Social Science 1 Terms

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1.5°C

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A goal for limiting the amount of global warming above the pre-industrial average to 1.5°C by the end of the century.

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4,250 Years Ago/2250 BCE

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The starting date of the Late Holocene and the date of a severe climate event that may have included droughts that strained early human civilizations across Eurasia.

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Akkadian Empire

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An early Mesopotamian empire that lasted from around 2334 to 2218 BCE.

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Alexander the Great (356–323 BCE)

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Greek king from Macedonia whose vast conquests created cultural links throughout the Mediterranean region and east as far as the Indus Valley.

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Andes Mountains

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A long mountain range that stretches from north to south along the Pacific Rim in South America that was home to early agrarian societies.

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Anthropocene

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According to the IPCC, a proposed new geological epoch resulting from significant human-driven changes to the structure and functioning of the Earth System, including the climate system.

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Archive

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Traditionally a storehouse of historical documents, but now also a figurative way of naming something as containing information about the past, such as the archives of nature.

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Atmosphere

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One of the subsystems in the Earth System; the layers of gases encircling the Earth.

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Biosphere

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One of the subsystems in the Earth System; all living organisms in and on the Earth.

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Black gold

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A popular term that references oil, its immense value, and the fact that it, like gold, must be extracted from the earth.