Bogucki P., Crabtree P. Ancient Europe 8000 B.C.-A.D. 1000: Encyclopedia of the Barbarian World. Volume 2
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create passages into a central area. Although ev-
idence of permanent structures inside the enclo-
sure is rare, refuse deposited in ditches is abun-
dant. Also known as “causewayed camps.”
celt: A polished axe head of either ground stone or
metal.
cenotaph: A tomb or similar memorial built for a
person whose remains are elsewhere.
chain mail: A protective garment made from loops
of metal woven together.
chambered tomb: A tomb with a vault for burials.
Often built from megaliths, these tombs can
take a variety of forms, including passage graves,
dolmens, and gallery graves.
chasing: An ornamental indentation or groove
hammered or punched into metal.
chatelaine: An attachment for a purse, set of keys,
or other item hung from a belt, particularly a
woman’s belt.
cheekpiece: 1. An attachment connecting a horse
bit to the reins. 2. An attachment to the rim of
a helmet that protects the side of the face.
chernozem: A deep, rich, humic soil of dark color,
like those associated with prairies and grass-
lands.
chert: Various types of rock composed of micro-
crystalline quartz that occur as nodules or
masses in a sedimentary environment. Many va-
rieties of chert are prized raw materials for stone
tool making. Variation in usage of this term
does occur. Technically, flint is one variety of
chert, but frequently chert is defined as similar
to flint but more coarse grained and less desir-
able for stone-tool production. Flint and chert
are often also used synonymously.
chiefdom: A social organization with a defined
leadership organizing the distribution of re-
sources. Generally, surpluses of food and other
goods are paid to the chief, who redistributes
them to subordinates. Often, chiefdoms have
ceremonial centers acting as focal points for
group members. Chiefdoms usually are distin-
guished from states by being smaller in scale
and possessing a less complex administrative ap-
paratus.
chronology: An ordering of events into a temporal
sequence, as in a timeline.
chronometric: See absolute dating.
chronozone: A small stratigraphic unit correspond-
ing to deposits laid down during a chron (the
smallest interval of geological time in the hierar-
chy of the Chronomeric Standard terms).
Cisalpine: Located to the south of the Alps.
cist: A subterranean boxlike structure with sides and
a cover built from stone slabs. Used for burial.
city-state: An autonomous political entity com-
posed of an urban center and its hinterland.
civitas (pl. civitates): Originally, a self-governing
territory in the Roman Empire and the primary
urban center in that area. By the early medieval
period, the term was used for important cere-
monial centers, urban or otherwise.
client king: A ruler subordinate to an overlord.
Also known as a “petty king.”
clinker technique: A boat-building technique in
which the sides of the boat are made of overlap-
ping planks, in the same manner as clapboards
on the side of a house. Such boats are also
known as “clinker-built.”
cloisonné: An inlay technique using gems, glass, or
enamel set into a metal framework. Cloisons are
individual cells in the framework.
coiling: A method of making pottery in which coils
of clay are laid on top of each other to create a
desired shape. The joints between coils are then
smoothed over.
collagen: A protein molecule forming nearly all of
the organic content of bone. Collagen gives
bones a degree of flexibility and elasticity.
colonia (pl. coloniae): A settlement for veterans of
the Roman military.
comitatus: Latin for “retinue” or “escort.” A group
that has sworn allegiance and service to a king,
particularly for military duty.
consanguine: Of the same blood; possessing a
common ancestor.
context: The find location of an artifact, including
its matrix (surrounding soil), its provenance,
and its associations with other artifacts.
coppice/coppicing: 1. A forest or grove consisting
mainly of slender shoots and small trees. 2. A
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method of forest management involving cut-
ting trees low to the ground so that they pro-
duce small shoots.
corbeled vault/corbel-vaulted: A drystone ma-
sonry vault made by setting stones in rings of
gradually decreasing diameter until the vault is
closed. Also known as a “false arch.”
core-reduction technique: A generic term for the
various processes of removing flakes and other-
wise modifying a core in the process of making
stone tools. A core is the nodule of flint or other
stone from which flakes are removed as tools are
made. See also flake and blade.
coring (at a site): The process of retrieving cylin-
drical samples, generally of wood or soil. In
contrast to augers, coring tools tend to remove
materials with their structure and stratigraphy
undisturbed.
cover sand: A continuous layer of sand, usually de-
posited by wind. Often causes the rapid burial
of archaeological sites and landscapes.
crannog: An artificial island in a lake, usually built
as the foundation for a dwelling. Common in
the British Isles during the Iron Age and the
medieval period. See also lake dwelling.
cremation: Incineration of a body.
crucible: A vessel in which compounds, particularly
precious metals, are heated or calcined.
cruciform: In the form of a cross.
