Glossary (See related pages) Absolute dating   Dating methods that provide dates in calendar years, usually expressed as years before present (b.p.). By convention, present is defined as a.d. 1950, about the time when radiometric dating methods first came into use. Abu Hureyra   A large early Neolithic site near the Euphrates River in Syria. The lowest levels resemble the roughly contemporary Natufian culture. Like the Natufian people, these early preagricultural inhabitants of Abu Hureyra hunted gazelle and gathered wild barley and other plants for sustenance. Abydos   City about 300 miles south of Cairo, occupied from Predynastic times throughout Egyptian history. Its cemetery is especially noteworthy as the burial place of Narmer and the Kings of the First Dynasty. Acheulian industry   A stone tool industry characterized by bifacially worked core tools, primarily handaxes and cleavers. The Acheulian industry first appeared in Africa about 1.6 million years ago and lasted until about 200,000 years ago (and in some areas as late as 100,000 years ago). Adena   The cultural complex, dating to the Early Woodland period, centered in southern Ohio. Adena sites include large and elaborate burial mounds. The burials often include exotic items such as pipes made of Ohio pipestone. A-Group   A distinctive lower Nubian culture, established around 3500 b.c., that began to trade intensively with Egypt around 3100 b.c. Ahmarian tradition   The term used to refer to early upper Paleolithic assemblages in the Levant that are dominated by blades and bladelets. 'Ain Ghazal   One of the largest early farming settlements in the southern Levant, located near Amman, Jordan. The site covers 12–13 ha (30–32.5 ac.) and has yielded an unbroken sequence of early Neolithic occupation from 8400 to 5800 b.c. Ali Kosh   An early Neolithic site located in the Deh Luran Plain in western Iran that has provided evidence for early goat domestication. Altamira Cave   A cave site in northern Spain where some of the first examples of Paleolithic parietal art were discovered by a local nobleman, de Sautuola. The Altamira images date to the Magdalenian period, ca. 15,500 years ago. Altiplano   The high flatlands in the areas surrounding Lake Titicaca on the Peruvian–Bolivian border. AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry)   A method of radiocarbon dating that uses an electrostatic accelerator and a mass spectrometer to measure the amount of radiocarbon (14C) that remains in a sample of organic material. The technique allows small samples of organic materials to be dated using the radiocarbon method. Animal domestication   The process through which animal reproduction comes under human control. Humans isolate a portion of a wild animal population by restricting its movement or breeding practices. Over time, the portion of the population under human control begins to differ morphologically from the wild population. Anthropology   The study of the biology, evolution, and culture of human beings, both in the past and in the present. In the United States, anthropology includes four subfields: cultural anthropology—the study of modern human cultures, both of specific cultures and of the character of human cultures in general; physical anthropology—the study of the biology and evolution of human beings and their close primate relatives; anthropological linguistics—the study of the nature, development, and social functions of language; and anthropological archaeology—the study of the material remains of cultures and peoples in the past. Anyang   The site of the Yin ruins in the Henan province of China. The Yin ruins are a series of complexes, including royal tombs, palaces, houses, and workshops that date to the late part of the Shang Dynasty. Apollo 11 Cave   A site in southern Namibia that has produced painted images of animals dated to 28,000 years ago. Archaeobotanists   Scientists who study plant remains recovered from archaeological sites. Archaeological culture   A widespread and regularly occurring association of artifact types and features, usually assumed to belong to a specific human group. Archaeology   The study of the material remains of past human behavior. Archaeometallurgy   The study of ancient metals recovered from archaeological sites. Analyses usually include studies of the artifact's composition and the methods used in its manufacture. Archaic   The term used to apply to the post-Pleistocene hunting and gathering cultures of the Americas. Ardipithecus kadabba   A species of early hominin discovered in the Middle Awash region of Ethiopia and dated to between 5.2 and 5.8 million years ago. The canine teeth of this species are smaller than those seen in apes. Ardipithecus ramidus   Early hominin fossils, dated to about 4.4 million years ago, which were discovered at Aramis in Ethiopia during the 1990s. Aridos   An Acheulian site near Madrid, Spain, where bones and stone tools indicate that an elephant was butchered. ARPA   The Archaeological Resources Protection Act, which protects archaeological sites on federal properties such as national parks and national forests. Artifact   Any object made, modified, or utilized by humans. Assemblage   A group of artifacts found together within a specific feature or layer, which appears to have been deposited together. Aterian   A stone tools industry that replaced the Mousterian in North Africa, perhaps as early as 70,000 years ago. Aterian stone tools have distinctive tangs to facilitate hafting onto wooden shafts. Aurignacian   Industry (ca. 40,000–28,000 b.p.) that is characterized by the presence of nosed and carinated end scrapers made on thick flakes and blades, large blades with continuous retouch, strangulated blades, and bone points, including those with split bases. Australian Core Tool and Scraper Tradition   The stone tool industry that was brought to Australia by the first aboriginal colonists. The tradition includes cores that are shaped like horses' hooves and thick scrapers that could be used for a variety of tasks. Australian Small Tool Tradition   About 5000 years ago, the Australian Small Tool Tradition spread across the Australian continent. Typical tools include microliths and small, finely flaked stone points. Australopith   A general term used to describe the non-Homo members of the hominins, such as Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and Ardipithecus. Australopithecus afarensis   A small-brained, fully bipedal hominin found at a number of East African sites extending from Hadar in Ethiopia to Laetoli in Tanzania. A. afarensis dates from about 3.8 to 3.0 million years ago. Australopithecus africanus   A lightly built hominin found in South Africa, dating to between 3 and 2 million years ago. Although A. africanus probably evolved from A. afarensis, it is not yet clear whether A. africanus is ancestral to early members of the genus Homo. Australopithecus anamensis   A recently discovered bipedal hominin dated to between about 4.2 and 3.9 million years ago. Although A. anamensis shows many similarities to A. afarensis, the shape of the jaws of A. anamensis is more like that of modern apes. Australopithecus garhi   A new species of hominin discovered in the Middle Awash region of Ethiopia and dated to about 2.5 million years ago. The hominin fossils were found near butchered animal bones, and it is possible that A. garhi was an early stone tool user. Badari   Site on the middle portion of the Nile Valley, dating to about 4400–4000 b.c. Numerous burials with elaborate grave goods were found there. Badarian culture   The archaeological culture, belonging to the earliest farmers in Upper Egypt, associated with the burials found at Badari. Banpo   A Yangshao period village overlooking a tributary of the Wei River in Henan. The site has yielded evidence for houses, domestic plants and animals, and distinctive red painted pottery. Barley   Hordeum vulgaris—alongside emmer wheat, the most important of the ancient grain crops in the Near East. Base camps   Areas occupied by a human group for some time, in which a variety of domestic activities took place, such as the preparation, distribution, and consumption of food and the manufacture and use of artifacts such as stone tools. Later base camps commonly show indications of some form of shelter and the use of fire in hearths. Batons (or batons de commandement)   Enigmatic objects of mobiliary art, usually made of reindeer antler and pierced at one end. The function of these items remains unknown. Bering Land Bridge   A land bridge that connected northeast Asia and Alaska, across what today is the Bering Sea, during late Pleistocene times. Humans moved from Asia to the Americas by way of this land bridge. Beringia   The term applied to the land mass that extended from the Verkhoyansk Mountain Range in eastern Siberia to the maximum limit of the Laurentide (North American) Ice Sheet, west of the Mackenzie River in the Canadian Yukon, during the late Pleistocene. Biface   A tool made by removing flakes from both sides of a stone core. Acheulian handaxes and cleavers are usually bifaces. Bifacial flaking   The removal of flakes alternately from both sides of a stone core (or larger flake) to form an artifact worked on both sides. Bipedal   Walking upright on two legs. Bipolar percussion   A stone-working technique, characteristic of Zhoukoudian, in which the piece to be worked is placed upon a stone anvil and then struck with a hammerstone. The resulting flakes have bulbs of percussion on both ends. Blackwater Draw   The type site for the Clovis Complex, near Clovis, New Mexico. In 1932 Clovis points and other stone tools were found in association with the remains of mammoth. Blade   A long, narrow stone flake with parallel sides. Blades are generally at least twice as long as they are wide. Blade core   A core from which blades are struck. Blade cores are generally prismatic (faceted) in shape, and blades are struck off in sequence all around the core. Boker Tachtit   A site located in the Negev Desert in southern Israel dated to between 45,000 and 38,000 years ago. The site shows a technological transition from tools produced from Levallois cores to tools produced from single platform blade cores. Border Cave   A site in the Natal region of South Africa that has produced the remains of anatomically modern humans. Borers   Stone tools retouched to create an extended projection used for drilling holes in materials such as wood and bone. Boucher de Perthes, Jacques (1788–1868)   French customs agent of aristocratic birth whose discoveries of ancient stone tools, along with the bones of extinct animals in the Somme Valley, north of Paris, provided key evidence for the antiquity of humans. Bouqras   An early Neolithic site in Syria that has provided evidence for early domesticated sheep. Breccia   A hard limestone concretion formed from percolating cave water in which ancient artifacts and fossils are frequently embedded. Bronocice   A large, later Neolithic site in Poland that appears to have been occupied over a considerable period of time. Small parts of this hilltop site were fortified, although it is unclear whether the site served as a place of refuge, as the seat of a small polity, or as a site of ritual feasting. Bronze Age   The European Bronze Age dated between 2300 b.c. and 800 b.c. During the Early Bronze Age, bronze began to replace stone as a raw material for tools and weapons. Bronze Age societies in Europe are characterized by the appearance of significant differences in status, power, and wealth between individuals. Brze’s’c Kujawski   A well-documented example of an early farming village in the North European Plain. The settlement, dated to 4500–4000 b.c., is located northwest of Warsaw in Poland and is composed of a series of trapezoidal long houses. Burins   Stone tools with a chisel-shaped facet, used for engraving and sometimes cutting apart material such as bone and antler. Burnished   The terms used to describe a clay surface that is rubbed with a small stone or other hard object after firing in order to make the surface shinier and less porous. Bush Barrow   An Early Bronze Age burial under a tumulus, or earthen mound. The site is located near Stonehenge in southern Britain, and it produced a range of metal items including bronze and copper daggers and gold clothing ornaments. Butchery marks   The marks left on animal bones during the processes of skinning, carcass disarticulation, and meat removal. Butchery sites   Sites where meat is removed from the bones of one or more animals. The animal may have been either hunted or scavenged. These sites are marked by the bones of one or more animals plus cutting, chopping, and cleaving tools used to disarticulate the carcass and to remove meat from the bones. Cahokia   A Mississippian mounded