Archaeology Wordsmith

Results for boulder:

boulder: CATEGORY: geology
DEFINITION: A rock size that is a subdivision of gravel clasts, 256 mm or larger in diameter (Wentworth-Udden classification).
boulder clay: CATEGORY: geology
DEFINITION: A clayey deposit of the Ice Age which contains boulders. Also, the clay of the Glacial or Drift period.
till: SYNONYMS OR RELATED TERMS: boulder clay
CATEGORY: geology
DEFINITION: An aggregate of material -- unsorted soil consisting of sand, gravel, clay, and unsorted stones, and deposited directly by a glacier or ice sheet. All grades of particle size may be found. Till is sometimes called boulder clay because it is composed of clay, boulders of intermediate sizes, or a mixture of these. Ice does not sort the material it carries and the range of particle sizes, as well as the range of rock types, depends on the geology over which the ice-sheet or glacier has flowed. There are two types of till, basal and ablation. Basal till is that which was carried in the base of the glacier and commonly set under it. Ablation till is that which was carried on or near the surface of the glacier and came down as the glacier melted.
anvil technique: SYNONYMS OR RELATED TERMS: anvil-flaking
CATEGORY: artifact
DEFINITION: A method of making chipped stone tools that involves striking a stone repeatedly against a static boulder used as an anvil
Carrowmore: CATEGORY: site
DEFINITION: A cemetery site in Sligo, Ireland, with megalithic tombs consisting of circular boulder kerbs and boulder-built chambers. The radiocarbon date is c 4500 BC, which would make these the earliest chambered tombs of Ireland.
cave earth: CATEGORY: geology
DEFINITION: A layer of earth forming the old floor of a cave before the depositing of stalagmite. The term also describes cave deposits of shattered boulders and pebbles that occur from frost and weathering.
collective tomb: CATEGORY: structure
DEFINITION: A chamber tomb of Neolithic times, either rock-cut or megalithic, built to contain many burials, often successive depositions spread over a long time. By 4000 BC the first big collective tombs were built from boulders in Spain.
Cyclopean masonry: SYNONYMS OR RELATED TERMS: cyclopean construction, cyclopean wall, cyclopean monuments, Pelasgian
CATEGORY: structure
DEFINITION: A style of masonry that calls for large, close-fitting, irregularly shaped stones, used typically in Mycenaean fortifications. The massive stone wall's gaps between the inner and outer faces of the huge stone boulders were filled with small stones and clay. It is named after the Greek mythical character Cyclops, thought by the Greeks to have built the walls of Tiryns, which are constructed in this fashion. The technique occurs widely elsewhere in the Mediterranean (Nuraghe, Naveta, Talayot, Torre), and was sometimes employed by the Inca and other Andean peoples.
glacial till: CATEGORY: geology
DEFINITION: The heterogeneous and unconsolidated mixture of boulders, gravel, clay, and sand caused by glacial action.
glaciation: SYNONYMS OR RELATED TERMS: glacial
CATEGORY: chronology; geography
DEFINITION: The process by which land is covered by continental and alpine glacier ice sheets or the period of time during which such covering occurred; several glaciations are required to make up an Ice Age (as the Pleistocene). The land is subject to erosion and deposition by this process, which occurred repeatedly during the Quaternary; the process modifies landscapes and affects the level of ocean basins. These periods of colder weather are also called glacials, and the warmer periods between them interglacials. At the onset of colder weather, water is taken up into the ice-sheets and glaciers, causing a drop in sea level. Landscapes covered by ice can be recognized by the smooth rock surfaces and the U-shaped valleys formed by the ice-sheets and glaciers and the rock rubble carried along in them. As the climate warmed, the glaciers retreated, the ice melted, and the sea-level rose. The ice also deposited various forms of boulder clays, and banks of debris at the sides and ends of glaciers, known as moraines. Beyond the limits of glaciers and ice-sheets, extensive layers of outwash sands and gravels were deposited; where these deposits occur in lakes they are called varves. The periglacial zone around the margin of an ice sheet has permanently frozen subsoil, and is occupied by cold-loving plants and animals. Erosion was mainly brought about by solifluxion. The low temperatures and the constant freezing and thawing also affect the soil; these frost effects are called cryoturbation. Particularly characteristic are ice-wedges, polygonal cracks in the ground frequently recognizable in air photographs. They were caused by the shrinking of the ground at low temperatures and the filling of the cracks with water, which subsequently expanded on freezing to open the crack still further. The last two million years have been marked by a series of such glaciations. Broad correlations between the glaciation schemes in different parts of Europe and North America exist. Four Ice Ages have been figured; in Europe, the First Glaciation was at a climax 550,000 years ago. This gradually gave way to the First Interglacial (Gunz-Mindel) Period lasting about 60,000 years in which warm conditions again prevailed. The Second Glaciation came along with its climax 450,000 years ago, and the Second Interglacial Period (Mindel-Riss) followed, lasting 200,000 years. The Third Glacial Period (Riss) climax 185,000 years ago was relieved by 60,000 years of interglacial warmth. The Fourth (Wurm) and last Ice Age was at its height 72,000 years ago. The term has also commonly been used to describe the periods of generally cold climate which occurred at intervals during the Quaternary period. It is, however, now clear that ice-sheets grew only during parts of these so-called 'glacials' (e.g., the Devensian). For this reason, the term 'cold stage' is preferable.
gravel: CATEGORY: geology