CT scan: An image produced through computed
tomography (CT), which gives a cross-sectional
“slice” through an object. CT images are sensi-
tive to materials of various densities so that, for
example, when a scanner is used on a body, the
image clearly shows both soft tissue and bone.
Individual “slices” also can be combined to pro-
duce three-dimensional representations. Also
known as a “computerized axial tomography
(CAT) scan.”
cuirasse: A protective garment, usually of leather,
covering the torso from waist to neck.
cultigen: A domesticated species for which the wild
ancestor is unknown, although the term is
sometimes used to refer to cultivated plant spe-
cies more generally.
cultivar: A horticulturally or agriculturally derived
plant species, as distinguished from its wild
counterpart.
Danegeld: Payments by Anglo-Saxons in an effort
to stop raids by Scandinavians in the late tenth
century
A.D. Anglo-Saxon coins found in Scan-
dinavia often are associated with these pay-
ments.
delayed-return foragers: A group with a hunting-
and-gathering system in which return on labor
invested in collecting or managing resources is
not immediate.
debitage: Waste material created in the process of
making and retouching stone tools.
demic diffusion: A wave-of-advance model postu-
lating that a rising population and random mi-
gration of small groups drove the spread of
Neolithic culture across Europe. Demes are
small populations of closely related individuals.
denarius (pl. denarii): A type of coin, usually
struck from silver but also from gold. Originally
a Roman type of coin, denarii also were minted
in the medieval period.
dendrochronology: Tree-ring dating. A dating
technique that matches variation in tree-ring
width from a wood sample to a master pattern
reconstructed from sequences extending from
the present backward into antiquity.
denticulate: Serrated or possessing numerous
toothlike projections. Used to describe the re-
sults of a particular process of retouching the
edge of a stone tool.
diffusion: The spread of traits and behaviors
through contact between people. Often associ-
ated with the belief that traits and behaviors
have a single point of origin and appear else-
where only through imitation.
direct dating: Direct dating applies a technique of
absolute dating (such as carbon-14 dating) to
an artifact (or organic material) or an ecofact to
establish its age rather than relying on the dat-
ing of associated material such as charcoal from
the same context.
dirham: An Arabic silver coin of the medieval peri-
od and later. Also spelled “dirhem.”
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603
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disarticulated: Disconnected or disjointed. Used
particularly in reference to bones moved out of
their original relationship with one another.
dolmen: A megalithic monument constructed from
upright stone slabs supporting a capstone slab.
Also used as a generic term for “megalithic
chambered tombs.”
downland: An elevated landscape in southern En-
gland with rolling hills and a thin layer of soil
derived from underlying chalk beds. Owing to
extensive grazing, downlands are now associat-
ed with low, grassy vegetation; however, before
the advent of grazing, downlands were wood-
ed.
droveway: A pathway along which animals are driv-
en or herded, usually defined by earthen banks.
drystone (walling): Stone masonry constructed
without the use of mortar.
dugout boat: A boat made from a hollowed-out
tree or log.
dump rampart: A defensive earthwork consisting
of a wide, flat-bottomed ditch outside a steep
bank. Also known as a “Fécamp rampart.”
dyke: A linear earthwork built as a fortification to
protect a large region. Also spelled “dike.”
ear spool: An object, usually disk shaped, inserted
into a perforation in the earlobe. Perforations
can reach several inches in diameter through in-
sertion of increasingly larger spools.
earthwork: A monument constructed from earth
and other material piled into a bank or a
mound.
ecofact: An item that is neither made nor modified
by humans but can provide information on past
environments and/or the ways these environ-
ments were used by past peoples.
ecotone: An area of transition between ecological
habitats or communities.
einkorn: The common name for an early domestic
species of wheat (Triticum monococcum) and its
wild relatives. One of two early types of wheat
domesticated in the Near East. See also emmer.
electrum: An alloy of silver and gold.
elm decline: A reduction in the prevalence of elms
occurring c. 3800
B.C., near the time of the first
appearance of agriculture in northern Europe.