site that is located near the confluence of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois Rivers. The site includes 120 earthen mounds that cover an area of 13 sq. km (5 sq. mi). Cahokia, which reached the height of its power between 1050 and 1250 a.d., appears to have been the administrative center of a complex Mississippian chiefdom. Cahuachi   The most important Nasca center during the Early Intermediate period, which covers an area of 150 ha (370 ac.) and includes more than 40 mounds. Recent research at Cahuachi has shown that this center was a ceremonial center and not a major urban center. Carrying capacity   The maximum population size that an environment can support using a particular technology. Çatal Höyük   A large Neolithic site located in the southern part of Central Anatolia. The site was occupied between about 7300 and 6200 b.c. and may have been home to several thousand people. Catastrophism   The idea that the succession of layers seen in the Earth's crust was the result of a series of catastrophes (such as universal floods) that wiped out many of the plant and animal species in existence, which were then replaced by new species. Çayönü   An early farming village located in eastern Turkey. The site, which was occupied between about 8700 and 7500 b.c., yielded the remains of early domesticated einkorn wheat, a cereal that appears to have been domesticated independently in Anatolia. Cerro Baul   A mesa-top Wari citadel with evidence for large-scale brewing of chicha, an alcoholic beverage made from maize. Wari elite may have hosted festivals and provided chicha to reward their subordinates. Cerro Blanco   The Moche capital in the Moche Valley, which was dominated by two major structures, the Huaca del Sol (pyramid of the sun), which served as a palace and mausoleum for Moche leaders, and the smaller Huaca de la Luna (pyramid of the moon), which served as a ritual center. During the Early Intermediate period, the Moche capital was a center of craft production and housed a substantial population. Chaco Canyon   The location of an integrated system of great houses and smaller settlements that existed in the San Juan River Valley between 900 and 1150 a.d. Chan Chan   A site located in the Moche River Valley along the north coast of Peru. This vast site served as the political and administrative capital of the Chimú state during the Late Intermediate period. Châtelperronian   A European stone tool industry that shows both Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic features. The industry includes Levallois flakes, Mousterian-like scrapers, and backed knives made on blades. This industry was associated with the Saint Césaire Neanderthal. Chavín de Huántar   A site in the north-central Peruvian highlands whose monumental sculpture reveals a distinctive style and iconography that spread throughout many parts of Peru during the Early Horizon. Chesowanja   An open site located in the Rift Valley of Kenya dated to 1.4–1.0 million years ago. The stone industry is Oldowan, including choppers and flakes. Areas of burned clay suggest that fire may have been in use. A Paranthropus boisei skull was found in the same formation. Chiefdom   A complex society that lacks the institutions of the state. Chiefdoms are ruled by a chief or leader, but lack a permanent government or bureaucracy. Chimor or the Chimú state   The most powerful state of the Late Intermediate period. At its height the Chimú state controlled two-thirds of the Peruvian coastal desert. Chinampas   Fields surrounded by canals, also known as floating gardens. This highly productive system of agriculture was used by the Aztecs. Choga Mami   Site exhibiting several transitional levels between the Samarran culture and the beginnings of the Ubaid period. Chopper   Pebble tool with only a few flakes removed from one side. Chopping tool   Pebble tool with flakes removed alternately from two sides. The ridge between the two opposing sets of flakes forms a sharp edge. Clactonian   A stone tool industry, named after Clacton-on-Sea in southern England, dominated by flakes and without handaxes. The Clactonian appears to be a separate industry from the Acheulian. Classic period   The period (ca. 250–930 a.d.) that coincides with the florescence of Classic lowland Maya culture. The beginning is marked by the appearance of dated monuments in the southern lowlands. The Classic period ends with the collapse of many Maya urban centers in the southern lowlands. Cleavers   Bifacially worked tools similar to handaxes, but with a flat, hoelike edge rather than a point. Clientship   Patron–client relations are social relationships that are established between people of unequal status and wealth. The patron provides certain material goods to the clients, while the client provides labor and loyalty to the patron. Clientship was a fundamental organizing principle of late Iron Age society in Europe. Clovis   Sites identified by the presence of distinctive, fluted spear points, known as Clovis points. In the American southwest, Clovis sites often produce the remains of mammoth and date between 11,200 and 10,900 years ago. Sites of the Clovis complex are widespread across North and Central America. Colby   A Clovis Complex site in Wyoming where stacks of mammoth bones were recovered. It has been suggested that the bone stacks represent some form of meat storage. Collectors   Logistically organized hunter-gatherers. Rather than moving their camps on a periodic or seasonal basis, they obtain particular resources through specially organized task groups. Combe-Grenal   A Middle Paleolithic cave site along the Dordogne River in southwestern France illustrating the interstratification on layers containing Typical Mousterian, Denticulate Mousterian, and Quina-type Mousterian industries. Comparative collection   A collection of well-documented modern animal skeletons that can be used to identify fragmented archaeological animal bones. Complex societies   Societies characterized by inequality in access to resources and a wide variety of social roles. Composite tools   Tools made of more than one material. Examples include a stone spearpoint attached to a wooden spear and small flint microliths used as barbs for wooden arrows. Conchoidal fracture   Flint fractures along a cone, or portion of a cone, radiating from the point of impact. Concentric ripple marks usually form so that the surface resembles a sea shell. Conjoined artifacts   Artifacts that can be fitted back together. Copper Age (or Chalcolithic)   A term sometimes used to describe the Late Neolithic copper-using culture of Europe during the fourth and third millennia b.c. Coprolites   Remains of fossilized excrement. The study of these remains can shed light on prehistoric diet, as many coprolites include small seeds, small bones, and other food remains. Core   A stone from which flakes are detached. Either the core itself or the flakes removed may be used as tools. Core tool   A tool shaped by removing a series of flakes from a stone core. Covering laws   General laws that describe and explain a broad range of phenomena, similar to the basic laws of chemistry and physics. Cranial capacity   The volume of the braincase in milliliters, reflecting the size of the brain. Cro-Magnon   A cave site in the Dordogne region of southwestern France that has produced the remains of anatomically modern humans. Cuello   A Preclassic farming village in Belize, where excavations have revealed a long sequence of mud-and-plaster floored houses and their associated yards from the Middle Preclassic period (1200–400 b.c.). Cultural ecology   The study of the interrelationships between humans and their environment. The environment is defined broadly to include the physical environment, the plants and animals that make up the biological environment, and the social environment, which includes other social groups. Culture   The system of shared ideas, beliefs, and practices of a group of people that permits them to relate to each other and to give meaning to their everyday lives. Archaeologists generally include the tangible products of these practices—artifacts—within their definition of culture. Culture history   The chronicle of the successive cultures within a region, and the description of the character and relationships of those cultures. Cuneiform   Writing, made up of wedge-shaped symbols pressed into clay, each symbol representing a spoken syllable. Cuzco   The capital of the Inca Empire, located in the southern highlands of Peru. Cylinder seal   A smooth stone cylinder carved with intricate scenes, often including humans and animals that produced a unique mark of authorship or ownership when rolled over the wet clay of a tablet or the clay seal of a vessel. Danger Cave   A deeply stratified cave site in western Utah that appears to have been occupied by small, highly mobile bands of hunter-gatherers who subsisted on a broad range of plant and animal resources. Dar-es-Soltan   A site in Morocco that contained the remains of robust, but modern-looking, humans associated with an Aterian stone tool industry. Darwin, Charles (1809–1882)   One of the key figures in the development of our modern understanding of biological evolution, Darwin proposed that new plant and animal species arise as a consequence of natural selection—as organisms are confronted by new circumstances, only individuals that are well-adapted to their environments survive to reproduce. He published his theory in On the Origin of Species (1859). Dawenkou culture   In the eastern portion of the Yellow River Valley, this culture (ca. 4300–2600 b.c.) is broadly contemporary with the Yangshao. Late Dawenkou cemeteries provide evidence for funerary offerings and ritual feasting. Debitage   Small waste flakes and chips produced during the manufacture of stone tools. Denali Complex   A stone tool tradition based on microblades produced from small, wedge-shaped cores, which first appears in Alaska about 10,700 years ago. It appears to be closely related to the microblade industries that are seen in Japan, China, and eastern Siberia between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago and may indicate the movement of a second wave of colonists into Alaska. Denticulates   Flake tools with a series of sawlike teeth retouched onto its edges. Devil's Lair   A site in western Australia that may date to as early as 33,000 years ago. Diffusion   The spread of cultural traits, such as technologies, practices, and artistic styles, from one culture to another. Direct historical analogy   The interpretation of archaeological artifacts or features by comparing them to similar artifacts or features in use today, in which a direct historical relationship is known to exist between the archaeological remains and the present-day culture. Discoids   Oldowan stone tools made by removing flakes from flattened pebbles. DK   An early hominin archaeological site found in 1962 in Lower Bed I of Olduvai Gorge by Mary Leakey. DK dates to greater than 1.75 million years ago. It contains an enigmatic and controversial circle of stones which has variously been interpreted as the remains of a shelter and as the result of natural phenomena. Dmanisi   A site in the Caucasus of Georgia, dated to about 1.7 million years ago. Three skulls and a mandible of Homo ergaster/erectus have been found at the site. The stone industry consists of flakes and choppers and is lacking in handaxes. Dölauer-Heide   A late Neolithic fortified site in Germany where a complex series of ditches and banks enclose an area of 25 ha (62 ac.). Drimolen   A site in South Africa that has produced the remains of Paranthropus robustus, including the most complete skull found to date. Early Dynastic period   The beginning (ca. 2900 to 2350 b.c.) of the historical record in Mesopotamia. This period includes the reigns of the first kings whose names are known from documentary evidence, the "King List." Early Horizon   The period (approximately 900–200 b.c.) traditionally defined as the time when artistic influences from the site of Chavín de Huántar in the Peruvian highlands spread across much of central and northern Peru. Early Indus or Pre-Urban period   The period in South Asia dated between 3200 and 2600 b.c., marked by an increasing intensity of trade, especially the long-distance caravan trade that linked the Indus Valley with Central Asia and Iran. This period is marked by population growth and an increasing concentration of settlements in the Indus Valley. Early Intermediate period   A period (ca. 200 b.c.