DEFINITION: Any stone that is greater than 2 mm in diameter. Gravel may be classified as: granule, pebble, cobble, and boulder gravel. The term also refers to a sedimentary deposit consisting mainly of gravel-sized clasts.
hut circle: CATEGORY: feature
DEFINITION: A circle of earth or stones along the circumference of a previously existing hut. A circular depression, wall, or ring of boulders, marking the footing of a vanished hut.
Kurgus: SYNONYMS OR RELATED TERMS: Kanisa-Kurgus; Kanisa Kurgus
CATEGORY: site
DEFINITION: Site in Nubia where Thutmose I (c 1493-1482 BC) and Thutmose III (1479-1426 BC) both carved inscriptions on boulders marking the southern frontier of Egypt. After Thutmose I destroyed the Karmah state, he inscribed a rock as a boundary marker, later confirmed by Thutmose III, near Kanisa-Kurgus, north of the Fifth Cataract. He then executed a brilliant campaign into Syria and across the Euphrates, where he erected a victory stela near Carchemish.
Kuyavian long barrow: CATEGORY: structure
DEFINITION: Earthen long barrows of the Funnel Beaker culture in northern Poland from c 3000 BC. The are usually surrounded by a kerb of large boulders and sometimes megalithic. They have a trapezoidal plan, normally have single primary burials, and are related to the Hunebeds of northern Germany and Holland.
Lukenya Hill: CATEGORY: site
DEFINITION: An inselberg (boulder-hill) in southern Kenya, southeast of Nairobi, with material from the Middle Stone Age to the Late Iron Age. Numerous rock shelters and other sites have preserved this long sequence of prehistoric occupation. A backed microlith industry was established by the 16th millennium BC and probably long before. A fragment of human skull associated with this industry displays modern Negroid features.
moraine: CATEGORY: geology
DEFINITION: Generally, a bank or layer of mud, gravel, and stones deposited by an advancing or retreating glacier. The term described a family of depositional landforms created by glacier ice. There are five common types: end or terminal moraine, recessional moraine, ground moraine, hummocky/ablation/medial moraine, and lateral moraine. The material, which ranges in size from blocks or boulders (usually faceted or striated) to sand and clay, is unstratified when dropped by the glacier and shows no sorting or bedding.
Nasera: SYNONYMS OR RELATED TERMS: Apis Rock
CATEGORY: site
DEFINITION: Boulder hill in northern Tanzania with a deep deposit of Middle and Later Stone Age material.
particle size analysis: SYNONYMS OR RELATED TERMS: particle-size analysis, size analysis, size-frequency analysis, grain size analysis
CATEGORY: technique
DEFINITION: A technique for analyzing the grain sizes of archaeological or geological sediments, used to discover the manner and process of their deposition. The technique also allows the accurate description of a deposit, and comparison with other sediments. There are several methods of particle size analysis. Dry sieving, the sifting of deposits through various sizes of mesh so that particles are grouped into sizes, is suitable for larger grains from pebbles to coarse sand. Light or electron microscopy is used for finer grains of sand, silt, and clay. Sedimentation, the counting of grains dispersed in liquid as they fall to the bottom of a container, is suitable for the finest grains of silt and clay. A combination of methods, is frequently used. The analysis may yield information on whether the deposit is wind- or water-borne, how much it has weathered, and to what extent it has been affected by man. Particles are classified into a number of size grades, normally under such headings as boulders, pebbles, stones, gravel, sand, silt, and clay; sand is often further subdivided. The mixture of particle size grades found in a material is known as the texture.
petroform: CATEGORY: feature
DEFINITION: A row of rocks or boulders configured on the ground in the shape of an animal, mythological figure, etc.
polissoir: CATEGORY: artifact
DEFINITION: A block of coarse stone, sometimes as an earthfast boulder or natural outcrop, used for grinding and polishing stone axes in the final stages of production. Archaeologically they are distinctive in having bowl-shaped depressions on which the bodies of the axes were ground. Some also have V-section grooves in which the blades were finished.
Quiriguá: CATEGORY: site
DEFINITION: Small Maya center in the southern Guatemala Lowlands, an important Classic period site with the tallest sandstone stelae known. The tallest, Stela E, is almost 11 meters tall. There are also giant boulder sculptures of mythical monsters and animals in Southern Regional style. It was probably at least partly controlled by Copán. The terminal Long Count date of 810 is carved on a lintel of the main building.
rock art: CATEGORY: artifact
DEFINITION: Painting and engraving on rock or cave surfaces, done as decoration, depiction of narratives, or for religious purposes. There are petroglyphs (carvings on rock face), engravings (incisions), and pictographs (paintings on rock surfaces). A great deal of rock art occurs throughout African continent. In contrast to painted caves of Europe, the African art takes the form either of paintings in rock shelters (not in caves) or engraving on open rock outcrops or boulders.
Shindo: CATEGORY: site
DEFINITION: A small spur projecting into the valley of the Kyi Chu River near Lhasa, Tibet. Three phases have been distinguished. Horizon A had flexed burials in rock-cut pits, accompanied by crude, handmade pottery but no metalwork. Horizon B contained two flexed burials in rock-cut pits with much finer handmade pottery and a few iron artifacts. There was also one larger tomb closed with two carefully dressed stone slabs and containing two skulls, a pile of long bones and vertebrae, three pottery vessels, and a wooden bowl with metal lining. Horizon C consisted of two tumuli built of pebbles, with flexed burials, fine wheel-turned pottery with traces of red decoration, and a few iron artifacts. About 50 meters from this ridge is a boulder with pecked carvings of animals and letters.

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