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Technology & Progress Vocabulary

Here is a list of technological vocabulary and key landmarks of the progress of man that I have found very useful in my design purposes for naming places or things.

Archaeology - Someone who studies the cultures of the past using things people left behind them as clues; for example, bones, tools, clothing, and jewelry.

Architect - A person trained to design and oversee the construction of buildings.

Astrolabe - A navigational instrument used by early sailors to measure the position of stars and planets to find out how far north or south they had traveled.

Automaton - A mechanical figure or toy that moves by itself. It was originally powered and controlled by clockwork.

Ballast - A weight used to stabalize a ship, submersible, or submarine.

City-State - An independent city that has its own laws and government. Athens and Rome were the most famous city-states in ancient times. Perhaps the most famous modern example is the Vatican, the Holy See of Rome.

Civilization - A human society that has developed social customs, government, technology, and culture.

Clan - A group of people related to each other by ancestry or marriage.

Colonnade - A set of evenly spaced columns that often support a roof.

Dynasty - A ruling family. Members of a dynasty were related by birth, marriage, or adoption.

Empire - The people and territories under the rule of a single person or state. Great Britain, the Netherlands, France, and other countries had trading empires throughout the world.

Far East - The countries of East Asia, such as China, Japan, and Indonesia.

Flagship - The main ship in a fleet of ships. The commander has his quarters here.

Gondola - The passenger and crew cabin of an airship. A gondola is also the characteristic passenger boat of Venice, Italy.

Irrigation - The system of supplying the land with an artificial water supply using pumps, pipes, and channels.

Junks - Chinese ships with square sails.

Li - A Chinese unit of length. One li equals about 3/10th of a mile (0.5 km).

Linear A - An early form of writing used by the Minoans.

Linear B - A form of writing that the Mycenaeans adapted from Linear A.

Loom - A wooden frame used to hold the threads used during the process of weaving.

Magnetron - The part of a microwave oven and radar equipment that produces microwaves.

Minaret - A tall tower built outside a mosque that has a staircase inside and a platform at the top.

Middle Ages - The period of European history from about 1000 to the 1400s.

Medicine man/woman - A shaman with power to heal and contact the spirits.

Mogul - A member of the Muslim dynasty of Indian emperors that began ruling India in 1526.

Near East - Another term for the Middle East. It describes the countries around the eastern end of the Mediterranean.

Pictographs - Pictures or symbols that represent words. Pictograms were one of the earliest forms of writing.

Pilgrim - A person who travels to a holy place. A pilgrim's trip is called a pilgrimage.

Porcelain - A thin china made from fine kaolin clay that was found in the Chinese mountains.

Poultice - A medicinal pack or dressing placed on a part of the body to cure a sickness or soothe an inflammation.

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - The seven most impressive structures of the ancient world: the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt (mostly intact, missing surface casing limestone); the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (destroyed by earthquake); the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (destroyed by looting and arson); Phidia's Statue of Zeus at Olympia (destroyed by looting and fire); the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus/the Tomb of Mausolus (destroyed by earthquake); the Colossus of Rhodes (destroyed by earthquake); and the Pharos (Lighthouse) of Alexandria (destroyed by earthquake).

Shogun - Originally a military title, it was used by the men who controlled the government of Japan from 1192 to 1867.

Sinew - An animal tendon used by Native Americans as sewing thread.

Slip - A thick mixture of water and clay that was used to coat pottery.

Subsonic - Flying at less than the speed of sound.

Supersonic - Flying at speeds greater than the speed of sound.

Terra-cotta - A hard, unglazed clay used to make tiles and for modeling small statues.

Transgenic - Containing genetic features that have been artificially transferred from a different species.

Transonic - Flying through the sound barrier.

Tile - A thin slab of baked clay. Tiles are used to cover roofs and floors. They are often glazed. Glazed tiles were first used to cover buildings that would water damage.

Trade colony - A settlement of merchants in a foreign land who trade with their home country.

Ultrasound - A high-pitched sound that humans cannot hear.

Virus - A microorganism that can only reproduce inside a living cell of another creature.

Wampum - White and purple disk-shaped beads made from shells. Native Americans exchanged them as ceremonial gifts. Wampum began to have monetary value after the Europeans arrived.

Waveguide - A hollow tube used to channel microwaves from one place to another.