–600 a.d.) of regional diversity in Peru that begins with the abandonment of many ceremonial centers associated with the Chavín cult. Early Woodland period   The period (approximately 1000–200 b.c.) in the Eastern Woodlands characterized by increasing social and economic complexity seen in a growing trade in exotic, luxury items and increasingly elaborate burial rituals. Ecofacts   Those natural remains that, while not made or manufactured by humans, become incorporated into archaeological deposits and can provide information about past environments and/or human behavior. Ehringsdorf   A site located near Weimar in Germany that is dated to about 230,000 years ago and yielded the human fossils that show many of the characteristics of later Neanderthals, including heavy brow ridges. Ein Gev I   A Kebaran hunters' campsite overlooking the Sea of Galilee. The site appears to have been used on a seasonal basis and was undoubtedly part of a broader circulating settlement pattern. Einkorn wheat   Triticum monococcum—an ancient cereal of somewhat lesser importance than emmer and barley. Einkorn was widespread in Anatolia. Electron spin resonance (ESR) dating   An absolute dating method related to thermoluminescence (TL) dating, based upon the electronic measurement of energy trapped in the mineral crystals of a sample. The method is suitable for dating sites of the Lower Paleolithic period and later. El Mirador   A major Preclassic Maya urban center located in northeastern Guatemala. The site has yielded evidence of two monumental architectural complexes and may have controlled long-distance trade in the region. Emiran   The Emiran or Initial Upper Paleolithic industry dates from about 47,000 to 38,000 years ago. It is marked by a gradual shift from a Levallois technology to one based on blades struck from prismatic blade cores. This transition is seen clearly at the site of Boker Tachtit in southern Israel. Emmer wheat   Triticum dicoccum—one of the principal ancient cereal crops. Engis Cave   A cave site in Belgium where the skull of a Neanderthal child was discovered in 1830. This was the first Neanderthal fossil to be discovered, although its importance was not recognized at the time. Eridu   City near Al Ubaid in southern Mesopotamia, believed by the Sumerians to be the first city in the world. Eridu is, in fact, one of the earliest urban centers of the region. It includes some of the earliest known temples to Sumerian religion. Erlitou period   The earliest part of the Bronze Age in China (ca. 1900–1500 b.c.). The period takes its name from the site of Erlitou, where a series of early palaces have been uncovered. Most archaeologists believe that the Erlitou period remains represent the material culture of the Xia Dynasty, China's earliest dynasty. Ertebølle   A late Mesolithic (ca. 5500–4000 b.c.) culture of Denmark characterized by a heavy reliance on shellfishing, plus hunting, fishing, and fowling. Ertebølle sites appear to have been occupied on a year-round or near year-round basis. Ethnoarchaeology   The study of the behavior of modern peoples and of the material remains of that behavior. This subfield of archaeology has developed since 1970. Ethnography   The recording and study of the culture, including social relationships and lifeways, of a specific group of people. Étiolles   A Magdalenian site located in the Paris basin where huge flint nodules were used to manufacture stone tools. Careful excavation and recording allowed the process of stone tool manufacure to be recorded. Eustacy or eustatic sea level changes   Variations in world sea levels that result from the growth and melting of glaciers. When large quantities of the earth's water are trapped in glacial ice, worldwide sea levels will fall, as they did many times during the Pleistocene. Faunal assemblage   The group of associated animal bones found together at an archaeological or paleontological site. In East Africa, a distinctive group of animal species, particularly the various species of pigs, is characteristic of a particular period of time, and the faunal assemblages have been used effectively to chronologically correlate the East African early hominin sites. Fayum Depression   An ancient lake bed west of the Nile in central Egypt where the earliest known farmers in Egypt were found. Features   The immovable products of human activities that are affixed to or embedded in the landscape, such as buildings, earthworks, pits, ditches, burials, hearths, and post holes. Feldhofer   The site in the Neander Tal, a valley near Düsseldorf, Germany, where a Neanderthal skeleton was discovered in 1856. Fertile Crescent   The arc-shaped region including the Jordan Valley and the Tigris-Euphrates floodplain of Mesopotamia where the earliest civilizations flourished. Fission-track dating   An absolute dating method that relies upon the counting of the visible trails left behind in mineral crystals by the fission products of uranium-238. Flint nodules   Rounded lumps of flint (a very fine-grained form of silica) originally deposited by silica-containing groundwater into hollows in limestone bedrock. Erosion commonly leaves deposits of flint nodules in the beds of streams, where they form a convenient source of flint for toolmaking. Flint Run   A Clovis quarry site in northern Virginia that was exploited for high-quality jasper. FLK   An early hominin archaeological site in Lower Bed I of Olduvai Gorge dating to about 1.75 million years ago. FLK is the site where the Zinjanthropus fossil was found by Mary Leakey in 1959. FLK is one of the most intensively studied of the early Olduvai archaeological sites, and it has figured prominently in the debate concerning hunting versus scavenging by early hominins. Flotation technique   A technique (also known as water separation) that uses rapidly moving water to hold light organic remains in suspension so that they can be separated from archaeological soils. Fluvial deposits   Sediments laid down by rivers. Folsom   A complex named after the type site in Folsom, New Mexico, where fluted points were found in association with the remains of an extinct form of bison. Folsom hunters used fluted points to hunt bison on the High Plains between 10,900 and 10,200 years ago. Food-sharing hypothesis   Hypothesis proposed by Glynn Isaac to account for the function of the early hominin sites at Olduvai Gorge and Koobi Fora. According to the food-sharing hypothesis, sites such as FLK served as home bases, to which hunter-scavengers (presumably males) brought meat and to which other group members (presumably females) brought gathered plant foods and small game. At the home base, these foods were shared and redistributed among the group. The food-sharing hypothesis makes the organization of early hominin groups seem very much like that of later humans. Foragers   Hunter-gatherers who move their campsites on a periodic or seasonal basis to make use of different patches of food resources. Forbes' Quarry, Gibraltar   A Neanderthal skull was discovered at this site in 1848 during military construction. Formative period   The period (approximately 2000 b.c.–250 a.d.) during which the earliest complex societies in Mesoamerica appear. During this period we see the appearance of the earliest monumental architecture and sculpture in Mesoamerica and the beginnings of urbanism in the region. The beginning of the period is marked by the appearance of pottery-using agriculturalists in Mesoamerica. Frere, John (1740–1807)   English scholar who was one of the first to suspect the antiquity of human beings. He discovered flint tools buried deep below the surface, in the company of the bones of unknown animals, at Hoxne, Suffolk, in eastern England, and concluded that the flint tools must have been made in the very remote past. Ganj Dareh   An early Neolithic site in western Iran that has provided evidence for the world's earliest domesticated goats. Gatecliff Shelter   A site located in the Monitor Valley in Nevada. Excavations at the site revealed 10 m (33 ft.) of sediments and 16 cultural horizons. From 4000 b.c. onward, the shelter appears to have been occupied periodically as a short-term camp by small groups of hunter-gatherers. Geomagnetic reversals   Abrupt interchanges of the Earth's North and South magnetic poles, reflected in the magnetization of the Earth's rocks, and useful for estimating the possible ages of geological deposits. Gesher Benot Ya'aqov   An Acheulian site in the Jordan Valley of Israel roughly about 780,000 years ago. The site includes well-preserved organic remains (wood, seeds, fruits, and bark). An elephant skull at the site may have been manipulated with the help of a log that was found beneath it. In addition, the site has yielded evidence of early hearths. Gilgal   An early Neolithic site located in the Jordan Valley north of Jericho that has provided evidence for very early cultivated barley. Glacials   Episodes of worldwide cold temperatures during which much of the earth's water was trapped in large ice masses (glaciers) that covered large parts of northern Eurasia and North America. Glaze   A material that melts during firing to produce a glasslike surface on pottery. Gran Dolina   Cave site in the Atapuerca mountain range in northern Spain, containing long sequence strata with stone artifacts and numerous human fossils. The lower layers contain pebble tools and flakes and fossils of Homo antecessor. The site dates to greater than 780,000 years ago. Gravettian   Industry (ca. 28,000–22,000 b.p.) characterized by the presence of gravette points, microgravette bladelets, tanged points, and burins made on truncations. Great Basin   The region of the American West that lies between the Sierra Nevada-Cascade Mountains and the Wasatch Range and includes nearly all of Nevada and parts of the surrounding states. Great Rift Valley   The great valley system of East Africa, extending from Mozambique in the south to the Red Sea in the north, that includes most of the early hominin sites of East Africa. The Great Rift Valley was formed by the movement of the geological rift that separates the continental African plate from the Somali plate to the east. Gritille   An early Neolithic settlement dated between 8100 and 6300 b.c., located on the Euphrates River in southeastern Anatolia. The artifacts from the site show many similarities to the Levantine PPNB. Grotte Chauvet   This painted cave site located in Vallon-Pont-d'Arc (Ardêche) in southern France and discovered in 1994 revealed an unusual range of Ice Age images. In addition to painted pictures of horses, bovids, and other common animals, the Grotte Chauvet included depictions of woolly rhinos and carnivores such as cave bears and felines. The images date to approximately 30,000 years ago. Grotte Cosquer   A recently discovered painted cave near Marseilles whose entrance lies 37 m (120 ft.) under water. The images in the cave were painted between 19,000 and 27,000 years ago. Guilá Naquitz   A small camp site located in the Valley of Oaxaca in southern Mexico. The site yielded the remains of early domesticated squash and gourds, as well as evidence for a pattern of seasonal use of a range of wild plant and animal resources. Hadar   Site located in the Afar Triangle, Ethiopia, that has produced an extensive series of fossils of Australopithecus afarensis. Halafians   Members of the culture that succeeded the Hassuna and Samarra cultures in the northern uplands, noted for their finely made pottery, with complex red and black painted geometric patterns, sometimes combined with stylized animals. Half-life   The time required for one-half of a radioactive element to decay. Hallstatt period   The first half of the European Iron Age (ca. 800–480 b.c.). During the later part of the Hallstatt period, commercial towns such as the Heuneberg were established in west-central Europe. These towns appear to have been engaged in extensive trade relations with the Greek colony of Massilia (Marseille). Hammerstone   A stone used as a striker to remove flakes from a stone core Handaxe   A large stone tool, usually bifacially worked and ovoid in shape, with a flattened cross-section. Handaxes are characteristic of the Acheulian industry, but they are found in later industries as well. Harappa   One of the largest urban centers of the Indus Valley civilization, located in the Punjab region of northern Pakistan. The site includes both a citadel and a lower town, and the city may have housed 40,000 inhabitants at its height. Hassuna   Type site, near Mosul in northwestern Iraq, of the Hassuna culture. Hassuna culture   Village farmers of about 6900–6500 b.c. who grew their crops at a sufficient altitude that rainfall agriculture was possible. Hayonim Terrace   A Natufian site in northern Israel that has provided evidence for small circular structures with stone foundations. Herto Bouri   A location in the Middle Awash region of Ethiopia that has yielded the remains of three hominins who appear to be directly ancestral to anatomically modern Homo sapiens. These fossils were associated with a stone industry