Tlatoani

The Nahuatl (Aztec) term for ruler, the head of the state. All household heads owed allegiance, respect, and tax obligations to the tlatoani. It was mostly an inherited position; in some areas, succession passed from father to son; in others, the succession went through a series of brothers and t...

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Tlatoani

Khirbet Al-Mafjar

A palatial complex just outside Jericho in the Jordan Valley, attributed via epigraphy to the Umayyad caliph Hisham (724-743). There was a South Building, two-story mansion, a mosque, and a bathhouse (with elaborate domes and vaults) supplied by an aqueduct; and a North Building, a khan or guesth...

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Khirbet Al-Mafjar

Ancestral Pueblo

One of the major cultural traditions of the American Southwest during late prehistoric times, centered in the northern part on the high plateau of the Four Corners region

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Ancestral Pueblo

Astrolabe

An instrument, usually consisting of a disc and pointer, formerly used to make astronomical measurements, especially of the altitudes of celestial bodies and as an aid in navigation.

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Astrolabe

Basra

The second-largest city and principal port of Iraq, which from ancient times was a center of commerce, finance, letters, poetry, and science. It was founded as a military encampment by the second caliph, 'Umar I, in 638 about 8 miles (13 km) from the modern town of az-Zubayr, southeastern Iraq. I...

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Basra

Ethnicity

The national, cultural, religious, linguistic, or other attributes that are perceived as characteristic of distinct groups. The term also refers to the existence of ethnic groups, including tribal groups.

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Ethnicity

Paleodiet

The diet of past humans - what people actually ate rather than what was available to be eaten.

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Paleodiet

Luristan Bronze

Any of the horse trappings, utensils, weapons, jewelry, belt buckles, and ritual and votive objects of bronze probably dating from roughly 2600-600 BC that have been excavated in the Harsin, Khorramabad, and Alishtar valleys of the Zagros Mountains in the Lorestan region of western Iran, especial...

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Luristan Bronze

Eilsleben

A settlement site of the Linear Pottery culture in eastern Germany. The fortified area was surrounded by a rampart and ditch system.

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Eilsleben

Bog Iron

A workable, porous type of brown hematite (impure hydrous oxides) found in bogs (and also in marshes, swamps, peat mosses, and shallow lake beds). This deposit is formed when iron-bearing surface waters come into contact with organic material and iron oxides are precipitated through oxidation of ...

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Bog Iron

Kayenta

A regional variation of the Anasazi people, located in northeast Arizona, especially in the Pueblo II stage of c 1250-1300 AD. Kayenta has specific pottery types and architectural techniques. As seen at the Navajo National Monument, the principal dwellings of the Kayenta, the construction of the ...

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Kayenta

Sabz, Tepe

Tell site in Khuzestan in southwest Iran which has given its name to a cultural phase succeeding the Muhammad Jafar phase, c 5500-5250 BC. It is characterized by the appearance of painted pottery, buff-colored with geometric designs executed in black paint. Evidence suggests that irrigation agric...

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Sabz, Tepe

Abu Hureyra, Tell

A small tell on the Euphrates River, 120 km east of Aleppo in Syria. The site was excavated in 1972-73 prior to flooding by the Tabqua/Tabqa Dam. Two major phases of occupation were found: Mesolithic or Epi-Palaeolithic (early 9th millennium BC) to a Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Culture in the 6th mil...

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Abu Hureyra, Tell

Philyra

Strips of papyrus used for making a sheet of writing paper; 10-12 strips of papyrus were first glued together lengthwise and then a sufficient number of strips were fastened crosswise underneath to double the thickness of the surface.

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Philyra

Rachis

A floral ecofact: the elongated axis of an inflorescence or an extension of the petiole of a compound leaf that bears the leaflets. An example is the stem connecting the wheat kernel to the shaft.

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Rachis

Foramen Magnum

A large oval opening in the base of the skull through which the medulla oblongata passes, linking the spinal cord and brain. Its position is an indication of posture. If the foramen magnum is far forward on the skull base, it indicates an upright posture, like that of humans, with the head balanc...

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Foramen Magnum

Tabular

The shape designation of a stone that is at least three times as long as it is high.

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Tabular

Panduranga

A state of the kingdom of Champa on the coast of southern Vietnam. It became the center of Champan activity from the mid-8th century onward.

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Panduranga

Kharosti Script

A writing system used in northwestern India before about 500 AD; one of the two main early Indian scripts. The earliest extant inscription in Kharosti dates from 251 BC, and the latest from the 4th-5th century AD. The system probably derived from the Aramaic alphabet while northwestern India was ...

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Kharosti Script

Périgordian

A French classification for the Upper Palaeolithic tradition of western Europe, from its identification with the Perigord region of southern France. The flint industry sequence begins with the Chatelperronian (or Early Périgordian) from which, according to some, developed the first of the 'Upper ...

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Périgordian

Cortaillod

A Neolithic village site of pile dwellings on the edge of Lake Neuchâtel, and the type site of the oldest Neolithic culture in western Switzerland, with a starting date of c 3800 BC and lasting to after 2500 BC. Cortaillod is noted for the fine preservation of wood, cloth, and plant remains, and ...

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Cortaillod

Bhaja

A rock-cut cave monastery, famous for its temple with internal stupas set in a kind of sanctuary, from the 2nd-1st centuries BC. The temple is decorated with sculpture in bas-relief, which are some of the earliest Buddhist works.

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Bhaja

Plaster

A mixture of sediment and water for covering structural surfaces.

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Plaster

Montet, Pierre

French Egyptologist who worked at Tanis and Byblos. He conducted major excavations of the New Empire (c 1567-525 BC) capital at Tanis, in the Nile Delta, discovering, in particular, funerary treasures from the 21st and 22nd dynasties. At his first major excavation at Byblos (modern Jubayl, Lebano...

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Montet, Pierre

Gis

Geographical Information Systems; linked maps and databases.

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Gis