There has been much debate about whether the
change is anthropogenic or due to other factors,
such as disease.
emmer: The common name for an early domesti-
cated species of wheat (Triticum dicoccum) and
its wild relatives. One of two early types of
wheat domesticated in the Near East. See also
einkorn.
emporium (pl. emporia): A trade and manufactur-
ing settlement connected to a long-distance ex-
change network, often founded and adminis-
tered through royal control. These settlements
were centers of urbanization in medieval Eu-
rope, although the status of individual settle-
ments as truly urban is debated.
enamel hypoplasia: A horizontal indentation run-
ning across tooth enamel and resulting from a
period of malnutrition.
Epipalaeolithic: In Europe this term refers to
Palaeolithic cultures existing after the end of the
last glaciation. Often used to create a distinction
with Mesolithic cultures, but occasionally the
terms are used as synonyms. In the eastern
Mediterranean the term is used to refer to ter-
minal Pleistocene hunter-gatherers.
epistemology: Study of the basis for and nature of
human knowledge, with emphasis on its limita-
tions.
ethnogenesis: A process that results in the creation
or redefinition of ethnic identities.
eustasy/eustatic: A rise in sea level.
excarnation: A burial custom involving removal of
soft tissue through exposure or other means be-
fore deposition of skeletal remains.
extended burial: Deposition of a body in a grave
with legs straightened.
faience: A glassy substance made from baked clay
and shaped into ornaments, beads, and other
jewelry. Also used as a slip on pottery.
faunal analysis: See zooarchaeology.
faunal spectrum: The range of animals identified in
a zooarchaeological assemblage.
feature: A nonportable component of an archaeo-
logical site. Common types include burials,
walls, and pits.
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604
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Fécamp rampart: See dump rampart.
fen: A low-lying marshy area at least partly covered
by water, usually with basic or neutral pH (in
contrast to a bog, which has acidic pH).
fibula (pl. fibulae): 1. A Latin term for a metal pin
with a clasp, used to fasten garments and similar
in design to a safety pin. Often highly orna-
mented with forms specific to a particular time
and place. 2. The lateral and smaller of the two
bones in the lower leg. Articulates with the tibia
(shinbone).
field system: A set of agricultural fields that articu-
late with one another.
filigree: A decorative design made from fine wire af-
fixed to the surface of an object. Also, other or-
namental work intended to resemble such wire-
work.
firedog: Iron stands for logs burning in a hearth.
Also known as “andirons.”
flagon: A metal or ceramic vessel with a handle, a
spout, and usually a hinged lid.
flake: A thin piece of stone removed from a core in
the process of making stone tools. Refers to
both pieces used as tools and waste products.
flat grave: A burial executed without a mound or
other prominent aboveground structure.
flexed burial: Deposition of a body with the legs
pulled up to the torso. The body also is often
placed on its side. Also known as a “contracted
burial.”
flotation: A process for retrieving minute plant re-
mains difficult to recover through hand collec-
tion. Sediments are poured into moving water,
and the light material is held in suspension so
that it can be collected in a fine mesh sieve.
foederatus (pl. foederati): Roman irregular troops,
drawn from outside the empire and often given
land grants in return for service.
foragers: Groups acquiring food and other re-
sources primarily through hunting and gather-
ing.
Free Germany: The area associated with Germanic
peoples living beyond the formal boundary of
the Roman Empire.
frontlet: A band worn across the forehead.
Fürstengrab (pl. Fürstengräber): A German term
for a burial possessing unusually rich assem-
blages of burial goods, commonly associated
with the Iron Age. From the German words
Fürst, meaning “prince,” and Grab, meaning
“grave.”
Fürstensitz (pl. Fürstensitze): A German term for
a defended hilltop settlement possessing a per-
manent population and associated with unusu-
ally rich material culture, commonly of the Iron
Age. From the German words Fürst, meaning
“prince,” and Sitz, meaning “seat.”
gallery grave: A form of chambered tomb with no
distinction between the entrance passage and
the burial chamber, giving the interior a hall-
like shape. Also known as “allée couverte.”
geoarchaeology: Archaeological research using the
methods and theories of geology and other
earth sciences, usually with an emphasis on soil
formation processes and postdepositional
changes in archaeological deposits.
geochemical: Relating to the chemical properties of
geological features or compounds.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS): A data-
base program for mapping and analyzing spatial
data. Used, for example, to generate maps illus-
trating the relationship between the availability
of water and the distribution of artifacts in a
landscape.
geomorphology: The study of processes creating
and reshaping landscapes.
geophysical: Relating to the form and composition
of geological features. Often used as a generic
term for various noninvasive survey techniques
that utilize differences in the physical properties
of buried features and surrounding soils, such as
resistivity and magnetometry studies.
glacis: A gentle incline, especially the slope below
a fortification.