that is transitional between the Acheulian and the Middle Stone Age. Heterarchy   Complex societies that are characterized by a series of separate, sometimes competing, hierarchies. Heuneberg   One of the early trading towns of the late Hallstatt period, the Heuneberg is located near the Danube in southern Germany. The site appears to have been engaged in trade with the Greek colony of Marseille. Hierakonpolis   The site in Upper Egypt of one of the most ancient cities in Egypt. Hierakonpolis was probably the capital of one of the kingdoms that preceded the unification of Egypt. The famous Narmer Palette was found there. Hierakonpolis continued as an important center throughout Egyptian history. Hilly Flanks   The low grass-covered foothills of the Zagros, Taurus, and Lebanon-Amanus mountains that surround the fertile crescent, an area that today receives sufficient winter rainfall to support agriculture without irrigation. Hogup Cave   A cave site located on the Great Salt Lake in northern Utah. The site yielded more than 4 m (13 ft.) of archaeological deposits spanning the last 9300 years. Holocene   The Holocene or Recent epoch begins with the end of the Pleistocene about 10,300 radiocarbon years ago. The beginning of the Holocene is marked by a worldwide rise in temperatures signaling the end of the Pleistocene glaciations. Hominin   A member of the tribe Hominini that includes modern humans and other members of the genus Homo, as well as closely related forms such as Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and Ardipithecus. Homo antecessor   A name given to the early hominin fossils from Gran Dolina in Spain. These hominins may be ancestral to both the Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans. Homo erectus   The successor to Homo habilis, Homo erectus includes a variable group of fossils with brain sizes generally greater than H. habilis but less than that of modern humans. Homo erectus generally had a low, sloping forehead with a thick bar of bone over the eyes and a forward-projecting face. Homo erectus pekinensis   Originally called "Sinanthropus pekinensis." The variety of Homo erectus found in China at Zhoukoudian. Homo ergaster   Some scholars reserve the term Homo erectus for the Asian fossil humans. They classify African specimens such as Nariokotome III as Homo ergaster. Homo habilis   The earliest members of the genus Homo. Homo habilis was first found at Olduvai Gorge. The best known of the Koobi Fora finds, ER-1470, is now classified by some scholars to a second genus, Homo rudolfensis. H. habilis has been identified at Omo and at Sterkfontein in South Africa as well and dates from 1.7 to 2.4 million years ago. Homo heidelbergensis   A form of early human, named after the mandible found at Mauer, near Heidelberg, which is intermediate in some respects between Homo erectus and early Homo sapiens. Hopewell Interaction Sphere   A widespread trade and exchange network, dating to the Middle Woodland period, marked by the exchange of exotic raw materials, distinctive finished items, and ideas across a broad region of the American Midwest and Southeast. Hougang   One of the best known Longshan sites. The site has provided evidence for houses surrounded by a stamped-earth wall. In fact, burials appear to be associated with construction activities at Hougang. Howieson's Poort   A Middle Stone Age industry, dating to about 70,000 years ago, characterized by the presence of microliths. Hutton, James (1726–1797)   Scottish geologist who contended that the Earth underwent a continuous cycle of mountain uplift, erosion, and the deposition of sediments to form new layers of rock. Hutton introduced the doctrine of uniformitarianism. Hypothesis   A tentative explanation to account for an observed set of facts or events. A hypothesis is provisional and unproved, and its acceptance depends on the gathering of further evidence. A hypothesis often suggests specific consequences, so that it can be tested by an attempt to observe those consequences. Inca   The term that refers to a small ethnic group from southern Peru. The Incas built and ruled the Inca Empire, which became the largest pre-Columbian empire in the Americas. Independent invention   The independent development of a new trait or technology within a region without the influence of an outside source. Indian Knoll   A Late Archaic (ca. 3100 b.c.) site in southwestern Kentucky that yielded the remains of more than 1000 burials. Many of the grave goods were utilitarian items such as axes, woodworking tools, and nutcracking stones, but some burials also included exotic materials such as copper and marine shells. Indirect percussion   A method of producing stone tools in which the hammerstone never makes direct contact with the flint core. The hammerstone strikes an intermediate object, such as a punch, which is in contact with the stone core. Indus Age   A term used to describe the societies of western South Asia from the beginning of agriculture about 9000 years ago to the beginning of the Iron Age (about 1000 b.c.). Indus Valley or Harappan civilization   The earliest urban, literate society in the Indian subcontinent. Throughout the third millennium b.c., Indus Valley cities, towns, and villages were spread across Pakistan and northern India. These sites shared a common written language and material culture, but it is not clear whether they were politically unified. Initial period   The period (1800–900 b.c.) whose beginning is marked by the appearance of pottery. During the Initial period, farming came to play a more central role in the Peruvian economy. Interglacials   Warmer periods that alternated with the glacials when temperatures were often as high or higher than they are today. Iron Age   The European age that begins with the replacement of bronze by iron in the manufacture of tools and weapons (ca. 800 b.c.) and ends with the Roman conquest of much of western Europe in the first century b.c. It is during the Iron Age that the first towns and cities appear in temperate Europe. Isernia La Pineta   Site in central Italy containing stone tools and animal bones, dated by K-Ar to greater than 730,000 years ago, although faunal evidence suggests that the age of this site may be considerably younger. Isostacy or glacio-isostatic sea level changes   Sea level changes that result from the weight of the glaciers on the earth's crust and from the release of that weight as a result of glacial melting. Isotopes   Forms of a chemical element, distinguished by differences in atomic weight. Jarmo   A prehistoric site, dated to about 7750 b.c. and located in Iraqi Kurdistan, that provided evidence for early domesticated wheat, barley, sheep, and goats, as well as domesticated dogs. Jebel Irhoud   A skull from Morocco whose features are transitional between Homo erectus and modern humans. Jemdat Nasr period   Period (3100–2900 b.c.) just preceding the Early Dynastic period, showing continued development from the Uruk phase. Jenné-jeno   An urban center in the Inland Niger Delta of Mali that was established around 250 b.c. and reached its maximum extent in the ninth century a.d. The site was abandoned around a.d. 1400. Jericho   A deeply stratified tell (city-mound) site located in the West Bank. The earliest Neolithic (PPNA) levels at Jericho have revealed an enigmatic stone tower and evidence for early cultivated wheat and barley. Kabwe (Broken Hill)   A human skull discovered in Zambia that may be an ancestor of modern humans. This robust skull dates to perhaps 200,000 years ago and was formerly known as Rhodesian Man. Karim Shahir   A late Pleistocene site in northern Iraq that appears to have been occupied by mobile hunter-gatherers but that shares some features, such as pecked and ground stone tools, with later early Neolithic sites in the region. Karanovo   An early farming village in central Bulgaria. At Karanovo, small, square houses were framed with poles and plastered with mud. Katanda   A site in the Congo, dated to approximately 90,000 years ago, that has produced Middle Stone Age artifacts and a number of finely worked bone points, many with barbs along one or both edges. Kebara   A site in northern Israel that has yielded the remains of a nearly complete Neanderthal skeleton, as well as extensive evidence for hearths, faunal remains, and Middle Paleolithic stone tools. Kebaran Complex   The term used to describe the later Upper Paleolithic industries in the Levant, dated between about 19,000 and 14,000 years ago. Microliths typically form a major part of Kebaran stone tool assemblages. Kelheim   A large (approximately 600 ha, or 1500 ac.) Iron Age oppidum located in Bavaria in southern Germany. Recent excavations at the site have shown that large quantities of iron were being produced at Kelheim during the late La Tène period. Khartoum Neolithic   The earliest farmers in Nubia. Farming communities were established along the banks of the Nile beginning around 4500 b.c. Kill sites   Archaeological sites where an animal or animals were hunted and killed. These sites are usually marked by the bones of one or more animals plus weapons such as spear points. Kimmswick   A site near St. Louis, Missouri, where Clovis artifacts were found to be associated with the skeleton of a mastodon. Kitchen middens   Late Mesolithic shell mounds found in Denmark and North Germany that contain the remains of oysters, mussels, and cockles, as well as the bones of wild mammals, birds, and fish. Klasies River Mouth   A site in South Africa, where Middle Stone Age tools appear before 120,000 years ago, associated with the remains of early anatomically modern humans. Konso-Gardula   Dated to about 1.6 million years ago, Konso-Gardula in Ethiopia is one of the very earliest Acheulian sites. A Homo erectus mandible was found at the site. Koobi Fora   Locality in Kenya that has produced many early hominin fossils, including fossils of Paranthropus boisei and Homo erectus, as well as some of the best preserved specimens of Homo rudolfensis. Kostenki I   An Upper Paleolithic site on the Don River in eastern Ukraine that has yielded evidence for a large complex of habitation features, including storage pits, sleeping pits, work areas, and central hearths. Koster   A deeply stratified site in southwestern Illinois that has provided a wealth of information on Archaic subsistence practices and settlement patterns in the American Midwest. The data reflect a shift toward increasing settlement permanence and increasingly intensive use of aquatic resources. Kot Diji   An Indus Valley site that was occupied during the Early and Mature Harappan periods. The site is located near the major urban center of Mohenjo Daro. Kot Diji gave its name to a style of Early Harappan pottery that was widely distributed throughout the Indus Valley. Kromdraai   Site in South Africa that has yielded fossils of Paranthropus robustus. Kuk   A site in the highlands of New Guinea where charcoal associated with fire-cracked rocks has been dated to about 30,000 years ago. This site has also produced evidence for the domestication of bananas about 6500 years ago. La Chapelle-aux-Saints   A site in central France where a relatively complete Neanderthal skeleton was discovered in 1908. The Old Man of La Chapelle suffered from severe arthritis. La Cotte de Sainte-Brelade   A site on the Isle of Jersey in the Channel Islands where the bones of numerous woolly rhinos and mammoths have been found beneath a cliff. The site has been interpreted as the remains of a hunting drive. Laetoli   Site in Tanzania that has produced fossils of Australopithecus afarensis. It is best known for the trail of footprints of an erect-walking hominin discovered there. La Ferrassie   A site in the Dordogne region of southwestern France that yielded seven Neanderthal burials. The site has sometimes been interpreted as a family cemetery. Lake Mungo   An archaeological locality in the Willandra Lakes region of New South Wales, Australia, that yielded human burials, stone tools, and hearths that were approximately 25–30,000 years old. Lantian   An area in central China where Homo erectus fossils have been found. Lapedo Child   A skeleton from Portugal of a four-year-old child dated to 24,000 years ago. The skeleton shows morphological features of both modern humans and Neanderthals. Some anthropologists have interpreted the child as a hybrid. La Riera   A Solutrean, Magdalenian, and later site from northern Spain that reveals changes in Upper Paleolithic subsistence through time. The data suggest that marine and estuarine resources played an increasingly important role in the diet. Lascaux Cave   A cave site located in the Dordogne region of southwest France, which was discovered in 1940. The extensive series of painted images, including horses, bison, deer, wild cattle, and