Peneplain

A large land surface of slight relief shaped by erosion; a region that is almost a plain.

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Peneplain

Unifacial Flaking

The removal of secondary flakes from only one surface of a stone nucleus

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Unifacial Flaking

Consolidation

The use of resin or other chemical after dehydration of bone to strengthen it for conservation.

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Consolidation

River Terrace

A bench or step that extends along the side of a valley and represents a former level of the valley floor. They are the result of alternating period of erosion and aggradation (silting) within a river valley, brought about by oscillations of sea level relative to land. When sea level is low, the ...

archaeologsEnglishOthers

River Terrace

Cameo

An engraving or carving in low relief on a stone

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Cameo

Inflorescence

The flowering part of a plant.

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Inflorescence

Amlash

A site in northwest Iran, southwest of the Caspian Sea, dating to the late 2nd millennium BC. Rich burials in tombs have produced gold and silver vessels, pottery figurines, animal-shaped pottery rhytons (ritual vessels) - material similar to that at Marlik Tepe.

archaeologsEnglishPlace Names

Amlash

Duvanli

A tumulus cemetery in Thrace (modern Bulgaria) of the 5th century BC, with imported Athenian pottery and items of Greek gold-figured silver plate.

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Duvanli

Ljubljanko Blat

A marsh near Ljubljana in Slovenia, on which a number of Late Neolithic and Eneolithic village sites have been found. The material includes copper and molds for casting it. The culture is related to others throughout the East Alpine area, such as Vucedol, and was in contact with northern Italy.

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Ljubljanko Blat

Anchor Ornament

An anchor-shaped terra cotta object with a perforation through the shank. These were widespread in the Early Bronze Age of Greece and appear later in Sicily and Malta. Grooving, as if from thread wear, suggests that these objects may have been part of looms.

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Anchor Ornament

Achenheim

A French site with Lower Palaeolithic artifacts, Mousterian-type tools from the Riss glaciation, and Upper Palaeolithic materials.

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Achenheim

Storage Jar

Large jars used for storing grain or other materials.

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Storage Jar

Thebes-West Bank

This part of Thebes includes the necropolis of the ancient city and the largest group of standing monuments in Egypt. They are mortuary temples and royal/private tombs. The royal and private tombs were mainly dug into cliffs and valleys of the Theban mountain. The mortuary temples were built on t...

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Thebes-West Bank

Grass-Tempered Ware

Pottery embodying chopped grass or straw in its fabric as a tempering agent. Grass-tempered wares are well represented amongst pagan Saxon communities of the immediate post-Roman period in southern and eastern England; indeed the presence of such pottery is the basis upon which sites of the perio...

archaeologsEnglishAncient Pottery

Grass-Tempered Ware

Balof Cave

A rock shelter in New Ireland, Oceania, dating to c 5000 BC with a preceramic industry of obsidian and bone points. The site has one of the earliest dates for human settlement in Oceania east of New Guinea.

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Balof Cave

Cotofeni

A late Eneolithic / Late Copper Age culture in the eastern Balkans, mainly in southern Rumania and dating to the 3rd millennium BC. The sites were small, short-lived settlements suggesting agriculture and fishing as well as movement for seasonal reasons. Most burial sites used inhumation rites, a...

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Cotofeni

Common Brad

A nail used for attaching parquet flooring to subfloor and molding to walls and furniture

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Common Brad

Constituent Analysis

Any technique used to reveal the composition of artifacts and other archaeological materials by examining their constituent parts. This type of analysis is useful in determining raw material sources for the reconstruction of ancient exchange systems.

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Constituent Analysis

Liyu

A village near Hunyan in northern Shanxi, China, where a large hoard of bronzes of the 6th and 5th centuries BC was found. The name Liyu has since been applied to a style of decoration shared by many bronzes from the hoard and characterized by an interlace of dragons whose ribbonlike bodies are t...

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Liyu

Harran

An ancient city of northern Mesopotamia mentioned in Hittite, Old Testament, and Assyrian texts, now a village in southeastern Turkey. The town was located on the road that ran from Nineveh to Carchemish. It is frequently mentioned in the Bible; Abraham's family settled there when they left Ur of...

archaeologsEnglishAncient Cities

Harran

Mammoth

A large extinct species of elephant (Mammuthus) which became adapted to Ice Age conditions in the northern hemisphere about a quarter of a million years ago. It was perhaps the largest animal hunted by Palaeolithic man. It is possible that they were killed by spearing, as no pit traps have ever b...

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Mammoth

Blade

Entremont

An important oppidum near Aix-en-Provence, France, a Celto-Ligurian structure built in the third century BC (middle La Tène culture). It was the capital of the Salyes until destroyed by the Romans in the year c 125 BC. Entremont had a sanctuary with sculptured figures and finds include heads and ...

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Entremont

Eskimo

The aboriginal cultural group of the Arctic regions of North America, which evolved between 2000-100 BC. The Eskimo way of life and the distinctive tool types can be traced back into the Arctic Small Tool tradition. Other traits seem to have been adopted by the Alaskan Eskimos from the Siberian t...

archaeologsEnglishOthers

Eskimo

Rock-Shelter Tomb

A burial in a rock shelter, a place of habitation and ritualistic practices.

archaeologsEnglishTombs

Rock-Shelter Tomb

Sai

Island in Upper Nubia with a cemetery of the Kerma culture.

archaeologsEnglishOthers