Global Positioning System (GPS): A satellite-
based system for determining longitude, lati-
tude, and sometimes elevation.
gold foil: Gold hammered into an extremely thin
sheet. Used to gild objects.
grindstone: Stone used for milling grain. See also
quern.
GLOSSARY
605
ANCIENT EUROPE
groove-and-splinter technique: A means of creat-
ing elongated plaques of bone, antler, and other
materials that can be worked into tools. Parallel
grooves are cut into the surface of the material.
Beginning at one end of the grooves, the plaque
is pried up until it is “splintered” off at the other
end of the grooves.
ground-penetrating radar: A noninvasive method
of identifying subterranean features in which
radar waves are directed into the ground. The
reflected energy is measured and analyzed to
produce horizontal and vertical maps of subsur-
face features.
groundstone (tool): A type of stone tool, often an
axe, with an edge created by grinding against an
abrasive material.
hafting: Placing a point or other tool into another
material to create a shaft or handle, as in an axe
head affixed to a wooden shaft.
halberd: An axe-like weapon with a pointed blade
mounted at a right angle to the shaft. Common
in the Bronze Age.
hand axe: A type of stone tool that is bifacially
modified, with an edge running around the cir-
cumference of the tool. Often teardrop shaped.
Also called a biface.
henge: A circular enclosure defined by a bank and
ditch, often with the ditch placed inside the
bank (the opposite of the arrangement used for
defensive purposes). Common internal features
include pits, burials, structures, and stone cir-
cles. Usually dating to the Neolithic or Bronze
Age.
hillfort: An enclosed settlement located on high
ground. The enclosure can be defensive and/or
ceremonial. Some hillforts appear to have had
large numbers of inhabitants. Others have little
evidence of habitation.
historiography: The study of how history is writ-
ten. Particularly, theories about how history
should be constructed from the limited knowl-
edge available.
Holocene: A geological epoch extending from the
end of the last glaciation, c. 9500
B.C., up to the
present. The Holocene in Europe is conven-
tionally divided into the following periods: Pre-
boreal, Boreal, Atlantic, Subboreal, and Sub-
atlantic.
horizontal excavation: An excavation technique
that involves removing individual layers by fol-
lowing their horizontal extent before moving
on to lower layers.
hunebed: Megalithic tombs of Germany and the
Netherlands. Derived from the Old German
word hune, meaning “big” or “huge.”
hypocaust: A gravity-based central heating system
developed by the Romans, in which hot air is
drawn from a furnace into spaces under a floor.
indirect percussion: A stone-tool production tech-
nique. Instead of striking a core directly with a
hammer stone, force is directed more precisely
by placing an antler point or other material on
the core and striking it with a hammer stone.
Associated with the production of blades.
inhumation: A burial practice in which bodies are
not extensively modified before deposition.
interfluve: The land between two waterways flow-
ing in the same direction.
interglacial: A climatic period with relatively warm
temperatures and retreating glaciers that occurs
between colder periods when glaciers are ad-
vancing.
intramural burial: Deposition of a body within a
settlement.
isostasy/isostatic: The rising land levels that occur
after glaciers retreat and the Earth’s crust re-
turns to its equilibrium position after being
pressed down by the weight of ice.
isotopic analysis: Analysis of the combination of
isotopes (varieties of an element) within an ob-
ject. Used to reconstruct diet and provenance.
jet: A type of fossil wood that is dense, hard, and
black. Often polished and worked into jewelry.
karst: A landscape with underground streams, cav-
erns, and sinkholes resulting from the erosion of
limestone bedrock.
keratinous: Of or relating to the fibrous tissue that
characterizes horns, hooves, and fingernails.
kin group: A population of closely related individu-
als, usually larger than a family group of parents
and children. The boundaries of such groups
vary from culture to culture.