an enigmatic human figure holding a bird-headed staff, have been the subject of detailed scientific investigations in recent years. Radiocarbon dating of the lamp wicks indicate that the cave was painted about 17,000 years ago. Late Harappan or Post-Urban period   A period (ca. 1900 to 1000 b.c.) of major cultural change in northern India and Pakistan. The beginning of the Late Harappan period is marked by the abandonment of a number of towns and cities (e.g., Mohenjo-daro), the disappearance of the Indus Valley script, a reduction in long-distance trade, and the development of regional styles of pottery and metalwork. Late Horizon   The period (1476–1532 a.d.) when the Inca empire expanded rapidly. It ends with the Spanish conquest of Peru in 1532. Late Intermediate period   The period (1000–1476 a.d.) that begins with the collapse of the Huari and Tiwanaku states and ends with the rapid expansion of the Inca Empire in the century before the Spanish conquest of Peru. La Tène period   The later part of the European Iron Age, approximately 480 b.c. to 1 b.c. The period is named after the type site in Switzerland where numbers of decorated metal artifacts were recovered in the nineteenth century. La Tène art style is associated with people whom the Greeks and Romans called Celts. Late Stone Age   The term used to describe the late Pleistocene stone tool industries of sub-Saharan Africa. These industries are broadly contemporary with the Upper Paleolithic Cultures of Europe and the Near East. Late Woodland period   The period (400–800 a.d.) during which the initial adoption of maize agriculture in the Eastern Woodlands took place. In comparison with the Middle Woodland societies that preceded them and the Mississippian chiefdoms that followed, Late Woodland societies in the Midwest and Southeast were relatively egalitarian. La Venta   The site in southern Mexico that emerged as a leading Olmec ceremonial center between about 900 and 400 b.c. Lehner   A Clovis kill site in extreme southwestern Arizona dated by radiocarbon to about 10,900 years ago. At the site numerous mammoths, as well as horses, bison, and tapirs, appear to have been killed and butchered on the spot. Lehringen   An early Middle Paleolithic site in Germany that has produced the remains of a wooden spear found beneath the skeleton of an elephant. Leister prongs   Parts of spears that are armed with prongs and used to catch fish. Mesolithic leister prongs were often made of bone or antler and barbed along the inside edges. Le Moustier   A site in the Dordogne region of southwestern France that gave its name to the Mousterian stone tool industry. The cave site has yielded Neanderthal skeletal remains in addition to a wide range of Middle Paleolithic stone tools. Leubingen burial   A burial site in eastern Germany that includes two individuals who were interred in an oak chamber under a mound of stone and earth. The grave goods included a diverse array of gold and bronze objects, while most other Early Bronze Age burials include only pottery vessels. Levallois index   The Levallois index is a measure of the proportion of Middle Paleolithic stone tools made using the Levallois technique. Levalloiso-Mousterian   The term used to describe the Middle Paleolithic stone tool industry in the Near East. These assemblages generally include large numbers of Levallois flakes and points. Levallois technique   A technique by which a stone core is specially shaped so that flakes of a predetermined shape and size could be struck from it. Levantine Aurignacian   The term used to describe Early Upper Paleolithic sites that have produced relatively few blades and bladelets and greater numbers of flakes, end scrapers, and burins. Similar assemblages have been identified from Upper Paleolithic sites in Iran and Iraq; these are termed Zagros Aurignacian. Linearbandkeramik or LBK (Linear Pottery Culture)   This culture is named for its distinctive ceramics that were decorated with curvilinear designs. LBK settlements spread rapidly across the Loess belt of central and western Europe between 5700 and 4900 b.c. The LBK houses are long, rectangular structures built of large posts. Lithic industry   A set of artifacts, primarily tools, made from stone. Lithic reduction sequences   Sequences of steps used to produce a stone tool. Using refitting techniques archaeologists can describe the steps used to produce a finished stone tool from an unmodified flint nodule. The ways in which a tool was resharpened and reused can also be determined. Living floors   Ground surfaces upon which an assemblage of artifacts and (frequently) food remains is found. It implies a relatively undisturbed site, including the remains from a brief, well-defined period of occupation. Loess belt   The area of central Europe that lay between the Scandinavian ice sheet and the Alpine ice sheet during the height of the last glaciation. This area was covered by fine, airborne sediments known as loess. This region was home to the earliest farming villages in central and western Europe. Lomas   Areas of vegetation in the coastal regions of Peru that are supported by condensation from fog rather than by rainfall. Longshan Culture   Sites of the late Neolithic Longshan Culture (2800/2600–1900 b.c.) appear over a wide area of northern China in the early third millennium b.c. Many Longshan graves include eggshell pottery cups that were designed to hold fermented beverages. Lothal   A Mature Harappan town in northwestern India that has provided evidence for intentional urban planning, craft specialization, and trade in semiprecious stones, steatite, ivory, and sea shells. Lyell, Charles (1797–1875)   English geologist whose extremely influential textbook, Principles of Geology (1830–33), revived and expanded the uniformitarian principles introduced by James Hutton. Lyell's work helped stimulate the young Charles Darwin in the development of his theory of the origin of species by natural selection. Maadi   A site near Cairo, dating to around 3650 b.c. The people of Maadi lived in houses made from mud and reed matting and were buried in a cemetery adjoining the settlement in simple pits without any grave goods. Maadi culture   The term frequently used for the late Neolithic sites of the Egyptian Delta. Magdalenian   The term used to describe late Upper Paleolithic sites in western Europe, about 18,000–11,000 years ago. Magdalenian sites are characterized by the presence of bone and antler harpoons. Makapansgat   Site in South Africa that has yielded many fossils of Australopithecus africanus. Mallaha/Eynan   The site that is known as Mallaha (Arabic) and Eynan (Hebrew) is located in the northern Jordan Valley in Israel. Excavations during the 1950s and 1960s revealed the stone foundations of small, circular huts that appear to have been occupied by hunter-gatherer populations on a permanent basis. Manching   An oppidum site located in southern Germany at the confluence of the Danube and the Paar Rivers. The site covers an area of 380 ha (939 ac.) and is surrounded by a fortification wall. Long-term excavations at the site have revealed a planned street layout and evidence for extensive craft production. Mastabas   Flat-topped, rectangular tombs, sometimes including internal rooms, that were the predecessors of the pyramids. Material culture   The tangible products of human behaviors. In archaeology, material culture refers to the artifacts, features, and sites left behind by earlier peoples. Mature Indus or Urban period   The period (2500–1900 b.c.) in the Indian subcontinent characterized by the appearance of large urban sites, the intensification of trade and craft specialization, increasing social stratification, and the appearance of the Indus Valley script. Mauer   The mandible found at Mauer, near Heidelberg, Germany, with features suggestive of both Homo erectus and an early form of Homo sapiens. It is sometimes given a separate name, Homo heidelbergensis. Mediterranean vegetation   The mixed oak–pistachio parkland that historically covered many of the less arid parts of the Middle East. The Mediterranean vegetation zone expanded around 14,000 b.p. as a result of the warmer, wetter climatic conditions that prevailed during the late glacial period. Mehrgarh   A site in the Baluchistan region of Pakistan that was occupied from about 7000 b.c. through the end of the Early Indus period (mid-third millennium b.c.). During the aceramic Neolithic (6300–5300 b.c.) occupation of the site, the farmers at Mehrgarh appear to have domesticated zebu cattle and probably also sheep from local wild animals. Memphis   Ancient Egypt's first capital, said to have been founded by Menes. It was located near modern Cairo. Menes   The traditional founder of the Egyptian First Dynasty, who may have been Narmer or an immediate successor. Merimbda   An early settlement site in the western Delta dating to between 4800 and 4400 b.c. Originally a few temporary reed or matting shelters, it grew into a small village of oval or round mud-walled houses. The dead were buried without grave offerings among the houses. Mesa Verde   A classic example of an aggregated pueblo settlement built in the eleventh and twelfth centuries a.d. Mesoamerica   The geographic region that includes southern Mexico and the adjacent regions of Central America, including Guatemala, El Salvador, Belize, and the western portions of Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. The area lies between 10° and 22° north latitude and includes both cool tropical highlands and warm tropical lowlands (along the Yucatan and the Gulf of Mexico). This region was the home of some of the earliest complex societies in the Americas. Mesolithic   The time in Europe (ca. 9500–approximately 4000 b.c.) is the time between the end of the Pleistocene Ice Age and the beginnings of farming. It is the period of postglacial foraging in Europe. Mesopotamia   The alluvial lowland lying between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers where the ancient urban societies, beginning with Sumer, arose. Mezhirich   A late Upper Paleolithic site near the Dneiper River in Ukraine that has yielded evidence for several small dwellings constructed of mammoth bone. The site is dated to about 15,000 b.p. Mezmaiskaya Cave   A cave in Georgia (Caucasus) that has yielded the remains of a 29,000-year-old Neanderthal infant. Recent studies have shown that the infant's mtDNA is outside the range of modern human variation but is quite similar to that of the Feldhofer Neanderthal from Germany. Microlith   A very small tool, often hafted or used as a barb for an arrowhead. Middle Horizon   The period (600–1000 a.d.) marked by the rise of two powerful states in South America—Tiwanaku in the southern highlands and Wari, whose capital was located in the Ayacucho Valley in central Peru. Middle Paleolithic   The term used to describe the stone tool industries of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa that date between about 200,000 and 40,000 years ago. They generally include a wider range of tool forms than the earlier Lower Paleolithic industries and often include large numbers of tools made using the Levallois technique. Middle-range theories   Hypotheses and theories of a limited nature intended to explain specific archaeological phenomena. Middle Stone Age   The term used to describe the African stone tool industries that are roughly contemporary with the Middle Paleolithic industries of Europe and the Near East. Middle Stone Age industries often include large numbers of parallel-sided flakes or blades, often produced using the Levallois technique. Middle Woodland period   The period (approximately 200 b.c.–400 a.d.) during which a widespread network of trade and exchange, known as the Hopewell Interaction Sphere, developed in the Eastern Woodlands. Migration   The physical movement of a people from one geographical area to another. Mississippian   The term used to describe the chiefdom-level societies that developed in the Midwest and Southeast United States between 800–1500 a.d. Mississippian settlements are concentrated in the meander-belt zones of eastern rivers. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)   DNA (or units of heredity) that are enclosed mitochondria of the cell and are inherited from the mother only. MNI (minimum number of individuals)   A method for estimating the relative proportions of different species in a faunal assemblage. It is based on an estimation of the number of animals needed to account for all the bones in the assemblage. Mobiliary art   Portable objects made of stone, bone, antler, and ivory, including such items as decorated spear throwers, incised plaques, and female figurines. Mochica, or Moche   The state that arose in the north coastal region of Peru during the Early Intermediate period. Mode 1   A general term for core and flake industries such as the Oldowan. Mohenjo-daro   One of the large Indus Valley urban centers. The site is located in the Indus Valley in southern Pakistan. It included both a citadel or upper town with a ritual bath and other administrative buildings and a lower town with residences, shops, and craft activities. Mojokerto   Site in Java at which Homo erectus fossils have been found and recently redated to 1.8 million years old. Monte Albán   The urban capital of the state that developed in the Valley of Oaxaca between about 500 b.c. and 750 a.d. Monte Verde   A site in south-central Chile that provides evidence for human occupation of the region at about 12,500 b.p. The site has yielded evidence for stone tools and organic remains, including wood, bone, and skin. Moraine   A deposit of soil and stone pushed along by a glacier and deposited at its margins. Moundville   A large Mississippian center located in west-central Alabama. The site, which was extensively excavated from 1930 to 1941, includes at least 29 mounds arranged around a central plaza. Mount Sandel   An early Mesolithic (ca. 8000 b.c.) site in Northern Ireland that has produced evidence for small, circular dwellings and a diversified economy based on hunting and fishing. Mousterian   A term used to describe the Middle Paleolithic (200,000 to 40,000 years ago) industries of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. These industries are named for the type site of Le Moustier in southwestern France. Movius Line   The line of demarcation between those parts of the Old World with handaxes (Africa, western Europe, the Near East, and India) and those areas with Oldowan-like or "chopper/chopping tool" industries without handaxes (eastern Europe, China, Southeast Asia, and Indonesia). This distinction was first proposed by Hallam Movius in the 1940s. Mugharet es Skhul   A cave site in the Mount Carmel region of northern Israel that has produced the remains of 10 human individuals associated with a Levalloiso-Mousterian industry. The human fossils appear to be early anatomically modern people. Mugharet et Tabun   A cave site in the Mount Carmel region of northern Israel that has yielded the skeleton of a woman, in addition to a Levalloiso-Mousterian stone tool assemblage. Multiregional hypothesis   The multiregional hypothesis proposes that modern human populations in Africa, Asia, and Europe are descended from earlier (Homo erectus) populations in each area. Sufficient gene flow would have occurred between these groups to maintain Homo sapiens as a single, variable population. Murray Springs site   The Clovis Complex site located in extreme southeastern Arizona. It includes a mammoth kill, a bison kill, and a hunters' camp. The site has also produced environmental evidence for a Clovis-period drought that ended about 10,900 years ago. NAGPRA   The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, which requires that Native American human remains, ceremonial objects, and objects of cultural patrimony be returned to the Native American tribes. Naqada   A settlement with several adjacent large cemeteries (containing about 3000 predynastic graves) excavated by the British archaeologist Sir Flinders Petrie in the 1890s. Most of these graves belong to the time span following the Badarian and before the earliest Egyptian dynasty. Naqada I (Amratian)   The period, found only in Upper Egypt, dating from approximately 4000 to 3500 b.c. The Nagada I period is much like the preceding Badarian. Most of the evidence comes from cemeteries; few settlements have been found. Naqada II (Gerzean)   The period dating to approximately 3500 to 3200 b.c. Naqada II is more widespread than Naqada I, appearing as far north as the Delta and as far south as Nubia. Substantial settlements appear, and some of the burials become much more elaborate, indicating the beginning of a hierarchical society. Naqada III (Semainian)   The period, sometimes called the proto-dynastic period, dating to approximately 3200 to 3100 b.c., just preceding the unification of Egypt. Small kingdoms probably grew up with their capitals at Naqada and Hierakonpolis. These towns gradually became increasingly populated. A ruling elite developed, and hieroglyphic writing appeared toward the end of the period. Nariokotome III   A very nearly complete skeleton of a young Homo ergaster—"Turkana Boy"—dating to about 1.5 million years ago, found near Lake Turkana, Kenya. Narmer   A ruler whose reign precedes the earliest dynasties in the historic Egyptian lists of kings, who is often regarded as the unifier of Egypt. Narmer is often identified with Menes. Narmer's name appears on the palette found at Hierakonpolis showing a ruler wearing the double crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt, the first to do so. Nasca   The culture centered on the Nazca and Ica Valleys of Peru's south coast during the Early Intermediate period. Although the Nasca appear to have been a nonurban, nonstate society, they constructed a large ceremonial center at Cahuachi and are well known for their craftsmanship in pottery and textiles. Natufian culture   The Natufian culture extended over much of the southern Levant between 15,000 and 12,000 years ago. The Natufians were complex foragers who relied on a combination of intensive gazelle hunting and plant collection. Typical Natufian artifacts include small lunate microliths, flint sickle blades, sickle hafts, and stone mortars and pestles. Neanderthals   Archaic form of Homo sapiens found in Europe and the Middle East between about 200,000 and 40,000 years ago. The Neanderthals are characterized by massive brow ridges, sloping foreheads, long, low skulls, and the absence of a chin. Nea Nikomedeia   Site in Greek Macedonia dating to about 7000 b.c. and one of the earliest farming villages in all of Europe. At Nea Nikomedeia farmers inhabited small, single-roomed, square houses and raised wheat, barley, sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs. Nelson Bay Cave   A Late Stone Age (19,000–12,000 years ago) site in South Africa that has yielded evidence for late Pleistocene hunting, fowling, and fishing practices. Nenana Complex   A hunters' toolkit, found in the earliest Alaskan sites and dated to between 12,000 and 11,000 years ago. It included small, bifacially worked projectile points, retouched blades, scrapers, wedges, and planes. Netiv Hagdud   An early Neolithic site located in the lower Jordan Valley north of Jericho that has provided evidence for small, oval houses and early cultivated barley. New Archaeology   The view, advocated by such workers as L. Binford, P. J. Watson, S. LeBlanc, and C. Redman, that archaeology should focus on processes of culture change rather than the compilation of culture histories and that archaeologists should attempt to develop archaeological and cultural laws, similar to those of the natural sciences, through the formulation and testing of hypotheses. Ngaloba   A skull from Tanzania that shows a mix of modern human and archaic (Homo erectus-like) features. It was found associated with a Middle Stone Age stone tool assemblage. NISP (number of identified specimens per taxon)   A method for calculating the relative portions of various animals in a faunal collection. It is based on the total number of bones identified for each species. North European Plain   The North European Plain stretches from northern France, across northern Germany, southern Scandinavia, Poland, and eastward into Russia. These areas were either covered by the Scandinavian ice sheet or by the outwash gravels and sands in front of it. This region is characterized by a great diversity of soil types. Notches   Stone flakes tool with a notch retouched into one edge, possibly for woodworking. Oasis/propinquity theory   The oasis theory argues that a widespread desiccation at the end of the Pleistocene led to the concentration of humans, plants, and animals in well-watered oases where humans learned to domesticate these other species. This theory was first proposed by V. Gordon Childe. Oldowan   The very early stone industry, first described by Mary Leakey, originally found in the archaeological sites in Bed I at Olduvai Gorge but since found elsewhere in Africa. The characteristic artifacts of the Oldowan are flakes and choppers and chopping tools made from pebbles. Other artifact forms also present include cores, polyhedrons, scrapers, spheroids, and discoids. Olduvai Gorge   Locality in Tanzania that includes numerous fossil and archaeological sites and that has produced many early hominin fossils. Paranthropus boisei and Homo habilis were first identified at Olduvai Gorge, and Homo erectus has also been found there. Olmecs   The people who inhabited the southern Gulf coast of Mexico during the Formative period. Their centers include monumental architecture and sculpture (huge stone heads). While the Olmecs were traditionally considered Mesoamerica's "mother culture," they now appear to be just one of a number of early complex societies that appear in Mesoamerica during the Formative period. Omo   Site in southern Ethiopia, investigated by F. C. Howell and Y. Coppens, that includes, in addition to a number of early hominin fossils, a broad range of animal fossil assemblages in a particularly well-dated context. These animal bone data have been very useful in chronologically correlating the fossil hominin sites in eastern Africa. Omo 2   A skull from Ethiopia, dating to about 130,000 years ago, whose face looks quite modern, but the rear portion of the skull resembles earlier Homo erectus fossils. Omo Kibish   An anatomically modern skull and limb bones from Ethiopia dating to about 100,000 years ago. Open-area excavation   A large excavation designed to reveal the spatial relationships between artifacts, ecofacts, and features. Oppida   Urban sites that appear in temperate Europe in the last two centuries b.c. They are generally large, fortified sites and appear to have served a variety of functions—as political capitals, centers of craft production, places of refuge, and possibly residences of a landed elite. Orrorin tugenensis   Also known as the "millennium man," this early hominin fossil dates to about 6 million years ago, shortly after the divergence of the human and the chimp lines. It was discovered in the Tugen Hills region of Kenya. Osteodontokeratic   A technology based on bone, teeth, and horn that Raymond Dart ascribed to the Australopiths, in the absence of any clear evidence for the use of stone tools by these hominins. Out-of-Africa model   This model proposes that all modern populations descended from an anatomically modern human ancestor that evolved in Africa between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago. Oxygen-isotope stage   One of a series of alternating warm and cold climatic periods defined by the relative proportions of 18O and 16O in deep sea cores. Paleoeconomy   The archaeological study of the means by which a prehistoric people gained their livelihood, that is, by hunting, gathering, fishing, farming, and so on. Paleoindian   A general term that is applied to the Late Pleistocene big-game hunting cultures of North America. Originally applied to the Clovis and Folsom cultures, it has recently been argued that the Nenana Complex should also be included within the Paleoindian tradition. Paleolithic   The Paleolithic or Old Stone Age begins with the appearance of the earliest stone tools about 2.6 million years ago and ends with the end of the Ice Age about 11,500 calendar years ago. Paloma   The site approximately 4 km (2.5 mi.) from the sea behind San Bartolo Bay in Peru, occupied between 4500 and 3000 b.c. Although it was initially occupied by mobile hunter-gatherers, the inhabitants of the site eventually became sedentary, occupying small, circular houses. Palynological analysis   Analysis of fossil plant pollen recovered from archaeological and geological sediments. Paracas   The site of the necropolis or cemetery that was excavated by Julio C. Tello in 1929. The site includes a cache of 429 mummies that were wrapped in cloth and accompanied by pottery and other grave goods. The burials date to the late Initial period and the early part of the early Intermediate period. The designs on the Paracas textiles appear to have influenced later Nasca ceramics. Paranthropus aethiopicus   A fossil hominin found at West Turkana, dating to about 2.5 million years ago, that combines primitive features with features similar to the robust Australopiths. Known as the "black skull," this fossil indicates that the evolutionary line of robust hominins is very ancient. Paranthropus boisei   A massively built hominin found in East Africa, even more robust than P. robustus. P. boisei dates from 2 to 1 million years ago, continuing