“Miniature Painting: In general, painting of a small scale. Specifically, portraits on parchment or ivory and also illustrations in manuscripts—which are called illuminations. Miniature portraits were painted from the Renaissance onward.”
Excerpted from: Diamond, David G. The Bulfinch Pocket Dictionary of Art Terms. Boston: Little Brown, 1992.
“simultaneous retrieval memory: Recalling multiple items or procedures at the same time. This form of recall is particularly involved in writing tasks. For example, in writing a sentence one must simultaneously recall information about correct spelling, word order and syntactic patterns, and appropriate punctuation. For many individuals with learning disabilities, difficulties in this area may result in performance that does not reflect their actual knowledge of such elements as spelling or punctuation rules. The presence of errors can refect difficulty in accessing knowledge in long-term memory on demand and simultaneously, rather than in isolation and with time for thought and reflection.”
Excerpted from: Turkington, Carol, and Joseph R. Harris, PhD. The Encyclopedia of Learning Disabilities. New York: Facts on File, 2006.
“Araucanians: South American Indians who are now concentrated in the valleys and basins between the Bio Bio and Tolten rivers in south central Chile. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in Chile, they encountered three Araucanian populations: the Picunche, who were accustomed to Inca control; the Huilliche, who were to few and scattered to resist the conquistadors; and the Mapuche, successful farmers and artisans. The first two were soon assimilated, but the Mapuche managed to resist Spanish and Chilean control for 350 years. Finally subdued in the late 19th century, they were settled on reservations, but now live independently.”
Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.
“ladino: Central American whose primary language is Spanish and who wears modern dress, Genetically ladinos may be Indians, mestizos, or persons of African descent. An Indian may become a ladino by abandoning the Indian dress and customs. Many rural ladinos practice subsistence agriculture much like that of their Indian neighbors, but they tend to put more stress on cash crops and to use modern farming techniques, which the Indians shun. In small towns ladinos commonly engage in commerce as well as farming. In the cities they engage in all occupations, from day laborer to university professor.”
Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.
“Apache: American Indians of the southwest U.S. Culturally, the Apache are divided into Eastern Apache, which include the Mescalero, Jicarilla, Chiricahua, and Lipan, and Western Apache, which include the Cibecue. The Eastern Apaches were predominantly hunting and gathering societies, while their Western counterparts relied more on farming. Their ancestors had come down from the north to settle the Plains, but with the introduction of the horse they were pressed south and west by the Comanche and the Ute. They attempted to be friends with the Spanish, the Mexicans, and later the Americans. In 1861, however, there began a quarter-century confrontation between U.S. military forces and the Apache and Navajo. The Apache wars were among the fiercest fought on the frontier. The last ended in 1886 with the surrender of Geronimo. The Chiricahua Apache were evacuated from the West and held successively in Florida, Alabama, and Oklahoma. The Apache today total about 11,000 and live largely on or near reservations in Arizona and New Mexico.”
Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.
“Quetzalcoatl: Feathered serpent, a major deity of ancient Mexico. Quetzalcoatl began as a god of vegetation in the Teotihuacan civilization. For the Toltecs he was the god of the morning and evening star. The Aztecs revered him as the patron of priests, the inventor of the calendar and of books, and the protector of goldsmiths and other craftsmen. He was also identified with the planet Venus and was a symbol of death and resurrection. One myth held that he was a white priest-king who sailed away on a raft made of snakes. The belief that he would someday return from the east led Montezuma to regard Hernan Cortes as the fulfillment of the prophecy.”
Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.
“Aztecs: Nahuatl-speaking people who in the 15th and early 16th centuries ruled a large empire in what is now central and southern Mexico. They may have originated on the northern Mexico plateau before migrating to their later location. Their migration may have been linked to the collapse of Toltec civilization. Their empire, which at its height comprised 5-6 million people spread over 80,000 square miles (200,000 square kilometers), was made possible by their successful agricultural methods, including intensive cultivation, irrigation, and reclamation of wetlands. The Aztec state was despotic, militaristic, and sharply stratified according to class and caste. Aztec religion was syncretic, drawing especially on the beliefs of the Maya. The Aztecs practiced human sacrifice; in a particularly gruesome episode, 20,000-80,000 prisoners were said to have been killed in four days. The empire came to an end when Hernan Cortes took the emperor Montezuma II prisoner and conquered the great city Tenochtitlan (present-day Mexico City). See also Nahua.”
Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.
“Quiche or K’che or Kche: Indian population of the Guatemalan highlands, largest of all ethnic groups speaking a Mayan language. The Quiche Mayas had an advanced civilization in pre-Columbian times. Records of their history and mythology are preserved in the Popol Vuh. Traditional Quiche are agricultural. Their homes are thatched huts, and they practice weaving and pottery. Nominally Roman Catholic, they conduct pagan rituals as well, Many were killed or displaced during the Guatemalan military’s counterinsurgency campaign of the early 1980s. At present they number between 700,000 and 800,000.”
Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.
“Blessing Way: Central ritual in the complex system of ceremonies performed by the Navajo to restore equilibrium in the cosmos. Of the major categories of Navajo rituals, the largest group is the Chant Ways, which are concerned with curing. The Chant Ways include a subgroup of chants called the Holy Ways, which are further divided into the Blessing Way and the Wind Ways (used to cure illness). Lasting for two days, the Blessing Way is a simple chant performed for the well-being of the community rather than for a specified curative purpose.”
Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.
“Sauk or Sac: Algonquian-speaking North American Indian people closely related to the Fox and Kickapoo who traditionally inhabited the region of what is now Green Bay, Wisconsin. In summer, the Sauk lived in bark-house villages near fields where women raised corn and other crops. In winter the village separated into patrilineal family groups that erected pole-and-thatch houses. In spring the tribe gathered on the Iowa prairie to hunt bison. By c.1800 the Sauk had settled along the Mississippi River in central Illinois, but were forced to cede these lands to the U.S. In 1832 a group of Sauk and Fox led by Black Hawk made a tragically unsuccessful attempt to return to their Illinois lands. Today about 1,000 Sauk live in Oklahoma.”
Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.
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