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UNIVERSE the totality of everything that exists, including all physical matter and energy,
the planets, stars, galaxies
PLANET any of the large bodies that revolve around the sun in the solar system
ROTATION is the movement of the Earth around its own axis. It provokes day a night and
takes 24 hours.
GALAXY is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar
remnants, an interstellar medium of gas dust
SATELLITE a natural body that revolves around a planet; a moon.
REVOLUTION the orbiting of one heavenly body around another
EQUINOX Means a time of equal day and night. This occurs twice a year and marks the
beginning of Spring and Autumn
HEMISPHERE half of the terrestrial globe or celestial sphere.
SOLSTICE either of the two times a year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the
celestial equator: about June 21, when the sun reaches its northernmost point on the
celestial sphere, or about December 22, when it reaches its southernmost point
PARALLEL Is a circle on the surface of the Earth, one is the biggest and we name it
Equator, and the other ones are smaller and parallel to Equator.
MERIDIAN It's a half of a circle and all of them are the same size, and they go from North
Pole to South Pole. But we consider one as the 0 and it's the meridian of Greenwich
LATITUDE Latitude:is the distance between a point on Earth and the Equator(or Parallel
0).It can be North or South.
LONGITUDE The arc or portion of the earths equator intersected between the meridian of
a given place and the prime meridian (Grenwich) through 180 degrees
MAP a representation, usually on a flat surface, as of the features of an area of the earth or
a portion of the heavens, showing them in their respective forms, sizes, and relationships
according to some convention of representation
PROJECTION
Map
Projection:
Is a way to represent the curved surface of the Earth on the flat surface of a map
GEOGRAPHICAL COORDINATES Are imaginary lines (parallels and meridians) that we
draw on globes of the Earth and on maps
SCALE scale is a fraction which indicates the proportion between the distance between
two points on the map and the corresponding distance on the ground
TIME ZONES one of the 24 regions or divisions of the globe approximately coinciding with
meridians at successive hours from the observatory at Greenwich

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LITHOSPHERE The solid layer of the Earth. It is made of rocks and ground.
HYDROSPHERE The liquid layer of the Earth. Made of wter in liquid and solid form
ATMOSPHERE The gaseous layer of the Earth. It is made up of gases (nitrogen, oxygen,
carbon dioxide)
CRUST The crust of the Earth is composed of a great variety of igneous, metamorphic, and
sedimentary rocks. The crust is underlain by the mantle
CONTINENTAL DRIFT is the movement of the Earth's continents relative to each other.
The hypothesis that continents 'drift' was first put forward by Abraham Ortelius in 1596
and was fully developed by Alfred Wegener in 1912. However, it was not until the
development of the theory of plate tectonics in the 1960s, that a sufficient geological
explanation of that movement was found.
MANTLE The middle layer of the lithosphere, made of melted rock (magma).
CORE The inner most internal layer of the lithosphere
PANGEA: The name was coined in the scientific discussion of Alfred Wegener's theory of
the Continental drift. In his book he postulated that all the continents had at one time
formed a single supercontinent which he called Pangea
PLATEAU An elevated, comparatively level expanse of land; a tableland
EARTHQUAKE An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the result of a
sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves.
VOLCANO A mountain made for the expulsion of magma from the inner core of the Earth.
TECTONIC PLATE The theory in which explains the origin and formation of the Earths
relief, according to the theory, the crust is divided into plates, which move and hit each
other. When they hit, one plate goes underneath an elevated one. This is the origin of
mountains and ranges.