in existence even after the appearance of Homo erectus (see Chapter 5). Paranthropus robustus   A heavily built hominin with large rear teeth and found in South Africa, appearing somewhat later in time than A. africanus, from 2 to 1.5 million years ago. P. robustus appears to have diverged significantly from the human ancestral line. Parietal art   The art that appears on the walls and ceilings of caves, including both cave painting and low-relief carving. The images painted and carved in cave walls include naturalistic animal figures and enigmatic signs. Human figures are comparatively rare and stylized. Pech de L'Azé   A deeply stratified cave site in southwestern France that illustrates the apparently random interstratification of different types of Mousterian industries, such as Typical Mousterian and Denticulate Mousterian. Pengelly, William (1812–1894)   English schoolteacher with a deep interest in natural history. Pengelly reinvestigated Kent's Cavern and later excavated Brixham Cave, near Windmill Hill, Torquay, in southwest England, under the close observation of a committee of prominent scientists. His discovery of flint tools together with the bones of ancient animals was a turning point in the acceptance of the antiquity of humans. Percussion marks   Marks on animal bones produced when a bone is struck with a hammerstone in order to fracture it for marrow removal. Phytoliths   Microscopic particles of silica that are derived from the cells of plants. Their distinctive shapes allow them to be identified by archaeological researchers. Picareiro Cave   A late Paleolithic cave site in Portugal (11,800–12,300 b.p.) that has produced large numbers of rabbit bones, indicating that small mammals played an increasingly important role in late Upper Paleolithic diets. Pictographs   Pictorial representations impressed into clay with a stylus, preceding the development of cuneiform writing. Pietersburg   A Middle Stone Age industry of southern Africa that is characterized by the production of parallel-sided flake-blades from prepared cores. Pincevent   A late Magdalenian hunters' encampment in the Paris basin of France. The site was occupied by reindeer hunters for a short period in the autumn. "Pithecanthropus erectus"   The name originally given by Eugene Dubois to the fossils he found in Java, now classified as Homo erectus. Planes of cleavage   Planes along which rocks or minerals split easily. Plant domestication   The process through which plant reproduction comes under human control. Plant domestication involves more than simply creating optimal conditions for the growth of plants through watering and weeding. It entails the planting and harvesting of crops, and often the storage of seeds for use in future years. Plant domestication can lead to changes in plant morphology, including changes in seed size. Pleistocene   A geological epoch beginning about 1.8 million years ago and ending about 11,400 years ago. The Pleistocene is characterized by a series of climatic oscillations. The Pleistocene is generally divided into the early Pleistocene (1.8 million to 780,000 years ago), the middle Pleistocene (780,000 to 130,000 years ago) and the late Pleistocene (130,000 to 11,400 years ago). Pluvial   A period marked by abundant rain. Polyhedrons   Oldowan stone tools, consisting of pebbles that have been flaked in several directions to form intersecting edges. Postclassic period   The period (930–1519 a.d.) that begins with the collapse of the Classic Maya in the southern lowlands and ends with the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 1519. Postprocessual movement   The postprocessual movement is unified by its critique of processual archaeology of the 1960s and 1970s. Postprocessual archaeologists make use of models developed in the social sciences and the humanities to study social and cultural change in the archaeological record. Potassium-argon dating method   An absolute dating method, generally applied to volcanic rocks, that relies upon the determination of the relative proportion of potassium-40 to argon-40, the product of its radioactive decomposition. Preceramic period   The period refers to Peruvian prehistory before the introduction of pottery. Pottery was introduced to Peru about 1800 b.c. During the later Preceramic (ca. 3000–1800 b.c.), domesticated cotton played an increasingly important role in the economies of the coastal regions of Peru. Preclassic period   An alternative name for the Formative period that is most commonly used in the Maya areas of Mesoamerica. Prehistoric Overkill Hypothesis   The hypothesis suggesting that humans may have played a major role in the extinction of many large mammal species during the late Pleistocene. Prehistory   The reconstruction of the human events that occurred before the advent of writing. Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA)   The earliest part of the Neolithic in the southern Levant. Dated between about 9750 and 8550 b.c., the PPNA is characterized by the presence of early domestic cereals (wheat and barley). PPNA houses generally have circular stone foundations. Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB)   The later part (ca. 8550–6300 b.c.) of the aceramic Neolithic in the southern Levant. PPNB sites are generally characterized by rectangular houses, and many PPNB sites have economies based on cereal agriculture and animal husbandry. Pressure flaking   A method of stone knapping by which pressure is applied to the edge of a stone tool, usually with a flaker made of wood or bone, in order to detach a small, flat flake. Pressure flaking was used to shape the Solutrean laurel leaf points. Primate   The mammalian order to which humans and the other hominins belong, and which also includes the prosimians, the Old and New World monkeys, and the great and lesser apes. Principle of superposition of strata   A principle derived from geology, which states that if the strata in a geological deposit are piled as layers from bottom to top, the oldest must be at the bottom. Processual approach   An archaeological approach that focuses on the processes of culture change. The variables that influence culture change are studied using scientific methods that include the formulation and testing of specific archaeological hypotheses. Proto-dynastic period   The term sometimes used to describe the Naqada III period in Egypt. Proto-literate period   Period including Uruk and Jemdat Nasr times during which the very earliest writing appears in Mesopotamia. Pueblos   Year-round residences for large numbers of people that were constructed in the American Southwest in the early second millennium a.d. They are generally multiroomed, surface-level structures with walls made of stone or adobe. Puna   The highest environmental zone in the Andes that is suitable for human habitation. The puna lies at between 3900 and 5000 m (13,000 to 16,000 ft.) elevation, and its rich grasslands would have supported abundant camelid (llama and alpaca) populations in prehistory. Punch technique   A method of indirect percussion used to strike a large number of long, narrow blades from a prismatic core. The hammerstone strikes a punch, a tapered piece of bone, wood, or antler, which is placed near the edge of a blade core. The resultant force detaches a long, slender blade. By moving the punch around the core, it is possible to detach many blades from a single piece of flint. Puritjarrn rockshelter   A rockshelter near Alice Springs in the dry central portion of Australia that appears to have been occupied about 22,000 years ago. The site provides evidence for the Pleistocene occupation of at least some of the arid regions of the Australian continent. Qafzeh   A cave site in northern Israel that has produced the remains of anatomically modern humans associated with a Levalloiso-Mousterian stone tool industry. Quebrada Jaguay and Quebrada Tacahuay   Two late Pleistocene sites located along the south coast of Peru. The sites were occupied between about 11,000 and 10,000 years ago and provide evidence for extensive use of marine resources. Rachis   The axis of a cereal plant to which the individual grains are attached. Radiocarbon dating   A method for dating organic materials (e.g., charcoal, bone, shell, and wood) based on the decay of a radioactive isotope of carbon, 14C. Radiocarbon recalibration   The process of correcting radiocarbon age determinations to reflect slight changes in the quantities of atmospheric carbon-14 through time. Refitting   The process of piecing together the matching portions of artifacts, particularly lithics, bones, and pottery. Matches of refitted artifacts between features or between layers provide information about activity areas, site formation processes, and the degree of integrity of a site. Relative dating   Dating methods that do not provide dates in calendar years but that can be used to determine whether two sites are the same age or whether one site is older or younger than another. Remote sensing   A series of nondestructive techniques for recovering geographical, geological, ecological, and archaeological data from a distance. Retouch   Removal of a series of small flakes from one or more edges of a stone tool. Río Seco   A site typical of the larger late Preceramic sites along the Peruvian coast. The site covers 11.8 ha (29 ac.) and includes two major platform mounds that were built by in-filling rooms. Rojdi   A Harappan town located on the Saurashtra peninsula in northwest India. The site was occupied continuously from the Mature Harappan to the late Harappan period. Rosetta Stone   The key to the Egyptian hieroglyphic writing, discovered in 1799. The Rosetta Stone is inscribed with the same text in Greek and two forms of Egyptian writing, a script and hieroglyphics. Rudna Glava   A late Neolithic copper mining site located in northeastern Serbia (formerly Yugoslavia). At Rudna Glava miners followed seams of copper ore up to 20 m (66 ft.) below ground and used rapid heating and cooling to extract the copper ores from the surrounding rocks. Sahul   The geographical region that includes New Guinea, Australia, and Tasmania. At the height of the last glaciation, these three areas would have been joined to form a single large continent. This region is also referred to as Greater Australia. Saint Césaire   A site in western France where the remains of a Neanderthal, dated to about 36,000 years ago, was found in association with Châtelperronian tools. Samarra   Type site of the Samarran Culture, about 100 km (62 mi.) northwest of Baghdad. Samarran Culture   First people to become established in the Mesopotamian lowlands proper. The distinctive Samarran pottery is painted with basketry-like patterns and sometimes stylized animal figures. Sangiran   Site in Java at which Homo erectus fossils have been found and recently redated to 1.6 to 1.0 million years old. Sangoan   A Middle Stone Age industry of central and west Africa characterized by the presence of large core scrapers and bifacially worked core tools. It may represent an adaptation to forested environments. San Jose Mogote   A Formative village in the Oaxaca Valley that has yielded early evidence for public architecture and social inequality. San Lorenzo   The earliest of the large Olmec centers, overlooking the Rio Coatzacoalcos. Excavations at San Lorenzo revealed the presence of Olmec-style ceramics at the site as early as 1150 b.c., as well as numerous large stone carved heads. Saqqara   Cemetery near Memphis where important officials were buried in mastaba tombs, the predecessors of the pyramids. The earliest pyramid, the Third Dynasty step-pyramid of Djoser, essentially several successively smaller mastabas stacked one upon the other, is at Saqqara. Scrapers   Stone tools shaped to include an edge prepared so that the implement would be suitable for scraping activities (although these artifacts may not have functioned in this way). Sechín Alto   A site located in the Lower Casma River Valley. It is the largest and most impressive of a number of Initial period ceremonial centers that were constructed along the Peruvian coast. Sequence dating   The relative dating technique devised by Sir Flinders Petrie to order the artifact assemblages from prehistoric Egyptian graves into a chronological sequence. The technique is based on the observation of gradual changes through time of stylistic traits on artifacts, as well as the appearance and disappearance of artifact types from one assemblage to the next. Shang (or Yin) Dynasty   The Shang or Yin Dynasty (1600–1046 b.c.) is the second Chinese dynasty known to scholars from historical sources. Extensive archaeological excavations at Anyang have revealed the tombs and palaces of the later Shang rulers. Shanidar   A cave site in northern Iraq that produced the