GLOSSARY
606
ANCIENT EUROPE
knap: To remove flakes of stone in the process of
making stone tools. An individual who knaps
flint is known as a “flintknapper.”
krater (pl. kraterae): A vessel with a rounded body
and wide mouth, used for mixing and serving
wine.
kurgan: A burial mound or barrow, especially in
Eastern Europe and Siberia. Kurgans gave their
name to an archaeological culture in this area
that is also characterized by wheeled vehicles
and copperworking.
kylix: A drinking vessel usually made of ceramic or
metal and with two horizontal handles.
ladder of inferences: A term for the theory that
archaeologists confront an ascending scale of
difficulty in studying different components
of a society. Technological and ecological com-
ponents are thought to be the least difficult to
study. Economic and political organization are
thought to be more difficult and ideology or re-
ligious beliefs the most difficult. Accordingly,
archaeologists must be increasingly circumspect
about their interpretations as they ascend these
different “rungs.” Critics of this theory argue
that the perception of increasing difficulty re-
sults from archaeologists’ approach and is not
an inherent property of archaeological data.
This theory is also known as Hawkes’s ladder,
after Christopher Hawkes, who elaborated the
theory in a 1954 article.
laetus (pl. laeti): A Latin term for a prisoner of war
or other non-taxpayer, often from groups out-
side the Roman empire, recruited into the
Roman military. Laeti were given grants of land
in return for their service.
lake dwelling: A settlement built along the shore-
line of a lake, especially in Alpine areas during
the Neolithic and Bronze Age. See also crannog.
lead isotope analysis: A type of isotope analysis
that assesses the prevalence of different lead iso-
topes in an object made from lead or in other
materials containing traces of lead. Used to es-
tablish provenance. See also isotope analysis.
leister: A fishing spear with several barbed prongs,
thrust down over the back of the fish to grip it.
lime: 1. Calcium oxide, at times with other materi-
als added. Used in making mortar. 2. European
name for trees of the genus Tilia, which flourish
in temperate climates. Also known as “linden”
in North America.
limes: The fortified Roman imperial frontier, used
specifically with reference to the Rhine-Danube
frontier in central Europe but often applied to
other Roman imperial borders as well.
Linearbandkeramik: An early Neolithic archaeo-
logical culture in central Europe characterized
by the presence of pottery decorated with in-
cised linear motifs. Also known as the “Linear
Pottery culture.”
lintel: Wood, stone, or other material placed across
the top of an opening in a wall as reinforcement.
Also used to describe a megalith resting in a
horizontal position across other upright mega-
liths.
lithic: Made of or relating to stone.
littoral zone: 1. The lands surrounding a body of
water. 2. The shoreline between the high and
low waterlines.
loess: A dense, pale yellow type of soil consisting
largely of glacial debris deposited by wind.
longhouse: A rectangular structure, often con-
structed using wooden posts, that is relatively
long compared to its width. A common dwell-
ing type in both the Neolithic and the Iron Age.
loom weight: An object, usually of stone or clay,
tied to the warp strings of a loom to maintain
tension during weaving.
lost-wax technique: A method of metal casting in
which an object is modeled in wax. Then a mold
of clay, sand, or other material is formed around
the wax object. When molten metal is poured
into the mold, the wax is “lost” and replaced by
a metal copy of the original shape.
lur (pl. lurer): A long, curved horn made of metal,
often cast in sections. Produced in Scandinavia
during the Bronze Age.
mace-head: A heavy, blunt weapon similar to a
sledgehammer with a rounded head. Often dec-
orated and carried as a symbol of authority.
magnetometry: A noninvasive survey technique
that collects data about small-scale changes in
the electromagnetic properties of an area to
identify subsurface features.
GLOSSARY
607
ANCIENT EUROPE
mandible: The lower jawbone.
matriliny: The practice of tracing descent through
the maternal line.
matrilocal: A residence pattern in which a married
couple lives with or near the wife’s family.
megalith: A large, flat stone used architecturally to
construct a monument or portion of a monu-
ment, such as a tomb, henge, or alignment.
Usually not modified by further working.
menhir: A single upright megalith.
meseta: Spanish term for a tableland or mesa. A flat
and elevated area that has an abrupt rise from
the surrounding landscape. The term is used for
areas larger than a butte.
metapodials: Elongated bones located between the
wrist and fingers or between the ankle and toes.
Known as “metacarpals” in the hand and
“metatarsals” in the foot. The number and
shape of these bones vary significantly between
species.
microburin technique: A technique for producing
microliths. A notch is removed from a blade.
