Skateholm

Guweicun

A late Eastern Zhou cemetery site in Hui-hsien, China. Three large shaft tombs has north and south entrance ramps and are similar in construction to far earlier Shang tombs. The largest of the three was marked at ground level by a low mound edged with large stones, a new feature modeled on works ...

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Guweicun

Soapstone

Dark gray or green soft soapy compact variety of talc that is easy to carve.

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Soapstone

Libby Half-Life

The time required for half of the carbon-14 available in an organic sample to decay; the standard is 5568 years

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Libby Half-Life

Cleopatra

The name given to seven Ptolemaic queens of Egypt. The last of these, Cleopatra VII (69-30 BC; reigned 51-30 BC), was the most illustrious.

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Cleopatra

Ur Iii Period

The third dynasty of Ur according to the Sumerian king lists, a time when Ur controlled much of Mesopotamia and the Zagros highlands. It began with Ur-nammu (2112-2095 BC) and the period is noted for the numerous economic texts from its administrative centers. Ur III collapsed under attack by the...

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Ur Iii Period

Physical Sequence

The order of the layers as they appear in a mass of stratification, not to be confused with stratigraphic sequence, which is extrapolated from the physical sequence.

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Physical Sequence

Uqair, Tell

Tell site south of Baghdad, Iraq, with a temple of the Uruk phase with unexpectedly fine wall paintings depicting mythical scenes. The fine polychrome wall paintings had human and animal figures. A small subsidiary chapel, later in date than the temple, contained a collection of pottery and four ...

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Uqair, Tell

Tiahuanaco

Large urban and ceremonial site which dominated the Titicaca Basin and the high Andes of Bolivia from c 100-1250 AD, a major Middle Horizon site and probably the capital of an empire. The central area has principal religious structures on a large rectangular plaza, a large U-shaped mound around a...

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Tiahuanaco

Post Mold

The circular remains of a wooden post that was part of a prehistoric structure, often just a dark stain in soil.

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Post Mold

Little Tradition

Folk elements which survive alongside the Great Tradition.

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Little Tradition

Lanceolate

Shaped like a lance head, referring to projectile points tapering to a point at the apex and sometimes at the base. The term is often applied to flaked stone blades of laurel-leaf form and is much like spearheads.

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Lanceolate

Low-Energy Societies

Societies in which most energy comes from food and there is little dependence on nonhuman forms of energy.

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Low-Energy Societies