remains of nine Neanderthal individuals, including five that appear to have been intentionally buried. Shukbah   A Natufian site located in the Wadi Natuf that was excavated by Dorothy Garrod in the 1920s. The site location gave its name to the Natufian culture. Sickle gloss   The sheen that appears on flint sickles when they are used to harvest plants such as grains and reeds. The gloss results from the contact between the flint sickle and tiny silica bodies within the stems of plants. Sípan   The site of a recently discovered Sípan pyramid complex in the Lambayeque Valley, which has yielded a number of rich burials accompanied by prodigious quantities of metal, presentation goblets, and distinctive uniforms and headdresses. The burials date to the early Intermediate period and are associated with the Moche culture. Site   An area where artifacts and features indicate that human activity has taken place. A site may range from a few artifacts scattered on the ground to an entire ancient city. Slip   A thin wash of clay and water that is applied to a pottery vessel before it is fired. Solutrean period   The period in western European prehistory that corresponds to the coldest phases of the late glacial period, about 22,000–18,000 b.p. Solutrean assemblages are characterized by the presence of finely flaked points shaped like laurel leaves. Species   An interbreeding population of plants or animals. Spheroids   Oldowan stone tools consisting of a core from which numerous flakes have been removed from the entire surface, forming a roughly spherical shape. Split inheritance   A social institution among the Incas that played a role in the rapid expansion of the Inca state. The system of split inheritance meant that while one son of the dead emperor inherited his title, ability to make war, and authority to tax, the dead emperor's other male kin inherited his property. Star Carr   Star Carr is an early Mesolithic hunter's camp located in North Yorkshire in England. Recent reanalysis of the fauna from this site indicates that it was occupied during the summer months. State   A territorially based political unit with an institutionalized government. Stellmoor   A late Pleistocene (Younger Dryas period) site in northern Germany that provides evidence for the use of bows and arrows by late glacial hunters in northern Europe. These weapons were used to kill reindeer that had been driven into a lake. Stone cache hypothesis   Hypothesis proposed by Richard Potts as an alternative explanation for the function of the early hominin sites at Olduvai Gorge and Koobi Fora. According to this hypothesis, sites such as FLK were simply places where caches of stone tools were stored. Animals were taken to these places and quickly butchered; then the site was abandoned before competing carnivores were attracted to the spot. Strata   Distinct layers within an archaeological deposit formed through either cultural or natural processes. Strata can be distinguished by their color, texture, or the materials included within them. Stratigraphic analysis   The recording and analysis of the layers within an archeological site, by which the sequence of events that led to the formation of the site is worked out. Stratigraphic control   The use of stratigraphic analysis to determine whether artifacts and features found in separated areas of a site are contemporary. Stratigraphic cross-section   A carefully excavated and carefully recorded vertical profile of an archaeological excavation, intended to delineate the sequence of layers and features in the site. Striking platform   The point near the edge of a stone core that is struck to remove a flake. Sumer   The first of the ancient urban societies of Mesopotamia. Tabular chert   A fine-grained deposit of silica (suitable for making into stone tools) that is deposited between the layers of limestone bedrock. Tabular chert usually must be obtained by digging or quarrying. Taphonomy   The study of the processes by which bones and artifacts finally become incorporated into a site and of the factors that modify the composition of these assemblages. Tehuacán Valley project   An archaeological project, conducted between 1961 and 1965 in Puebla, Mexico, designed to study the domestication of maize and other plants in the highlands of southern Mexico. More than 40,000 plant remains were recovered from sites that range in date from the late Pleistocene to the era of the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Telarmarchay   The Telarmarchay rockshelter, a deeply stratified site located 170 km (105 mi.) northeast of Lima, that provided evidence for the transition from the intensive hunting of wild camelids to their domestication at about 4300 b.c. Tell-es-Sawwan   Well-known site of the Samarra Culture, located near the type site of Samarra. Tell Madhhur   An exceptionally well-preserved example of a late Ubaid dwelling, near the Diyala River north of Baghdad. Temper   Nonplastic material that is combined with clay before it is fired. Temper reduces the risk of cracking as a clay vessel dries, and it counteracts shrinkage. Tenochtitlán   The Aztec capital, located on an island in Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico, established in the fourteenth century. Teosinte   Teosinte (Zea mexicana) is a wild grass that is closely related to maize and appears to have been its wild ancestor. Teotihuacán   The city in the Valley of Mexico that was the political, economic, and religious capital of the valley from 200 b.c. to 700 a.d. Terra Amata   A beachfront early Acheulian open site, now in the city of Nice, France. A series of superimposed huts have been claimed as the earliest evidence for structures in Europe. Teshik-Tash   A Middle Paleolithic site in Uzbekistan that included a child's grave surrounded by a ring of wild goat horns, providing clear evidence for intentional burial of Neanderthals with grave goods. Test trench   A small excavation, often 1 by 1 m, designed to reveal the nature and depth of archaeological deposits. Thermoluminescence (TL) dating   An absolute dating method related to electron spin resonance (ESR) dating, based upon the measurement of energy trapped in the mineral crystals of a sample. The energy is measured as light, which is released when the sample is heated. The method is suitable for dating sites of the Lower Paleolithic period and later. Thomsen, Christian J. (1788–1865)   First curator of the Danish National Museum of Antiquities. Thomsen grouped the objects in the museum according to the material from which they were made and asserted that they represented three successive ages: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. This organizational scheme is known as the Three Age System. Three Age System   A system initially developed by C. J. Thomsen as a way of organizing the collections in the Danish National Museum. He sorted the tools according to the materials they were made of—stone, bronze, and iron—and suggested that they represented three successive ages: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. Tikal   A major Maya urban center in Guatemala that has been the focus of intensive archaeological research since the 1950s. At its height in Late Classic times, Tikal was home to 62,000 people. Tiwanaku   The capital of the Tiwanaku state, located 15 km (9 mi.) from Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, which controlled the southern highlands between about 400 and 1000 a.d. Torralba and Ambrona   Nearby sites in central Spain where Acheulian artifacts have been found among the bones of numerous elephants, horses, deer, wild cattle, and other large animals. Many of the animals were clearly butchered; whether they had been hunted or scavenged is not known. Trihedral picks   Large, thick bifaces with sharp points and triangular cross-sections, characteristic of the Early Acheulian industry. Trinil   Site on the Solo River of Java where in the 1890s Eugene Dubois found the fossils that he named "Pithecanthropus erectus" and that are now assigned to Homo erectus. Tybrind Vig   A submerged late Mesolithic (ca. 5500–4000 b.c.) site located on the island of Fyn in Denmark. Underwater excavations carried out at the site have produced well-preserved wooden artifacts, including boats and paddles, as well as evidence for intensive fishing. Type site   The site after which an archaeological occurrence, such as a stone industry, is named. Typology   The systematic classification of artifacts according to their shape or form. Ubaid period   The earliest manifestation of classic Mesopotamian civilization (ca. 6200–4000 b.c.), named after the small village site of Al Ubaid but found in the lowest levels of the tell sites of many Sumerian cities, notably Ur, Uruk, and Eridu. 'Ubeidiya   A site in the Jordan Valley of Israel, dated to approximately 1.4 million years ago, with an Early Acheulian industry. 'Ubeidiya is one of the earliest archaeological sites outside of Africa. Unifacial flaking   The preparation of a stone artifact by the removal of flakes from only one side of a stone core (or larger flake). Uniformitarianism   The view of Earth's geological history, introduced by James Hutton and further developed by Charles Lyell, that states that the geological processes that operated in the past were similar in nature to those observable today. Upper Paleolithic   A term used to describe the late Pleistocene (ca. 40,000 to 10,000 years ago) industries of Europe, the Near East, and North Africa. These industries are generally characterized by a high proportion of blade tools. Upper Swan   A site near Perth in southwestern Australia where charcoal associated with stone tools has been dated to 38,000 years ago. Vallonet   A cave site near Nice on the southern coast of France, with simple choppers and flakes and early Pleistocene fauna. The actual age of the site is controversial. Varna   A fifth-millennium b.c. burial ground located near the Black Sea in Bulgaria. Some of the 281 burials included large numbers of copper and gold objects, while others included very few grave goods. Vindija Cave   A site in Croatia that has yielded a Neanderthal skeleton recently radiocarbon dated to between 28,000 and 29,000 years ago. Wadi Hammeh 27   A Natufian site located in northern Jordan that has provided evidence for substantial architecture, ground stone artifacts, and human burials. The site and its artifact assemblage show many similarities to the well-known site of Mallaha/Eynan. Wari   The capital city in the Ayucuchu Valley of Peru from which the Wari state was able to establish political control over a wide area of highland and coastal Peru. The development of an administrative system of labor taxation, as well as the development of new agricultural technologies, may have allowed the Wari state to expand rapidly during the Middle Horizon. Wattle and daub   A construction technique that uses wicker-work (wattle) for walls. The walls are then plastered with mud (daub). Windermere interstadial   A late glacial warm period that lasted from about 13,000 to 11,000 radiocarbon years b.p. in Europe. Worsaae, Jens (1821–1885)   Successor to Christian Thomsen as director of the Danish National Museum. Worsaae is sometimes called the father of modern archaeology; he was the first professional archaeologist. He excavated extensively throughout Denmark and established many of the basic methods used by modern archaeologists. Xia Dynasty   The earliest dynasty recorded by Chinese historians (ca. 1900–1500 b.c.). Although we have no documents that date from Xia times, later historical sources describe it as China's first dynasty. Today, most archaeologists think that the archaeological materials from the Erlitou period represent the material remains of the Xia Dynasty. Yangshao period   This period dates from 5000 to 2800 b.c. Yangshao sites are located in the central Yellow River Valley. Most Yangshao sites are permanent villages that were inhabited by farmers who grew millet and raised livestock such as pigs and dogs. Younger Dryas   The Younger Dryas was a short stadial or cold period that began about 11,000 radiocarbon years ago and lasted for less than a millennium. During the Younger Dryas in Europe, temperatures dropped significantly, and the glaciers began to advance again. Evidence of the Younger Dryas event has also been found in the Near East (Chapters 15 and 16) and in eastern North America. Zhoukoudian   A cave site near Beijing, China, occupied for about 200,000 years, between 460,000 and 230,000 years ago. The bones of about 45 Homo erectus individuals were found there, along with a stone industry without handaxes. Deep layers of ash in the cave have usually been interpreted as indicative of the extensive and prolonged use of fire.
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