The blade is then snapped, creating a microlith
and a by-product with a burin form (a micro-
burin).
microlith: A small stone tool created by snapping
a blade into a series of smaller pieces or remov-
ing a blade from a very small core. Usually haft-
ed into wood or other material.
midden: A trash dump. More specifically, an accu-
mulation of debris, usually food and other oc-
cupation refuse, deposited in a defined area,
such as a hole in the ground or a portion of a
settlement.
mitochondrial DNA: A type of DNA existing out-
side the cell nucleus, where most DNA is locat-
ed. In sperm, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is
located in the region that does not enter the
egg. Consequently, mtDNA is inherited matri-
lineally and is not recombined with each new
generation. Since mtDNA has a constant rate of
mutation, the difference between the mtDNA
of two individuals is a function of the time
elapsed since they shared a female ancestor. Best
known for its use in identifying a last common
ancestor for all modern humans, the so-called
mitochondrial Eve.
moraine/morainic: A term used for a variety of
landscapes resulting from the accumulation of
soil and other material moved and deposited
through glacial activity, frequently in the form
of linear ridges.
mordant: A substance that combines with dye to
create an insoluble compound that fixes to
cloth.
moldboard plow: A plow fitted with a blade that
turns over the soil as it cuts a furrow. Also
known as a “heavy plow” because it is used to
farm soils too heavy for an ard.
multivallate/multivallation: Possessing more
than one enclosing bank and/or ditch.
murus Gallicus: Julius Caesar’s term for ramparts
surrounding Gallic towns. They had external
faces of timber and stone. They were also rein-
forced with timbers buried perpendicular to the
external face and extending backward into the
earthen backing.
necropolis: Greek for “city of the dead.” A ceme-
tery, generally one associated with a settlement
but located outside its limits.
Neustria: The western portion of the Frankish em-
pire (the area under the control of Merovingian
and Carolingian rulers).
New Archaeology: A set of approaches to archaeo-
logical interpretation emphasizing the value of
hypothesis testing and other scientific methods,
the need for incorporating ecology into expla-
nations of social change, and a view of society
as composed of interacting subsystems with dis-
crete relationships to one another. Also known
as “processual archaeology.”
nuraghe (pl. nuraghi): Circular stone towers,
often with corbeled chambers inside. Associated
with the Bronze Age in Sardinia.
obsidian: Volcanic glass, a valued material for stone
toolmaking.
ochre: A naturally occurring substance consisting
largely of iron oxide. The color of ochre de-
pends on the variety of iron oxide. The most
common colors are red and yellow. Used as a
pigment and a decoration. Also spelled
“ocher.”
ogham: A type of script with approximately twenty
letters consisting of lines arranged along or
GLOSSARY
608
ANCIENT EUROPE
across a baseline. Known most commonly from
inscriptions along the edge of a stone pillar.
Probably originating in the fourth century
A.D.,
ogham is found around the Irish Sea littoral,
particularly in Ireland. Also spelled “ogam.”
open-cast (mining): A mining technique in which
the overburden is removed to uncover the de-
sired material, as opposed to deep mining,
which involves tunneling underground.
oppidum (pl. oppida): A Latin term for a large forti-
fied settlement of the Iron Age, often located
on hilltops and other elevated locations. They
acted as centers for habitation, trade, and man-
ufacturing. Julius Caesar used the term to de-
scribe settlements in Gaul.
orthostat: An upright stone slab in a megalithic
monument.
outworks: A secondary defensive structure, usually
an earthwork, constructed beyond or as an ex-
tension of primary defenses.
oxhide ingots: An ingot is a mass of metal cast into
a convenient and/or standardized shape for
storage and transport. Oxhide ingots are cast in
a shape reminiscent of the stretched hide of an
ox.
oxygen isotope analysis: A technique for recon-
structing past climatic conditions. Ocean water
and rainwater have different ratios of two oxy-
gen isotopes. In cold periods, when rainwater is
locked in glaciers, ocean water has a different
ratio than it does during warm periods, when
glaciers are smaller and more rainwater returns
to the ocean. Changes in the ratio are recorded
in the remains of foraminifera, organisms that
absorb oxygen isotopes during their life. These
organisms fall to the ocean floor at death and
are retrieved by coring the ocean floor.
P-Celtic: One of two branches of the Celtic family
of languages. Also known as Brittonic, this
group includes Welsh, Breton, and Cornish.
