adze a tool used primarily for dressing and squaring large timbers; an adze is similar to an axe, but has its cutting edge placed at a right angle to the handle.
anthropologist a scientist who studies humans and the evolution of the human species.
archaeologist a scientist who studies history through the examination of ancient ruins and artifacts.
awl a pointed tool used for poking holes in leather and other tough materials.
cassava a type of melon.
erode to wear away, usually by wind or water.
everglade a stretch of marshy grassland usually covered with water for at least part of the year.
itinerant traveling from place to place.
mesa an isolated, relatively flat-topped natural elevation.
Paleo-Indians Stone Age inhabitants of the Americas.
pit house semi-underground home that was round, square, oval, or rectangular and was constructed using a combination of natural resources.
pre-Columbian the period of American history before Columbus began exploring the West Indies and Caribbean.
radiocarbon dating a means of dating ancient materials in which the amount of the radioactive isotope, carbon 14, is measured.
ridge beam a beam placed horizontally along the peak of a roof to provide support.
taiga a moist subarctic forest dominated by conifers that begins where the tundra ends.
tule a reed or bulrush used to make huts and mats.
tundra a level or rolling treeless plain that is characteristic of Arctic and subarctic regions.
venison deer meat.
wattle and daub mud or clay plaster used to cover a framework of poles that are entwined with branches and vines to build the walls of a dwelling.