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OROGRAPHIC RAIN are the rains that occur when humid air is driven by wind and collides
with the side of a mountain and rises. When rising, the air cools and produces more
intense rain on the side of the mountain facing the wind (windward) while the on the
other part of the mountain, that is not facing the wind (downwind).
CONVECTIONAL RAIN are rains that occur when the humid air is heated by the sun rising,
as it rises and reaches a high altitude, it cools and produces rain.
FRONTAL RAIN are the rains that occur when cold air comes from the North Pole and
reaches to areas that have humidity in the air, the cold air is heavier than the hot air, so
the cold air goes below the hot air and as it rises it cools. These rains are very intense
where the two airs collide. There are the rains that are most frequent at our latitude.
TEMPERATURE is the amount of heat in the air. We measure it with a thermometer.
PRECIPITATION is water from the atmosphere that falls onto that Earths surface. We
measure with a barometer
HIGH PRESSURES OR ANTICYCLONE are areas where pressure is more than 1030 mbar
LOW PRESSURE OR DEPRESSIONS are areas where pressure is below 1030 mbar
WIND is air that moves from areas high pressure to areas of low pressure. We measure it
with anemomenter (velocity) and weather vane (direction)
CLIMATE Conditions of the atmosphere that last a long period of time (temperature and
precipitation). In Spain there are five principal types of climate: oceanic, Mediterranean
inland climate, Mediterranean coastal climate, sub-tropical climate, and alpine climate.
ISOBAR line on a map connecting points with the same atmospheric pressure
MONSSON Asian winds that change with season. In summer, these winds move from the
sea to the land, causing heavy rain. In winter move from land to the sea they are dry
winds.
DECIDIOUS FORESTA forest where the trees lose their leaves during winter (expire) like
beeches, elms and oaks
TAIGA: A typical forest in the continental climate that is known for conifers such as fir
trees.
GRASSLANDS OR STEPPES Typical landscape in the continental climate, characterized by
its greenery and almost no trees
MEDITERRANEAN FOREST A typical forest in the Mediterranean climate that has trees
that dont lose their leaves in winter (perennial) like the Holm oak or Oak tree.
OASIS Vegetation in deserts that only grow where there is water and that has trees such
as Palm trees.
CLIMOGRAPH is a graphical representation of basic climatic parameters, that is monthly
average temperature and precipitation, at a certain location
FLOOD if it rains a lot in a short period of time.
DROUGHT is a long period with less rain in an area.


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SAVANNAH Typical landscape in a tropical climate, characterized by low trees and tall
grass.
JUNGLE OR RAINFOREST Typical landscape in an equatorial climate, characterized by the
great quantity and variety of plants and animals.
TUNDRA Typical landscape in a polar climate, characterized by the existence of mosses
and lichens.
SCRUBLAND Typical landscape in a Mediterranean climate, characterized by its bushes.
GRASSLANDS OR STEPPE Typical landscape in the continental climate, characterized by
its greenery and almost no trees.
MOSS the vegetation in a polar climate and high mountains, it is characterized for it being
a simple plant.
CORK OAK A tree in a typical Mediterranean climate. Its trunk is hard and its leaves have
adapted to the dryness.
BUSH the vegetation that is typical bush, formed by plants that have a hard trunk but they
dont ever become trees.

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MASSIF The remains of ancient mountains, that have eroded during millions of years
YOUNG MOUNTAIN Mountains that arose during the Tertiary Period due to the collision
of the Earth's Plates
PLAIN an area of land not significantly higher than adjacent areasand with relatively
minor differences in elevation
PLATEAU An elevated, comparatively level expanse of land; a tableland
RIVER A water current that flows towards the sea
LAKE freshwater or saltwater that collects in depressed areas and can be quite deep
PENINSULA An area of land surrounded by sea on every side except one, which joins it to
the continent
ISLAND relatively small piece of land completely surrounded by water
ARCHIPELAGO A group of islands that are close to each other
OCEAN The large bodies of salt water on the Earth
CAPE Portion of coast that extends into the sea. Examples: Cape of Fisterra, Cape of Gata,
Cape of La Nao.
GULF Portion of sea that extends into the coastline. Examples: Gulf of Biscay, Gulf of Cadiz,
Gulf of Valencia.
MOUNTAIN A natural elevation of the earth's surface having considerable mass, generally
steep sides, and a height greater than that of a hill
CONTINENT The large land masees on the Earth
DELTA Triangular-shaped area at the mouth of a river (Nile), formed by pebbles, sand and
mud deposited by the river
RELIEF The variations in elevation of an area of the earth's surface
TRIBUTARY River that flows into other river
DEPRESSION is a landform sunken or depressed below the surrounding area. Examples:
Depression of Guadalquivir, Depression of Ebro.

