Chapter 9
Haves
The richer/high class of living
Adaption
a change in a way of life to suit new conditions
Meteorology
The scientific study of climate and weather patterns
Middle Class
People who aren't rich but aren't poor and can afford some luxories
Day Keepers
A person who helps keep up with the calendar and helps people when they are sick
Have Nots
The lower class of living
Traditional culture
Customs and ways of life handed down from ancestors
Natural Disaster
Great distruction or loss of life caused by natural forces rather than by human actions
Standard of living
The overall level of comfort and well being of a group or a county. People in develpoed countries generally have a higher standard of living than people in develpoing countries
Restitution
A unique justice system that rarley sends offenders to jail and depends on labor and community services to pay off crimes
Urbanization
The movement of people from rural to urban areas, resulting in the growth of urban areas
Slash and Burn
A traditional way of making fertilizer: Cut down trees and bushes and burn them
Extreme weather
Servere or unusual weather conditions, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and blizzards
Communal Land
The people around a house who share land
Municipal Councils
Maintaining governmant system. Follows their customs. Members are respected for their choices of they follow their traditions.
Rural Decline
Worsening economic conditions in the countyside, including rising unemployment and growing poverty. Rural decline drives migration to cities
Indigenous Peoples
Natives of an area who have been conquered or dominated by others who came later.
El Nino
A warm ocean current that flows off the west coast of South America every few years. An El Nino event changes weather patterns around the world. It may also cause extreme weather in some regions.
Maya
The people who live in Guatemala and South Mexico
Confradias and Cargos
Religious brotherhoods in Guatemala who are responsible for guarding the images of catholic saints. Also organizes festivals and ceremonies
Spatial Inequality
The unequal distribution of wealth or rescources in a geographic area so that some places are richer than others.
Barter System
Using goods and farming to trade the equivalent amount with others
A servere storm with high winds that spiral around a calm center. Depending on where they form, tropical cyclones are called hurricanes, typhoons, or cyclones
Problems in Mexico City
Lack of clean water, air pollution, health problems because of the unclean air, unemployment
Subsistence Farming
Farming carried out mainly to provide food for farm families, with little left for sale to others