

• noun the main location of a society, especially a place where a society creates art, music, and beautiful crafts.

etching

• noun a way to make art in which a pattern is burned into a surface with acid

exhibit

• noun to show to the public

exploration

• noun to explore, search carefully

field notes

• noun information written at the site of research

fraud

• noun to deceive someone on purpose

hogans

• noun Navajo dwellings made with logs and mud

impoverished

• adjective very poor

inhabited

• adjective to live in or dwell in

invaders

• noun someone who enters and attacks

mirage

• noun Something that you think you see from a distance, but that is not really there!

mummy

• noun A dead body that has been preserved and wrapped in cloth (as in ancient Egypt).

nauseous

• adjective causing a sick feeling in your stomach

prehistoric

• adjective from the time before history was written, when dinosaurs lived

pueblos

• noun a group of adobe houses, an adobe village

rejected

• adjective, verb Refuse to accept.

reservations

• noun Lands set aside for Native Americans

sacred

• adjective holy

solar observatory

• noun a place where the movement of the sun is studied

• Fajada Butte

trading post

• noun a store where people exchange goods for local products

vandalizing

• verb damaging or destroying