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CATCHMENT AREA A gathering of rivers that end in the same sea or ocean. In Spain there
are three slopes: Cantabria, Atlantic and Mediterranean.
SCRUBLAND Typical landscape in a Mediterranean climate, characterized by its bushes.
DEFORESTATION Destruction of forests, specially by fires.
EROSION elimination of fertile soil that was washed into the water because the soil isnt
protected by the forests.
DROUGHT is a long period with less rain in an area.
DESERTIFICATION elimination of vegetation and soil in an area, due to deforestation and
erosion.
FLOOD if it rains a lot in a short period of time.
POLLUTION alteration of natural compounds in the air, water, or soil, due to gasses,
chemical products, oils, etc, that are distributed.
NATURAL PARK an environment that is specially protected, that has plants and animals or
a landscape that needs to be conserved. In a Natural Park you are allowed to do activities that
dont harm the environment such as turism, argriculture, animal breeding.
NATIONAL PARK an area protected due to its natural richness. It is not allowed to do any
activity that could change the ecosystem.
VOLUME OF FLOW Quantity of water that flows in a river.

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PREHISTORY a period of time in which extends from the first appearance of hominids until
writing was invented. It is divided in: Paleolithic; Neolithic and the the Metal Age.
HISTORY a period of time in which begins from the appearance of writing (5,000 years ago)
to the present. It is divided into the Old Age; Middle Age; Modern Age; and Contemporary
Age.
HOMINID Any of various primates of the family Hominidae, whose only living members are
modern humans. Hominids are characterized by an upright gait, increased brain size and
intelligence compared with other primates, a flattened face, and reduction in the size of the teeth
and jaw. Besides the modern species Homo sapiens, hominids also include extinct species of
Homo (such as H. erectus) and the extinct genus Australopithecus
HOMO ERECTUS An extinct species of humans that lived during the Pleistocene Epoch from
about 1.6 million years ago to 250,000 years ago. Homo erectus is associated mainly with stone
tools of the Acheulian culture and was the first species of humans to master fire, although this
skill may not have been widely practiced until late in its existence. Its remains have been found
in Africa, Europe, and Asia, and it is widely thought to be the direct ancestor of modern humans
BIFACE In archaeology, a biface is a two-sided stone tool, manufactured through a
process of lithic reduction, that displays flake scars on both sides
TOOLS Prehistoric tools used by people in the past to hunt, grow crops, paint, build
houses; and were made of shell, bone, metal, stone, and other materials, usually made of
flint
PALEOLITHIC AGE The cultural period of the Stone Age that began about 2.5 to 2 million
years ago, marked by the earliest use of tools made of chipped stone. The Paleolithic
Period ended at different times in different parts of the world, generally around 10,000
years ago in Europe and the Middle East. Also called Old Stone Age.
NEOLITHIC AGE The period of human culture that began around 10,000 years ago in the
Middle East and later in other parts of the world. It is characterized by the beginning of
farming, the domestication of animals, the development of crafts such as pottery and
weaving, and the making of polished stone tools. The Neolithic Period finished in any
particular region with the introduction of metalworking, writing, or other developments of
urban civilization
GATHER look for vegetables with the intention to consume them.
MOBILIAR ART Is a term used in archaeology for one of two general categories of
paleolithic artifacts produced prehistoric man, like: weapons, tools or sculptures.
ATAPUERCA The oldest main sight discovered in Spain, where they found the remains of the
first hominids that lived in the Iberian Peninsula. It is found in the providence of Burgos.
ALTAMIRA Is a cave in Spain famous for its Upper Paleolithic cave paintings featuring
drawings and polychromatic rock paintings of wild mammals and human hands. It is
located near the town of Santillana del Mar in Cantabria, Spain.
PILETA The most famous among the caves is the one called La Pileta, located at Benaojan and
discovered in 1905. It contains an important number of cave's paintings representing goats,
horses, cervids, bovids Among them, the most important are the ones called "The pregnant
mare" and "The fish