The other branch is known as Q-Celtic, or Goi-
delic, and includes Irish, Manx, and Scottish
Gaelic. The division is based on phonological
differences between the two groups that appear
to extend into extinct Celtic languages.
palaeoanthropology: The study of early human
and hominid evolution and history, particularly
during periods associated with species ancestral
to Homo sapiens. Palaeoanthropologists often
study both human fossils and the archaeological
remains associated with them.
palaeoethnobotany: The study of plant utilization
and beliefs about plants in ancient societies.
palaeosol: A buried land surface or soil horizon. In-
dicative of past environmental conditions. Also
spelled “paleosol.”
palisade: A fence of stakes, usually creating a defen-
sive enclosure.
palmette: A decorative motif in the form of a palm
frond.
palstave: A type of axe head with flanges that facili-
tate hafting.
palynology: See pollen analysis.
paramount chiefdom: A disproportionately strong
chiefdom, usually with authority over subordi-
nate chiefdoms.
passage grave: A type of chambered tomb with a
narrow passageway leading to a central camber.
pastoralism: A social organization based on man-
aging livestock.
patriliny: The practice of tracing descent through
the paternal line.
patron-client system: The practice of loaning
goods to subordinates. The terms of the loan
usually require the return of the original grant
plus additional goods and/or services.
penannular brooches: A type of brooch with a cir-
cular ring interrupted at one point. The two ter-
minal ends of the ring are often enlarged and
highly ornamented.
petroglyph: A drawing carved into rock. Usually
reserved for works on large boulders or immo-
bile outcroppings of stone.
phenomenology: The study of the experience and
awareness of being human in a material and so-
cial world. Also the study of acts of perception
and self-awareness and their cognitive implica-
tions. In archaeology this perspective has fos-
tered attempts to understand monuments based
on the experience of being in a particular land-
scape and of moving through and around mon-
uments.
GLOSSARY
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phosphate analysis/mapping: Phosphates are
abundant in animal waste, fat, and other organ-
ic materials. Geochemical analysis identifies
concentrations of phosphates in archaeological
sites as a method of reconstructing how an area
was utilized.
phytolith: A silica structure formed between plant
cells. Phytoliths are useful to archaeobotanists
because they often have species-specific forms
and remain when other portions of plants
decay.
piling: A timber driven into the ground to serve as
the foundation of a building. Also known as a
“pile.”
pit house: A structure with its floor dug below
ground level, often with timber walls and a ga-
bled roof supported by posts. Also known as a
“Grubenhaus” or a “sunken-featured building”
(SFB).
pithos (pl. pithoi): A ceramic vessel used for the
storage of oil, grain, and other materials. Also
used as a container for bodies in certain inhu-
mation practices.
Pleistocene: The geological epoch beginning ap-
proximately 1.8 million years ago and ending
about ten thousand years ago with the begin-
ning of the Holocene. This period is character-
ized by alternating periods during which gla-
ciers expanded and contracted. See also
interglacial.
pollen analysis: The study of pollen with the aim
of reconstructing changes in vegetation
through time. Also known as “palynology.”
polymetallic ores: Ores with more than one pre-
dominant metal.
pommel mount: An attachment creating a knob or
similar protuberance at the end of the hilt of a
sword. Often highly decorated.
postdepositional: Of or relating to occurrences
after an object has been buried.
post-processual archaeology: A disparate set of ap-
proaches to archaeological interpretation that
developed in reaction to perceived limitations in
processual archaeology and the scientific meth-
od in general. Post-processualists emphasize the
influence of assumptions and biases that investi-
gators bring to research and the impossibility of
escaping their influence. Instead of attempting
to escape those biases, post-processualists advo-
cate use of a defined ideological perspective.
This perspective also tends to view artifacts as
lacking intrinsic or absolute meaning. They are
best understood as evocative of meanings from
the contexts in which they were used.
posthole: A pit dug for the insertion of a timber,
stone pillar, or other similar upright object.
Such pits are then backfilled to pack material
around the post. Usage of this term varies. At
times its meaning is restricted to only the space
occupied by the post itself. That space is often
preserved as a darker soil than the fill of the en-
tire pit. Such features are also known as “post
pipes” or “post molds.” With this usage, the en-
tire hole is generally called a “post pit.”
potin: A bronze alloy with a high proportion of tin.
PPNA: An abbreviation of Pre-Pottery Neolithic A,
a subdivision of the Aceramic Neolithic in the
Near East dated between 8500
B.C. and 7600
B.C.
PPNB: An abbreviation of Pre-Pottery Neolithic B,
a subdivision of the Aceramic Neolithic in the
Near East dated between 7600
B.C. and 6000
B.C.
