Percussion Cap

A small amount of explosive powder contained in metal or paper and exploded by striking, used esp. in toy guns and formerly in some firearms.

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Percussion Cap

Fossil

In paleontology, the organic remains, impression, imprint, traces, or mineral replacement of an animal or plant organism of a past geologic age preserved in the strata of the earth's crust. Only a small fraction of ancient organisms are preserved as fossils, and usually only organisms that have a...

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Fossil

Chansen

A settlement site of central Thailand which traded with India during the first two centuries AD and with Funan sites till the 5th-6th centuries.

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Chansen

Antler

The lowest, forward branch of the horn of a deer - bonelike material which is grown and shed annually. Antlers indicate the sex of the species, for example only male red deer, fallow deer, and elk (moose) have antlers. They may also indicate whether a site is occupied seasonally as they are natur...

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Antler

Mauer Jaw

A large broken lower jaw of Homo erectus or pre-Neanderthaler type found in the Mauer sands near Heidelberg, Germany. It is dated to either the Mindel Glaciation or the Günz-Mindel Interglacial - probably the latter. No tools were recovered from the stratum, but there was associated fauna (elepha...

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Mauer Jaw

Brain Endocast

A cast of the cranial cavity (inner surface of the cranium) to produce an accurate image of and the approximate shape of the brain. These are made by pouring latex rubber into a skull. The fossil record can yield endocranial casts and, from them, possible brain volumes - especially of early man.

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Brain Endocast

Suvarnabhumi

A site or territory on the mainland of Southeast Asia, possibly identified with the Mon country in southern Myanmar (Burma) and central Thailand, to which the 3rd-century BC Indian emperor Asoka sent the two Buddhist missionaries, Sona and Uttara.

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Suvarnabhumi

Ngandong

Terrace site in the Solo River valley in Java, Indonesia, which had remains of Pleistocene fauna and advanced Homo erectus (Solo Man) of c 200,000 years ago. Solo Man has features of earlier Java Man, and has also been regarded as a tropical Neanderthal. Faunal associations are Upper Pleistocene,...

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Ngandong

Bridging Argument

In middle-range research, any logical statements linking the static archaeological record to the past dynamics that produced it. Contemporary observations, especially through ethnoarchaeology and experimental archaeology, are generally used to define these links.

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Bridging Argument

Epi-Acheulian

A term used to describe stone industries from the early Middle Paleolithic which combine some very rare Acheulian-type bifaces with an already well-developed tool kit based on flakes.

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Epi-Acheulian

Strict Random Sampling

The use of random number methods in the selection of locations for archaeological testing and exploraiton to the exclusion of all other methods.

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Strict Random Sampling

Burial Urn

A vessel in which the cremated ashes of one or more individuals are placed.

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Burial Urn

Riemchen

A rectangular, square-sectioned brick used in the Late Uruk period of Mesopotamia. It was used to build bonded walls and make patterns on the facades of public buildings.

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Riemchen

Anthropogenic

pertaining to an effect or process resulting from human activity

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Anthropogenic

Bouqras

7th-millennium BC Pre-Pottery Neolithic village near the River Euphrates in Syria. The first occupation phase had two levels with rectangular mud-brick houses. The next four levels had more solid mud-brick houses, some with plastered floors, benches, and pillars. The economy was based on hunting ...

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Bouqras

Marxist Archaeology

The use of the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, which depict a materialist model of social change, to understand past societies. Change within a society is seen as the result of contradictions arising between the forces of production (technology) and the relations of production (social...

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Marxist Archaeology

Knight Jug

Style of medieval jug with a tubular spout and representations of horses and knights decorating the body, dating to the 14th century AD and later in Europe.

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Knight Jug

Abejas Phase

The first important agricultural phase in the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico, dating 3500-1500 BC, after the introduction of maize.

archaeologsEnglishPeriods

Abejas Phase

Piano Conte

Copper Age culture of Lipari, traces of which have also been found on the Italian mainland, perhaps from trade in obsidian with Lipari. This early 3rd millennium BC culture had many fine tools of flint, but copper was still rare. The pottery was distinctive, decorated with close-set grooves, maki...

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Piano Conte

Caliche

An encrustation or deposit of hard, calcareous cement made up of nitrates, sulfates, halides, and sand. It appears on the surface of materials such as bone, ceramic, or stone after they have been buried or exposed to moisture for an extended time. These layers of calcium carbonate (lime accumulat...

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Caliche

Aramis

Early hominid site of Ethiopia dating to c. 4.5 million years ago.

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Aramis

Amri

A site in the Indus Valley in Pakistan, probably dating to the early 3rd millennium. It was the first site to be recognized as belonging to the Early Harappan Period when excavated by Majumdar in 1929. Its name has been given to a style of hand- and wheel-made painted pottery found in its Chalcol...

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Amri

Gem Point

A projectile point made out of agate, jasper, or another colorful stone

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Gem Point

Noailles

The Grotte de Noailles, close to Brive, Corrèze, southwest France, which has given its name to a small multiple burin - an Upper Palaeolithic flake tool retouched to give several chisellike edges. The Noailles burin distinguishes a facies of the Upper Perigordian or Noaillian, dating to c 27,000 bp.

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Noailles

Tap

A tap inserted into a barrel to allow liquid to be drawn from it.

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Tap