CARDIAL POTTERY Ceramics that were developed during the Neolithic Age in the Iberian
Peninsula, it has this name because they decorated the pieces of ceramics with shells which
made incisions in the ceramics.
MIDDLE EAST
CROMAGNON Is one of the main types of Homo sapiens of the European Upper
Paleolithic. It is named after the cave of Cr-Magnon in southwest France, where the first
specimen was found
NEANDERTHAL An extinct variety of human that lived throughout Europe and in parts of
western Asia and northern Africa during the late Pleistocene Epoch, until about 30,000 years
ago. Neanderthals had a stocky build and large skulls with thick eyebrow ridges and big teeth.
They usually lived in caves, made flaked stone tools, and were the earliest humans known to
bury their dead. Neanderthals were either a subspecies of modern humans (Homo sapiens
neanderthalensis)

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FERTILE CRESCENT Is a historical crescent-shape region in the Middle East

incorporating the Levant, Ancient Mesopotamia, and Ancient Egypt where agriculture and
livestock was born.
METALLURGY Technique for extracting metals from rock or earth and their treatment and
use
METAL AGE period in history that lasted from around 3500 B.C. to 750 B.C and includes
the Copper Age; the Bronze Age and the Iron Age.
BRONZE AGE A period of human culture between the Stone Age and the Iron Age,
characterized by the use of weapons and made with of cast bronze. The beginning of the
Bronze Age is generally dated before 3000 BC, in parts of Mediterranean Europe, the
Middle East, and China
MEGALITHIC Monuments made by humans, during the Neolithic and Metal Ages, made with
huge vertical and horizontal rocks. Between the main monuments stood menhirs (vertical) and
dolmens (vertical and horizontal rocks)
MILLARES Ancient culture during the Copper Age that was in the current providence of
Almera
EL ARGAR Is the name given to an ancient civilization that flourished from the town of
Antas, Almera, in the south-east of Spain between c. 1800 BCE and 1300BCE.
The El Argar civilization was characterized by its early adoption of bronze, which briefly
allowed this tribe local dominance over other, copper age peoples. El Argar also developed
sophisticated pottery and ceramic techniques, which they traded with other
Mediterranean tribes
TARTESSOS Ancient culture and civilization during the Bronze Age that existed in the
area of the Guadalquivir Valley
IBERIAN AND CELTS Tribes that inhabited the Iberian Peninsula during the Iron Age.
The Celts occupied the north part of the Peninsula and the Iberians lived in the center and
south part of the Peninsula

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CIVILISATION Group of people that have a common culture; arts; customs; beliefs live in a
territory and have a common government
FERTILE CRESCENTIs a historical crescent-shape region in the Middle East incorporating
the Levant, Ancient Mesopotamia, and Ancient Egypt where agriculture and livestock was born.
MESOPOTAMIA Historical region in Asia, located in the Middle East. The name means land
between rivers (Tigris and Euphrates)
TAX Money people pay to the government to provide public services like roads, army
ADOBE A sun-dried, unburned brick of clay and straw. A structure built with this type of
brick
ARCH A structure, especially one of masonry, forming the curved, pointed, or flat upper
edge of an open space and supporting the weight above it, as in a bridge or doorway
ZIGGURAT A temple tower of the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians, having the form of a
terraced pyramid of successively receding stories
CUNEIFORM Being a character or characters formed by the arrangement of small wedge-
shaped elements and used in ancient Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and
Persian writing
MUMMIFICATION Preserving a dead body. To treat a dead body with preservatives to keep it
looking lifelike. Ancient Egyptian embalmers used natron and oils to preserve bodies
PHARAOH Was the ancient Egyptian name for the office of kingship. He had absolute
power
POLITHEISTIC RELIGION Polytheism is belief in or worship of multiple deities
SOCIAL PYRAMID A Social Pyramid is a model of social relationships. The people with
whom an individual has the least amount of social intimacy are placed at the foundation of
the pyramid. At the top of the pyramid is the individual. And on each subsequent layer
going down, the individual has less and less intimacy
MASTABAs a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular
structure with outward sloping sides, constructed out of mud-bricks (from the Nile River)
or stone
PYRAMID tomb for the pharaoh and his family in the Ancient Egypt
HYPOGEA It usually refers to an underground temple or tomb