Preboreal climatic period: A subdivision of the
Holocene epoch in northern Europe. Extends
from c. 9500
B.C. to 8500 B.C. During this first
period of the Holocene, forests colonized
northern Europe. See also Boreal, Atlantic, Sub-
boreal, and Subatlantic climatic periods.
preceramic: A term used for an aceramic period of
the Neolithic period in Greece, Crete, and Cy-
prus. See Aceramic Neolithic.
pressure flaking: A method for retouching stone
flakes by pressing down with a sharpened piece
of antler or other similar object, rather than
striking the flake with a hammer. The applica-
tion of pressure detaches a small, flat flake.
processual archaeology: See New Archaeology.
provenance: The location where an object was
found. In archaeology the find spot of an arti-
fact is usually expressed as a point in the three-
dimensional space of an archaeological excava-
tion. Also spelled “provenience.”
GLOSSARY
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quern: A grinding stone, usually operated by hand.
rachis: In plant anatomy, the term for the structure
that connects a seed casing to the stalk of a
plant. This structure is more robust in domestic
varieties of wheat than in their wild progenitors.
radiocarbon dating: A radiometric dating tech-
nique based on the decay of carbon 14. The
amount of carbon 14 in an organism begins to
decrease at death because the organism is no
longer taking up the isotope from its environ-
ment. By measuring the amount of carbon 14,
it is possible to estimate the time elapsed since
the death of an organism. The primary limita-
tions of the technique are that atmospheric car-
bon-14 levels vary over time (complicating cal-
culation of how much carbon 14 was in an
organism at death) and that it is generally not
useful for objects more than fifty thousand years
old (owing to the short half-life of carbon 14).
radiolarite: A type of chert formed predominantly
from the siliceous remains of a marine zoo-
plankton called radiolaria. Used in making
stone tools. See also chert.
radiometric dating: An absolute dating technique
utilizing the radioactive decay of atoms. Since
radioactive isotopes have predictable rates of
decay, the amount of an isotope in an object is
linked to the age of the object.
ranked society: A society in which access to re-
sources is unevenly distributed. A stratified or
hierarchical society.
rath: See ringfort.
red ochre: See ochre.
redistribution: The collection of goods and subse-
quent allotment of those goods to group mem-
bers. Often associated with the development
and maintenance of centralized authority in a
ranked society. See chiefdom.
relative dating: Dating methods that rely on stra-
tigraphy and artifact typology to establish the
chronological position of finds in relation to
one another but without the assignment of an
age in years. Used primarily prior to the devel-
opment of absolute dating methods such as car-
bon-14 dating.
repoussé: A decorative technique in which orna-
mentation is pressed or hammered into the back
of sheet metal.
resistivity survey: A noninvasive technique for in-
vestigating subsurface features that is based on
variation in the resistance to electric current of-
fered by different materials. Resistivity is mea-
sured by passing current between two probes.
revetment/to revet: A facing, usually of stone,
used to reinforce an embankment.
retouch: Secondary working of a flake or other
stone tool to modify its shape or edge quality.
Retouching generally involves removing smaller
flakes through indirect percussion or pressure
flaking.
ringfort: A type of enclosure common in early me-
dieval Ireland, usually 30–40 meters in diame-
ter. Enclosures are defined by banks, ditches,
and stone walls. Ringforts were often used as
lightly defended farmsteads, although some
have yielded little evidence of occupation. Also
known as “raths.”
roundhouse: A structure with a circular perimeter.
A common type of dwelling across northwest-
ern Europe, particularly in the British Isles.
rune/runic: A letter in one of several alphabets
used by Germanic groups in the early medieval
period. Often found as inscriptions on stones
(rune stones).
sarsen: A type of sandstone used in building mega-
lithic monuments.
satrap: Originally a provincial governor in Persia.
Used as a generic term for a local potentate.
sceatta: An Anglo-Saxon or Frisian silver coin.
scramasax: A short, single-edged stabbing sword.
scriptorium: An area of a monastery devoted to
copying manuscripts.
Secondary Products Revolution: The theory that
after an initial period of domestication, when
humans used animals for primary products,
such as meat and hides, a change occurred in
animal exploitation as humans began to use ani-
mals as sources of milk, wool, traction, and
other “secondary” products. Some argue that
no such radical change occurred and that the
apparent revolution is only an intensification of
previous practices.
GLOSSARY
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