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PELOPONNESE person who cultivated land
MINOAN CIVILISATION civilization around 3000BC, occupied the island of Crete
MYCENAEN CIVILISATION civilization around 1600BC that occupied the Peloponnese
Peninsula. Its capital was Mycenae
CITY-STATE Ancient history a state consisting of a sovereign city and its territories
ARISTOCRACY a class of people holding exceptional rank and privileges, or a
government or state ruled by an aristocracy, elite, or privileged upper class
CITIZEN an inhabitant of a city or town. In Ancient Greece, people who had all rights
PEASANT person who cultivated land
HELADE The name of Ancient Greece
ACRPOLIS The citadel of an ancient Greek city, located on a hill.
GORA In Ancient Greek the place of a polis where such an assembly met, originally a
marketplace or public square
POLIS A city-state of ancient Greece. Each city had its own government, laws, money
OLIGARCHY Government by a few, especially by a small faction of persons or families
DEMOCRACY government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme
power is held by the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents
under a free electoral system.
POLIS A city-state of ancient Greece. Each city had its own government, laws, money
PERSIAN WARS (GUERRAS MDICAS) struggles held between Greeks and Persians
during the 5th century BC
PELOPONNESIAN WARS wars in which Greeks fought against other Greeks from 431 to
404 BC
HELLENISTIC AGE: it is the period of ancient Greek and eastern Mediterranean history
between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman
Empire as signified by the Battle of Actium in 31 BC[1] and the subsequent conquest of
Ptolemaic Egypt in 30 BC
ALEXANDER THE GREAT King of Macedonia, son of Phillip II, who conquered much of
the known world at that time and Greek culture spread

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MONARCHY form of government in which the highest authority is the king or queen, who
usually inherits his o her position
REPUBLIC country in which citizens or an assembly of representatives elect the people
who govern them
EMPIRE group of countries ruled by one person or government
PATRICIANS Roman citizens who belonged to the oldest families of the city (nobles) and
they were landowners. They controlled the Senate.
PLEBEIANS free inhabitants of Rome, they were peasants, artisans and merchants.
Gradually getting rights in Rome.
PUNIC WARS wars between Romans and Carthaginians for control of the Mediterranean
and the Iberian Peninsula
DOMUS these were the houses belonging to the richest families in the city. They had a
central courtyard and rooms around it.
INSULAE they were the houses belonging to the poorest families in the city.
CRISTIANITYoriginal religion of the area of Palestine (Israel), monotheism spread during the
Roman Empire and was adopted as the official religion of the Empire. Its leader was Jesus of
Nazaret
HUNS people from Asia that by the 4th century invaded territories inhabited by Germanic
tribes. These tribes were forced to move west, and invaded the borders of the Roman Empire.

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PHOENICIANS merchants and sailors from the Middle East who colonized the coasts of
Spain (especially the South)
VISIGOTH People of Germanic origin to the 5th century who invaded the Iberian Peninsula.
They removed the Roman government and control of territory. They controlled the Iberian
Peninsula until 711 when it was invaded by Muslims.