The Human Past The Human Past The Human Past The Human Past
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Glossary

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caitya barrel-vaulted Buddhist shrine

calvarium skull cap

causewayed camp a Neolithic enclosure characteristic of southern Britain, with one or more circuits of ditches interrupted by undug areas, or causeways

chiefdom a society of several thousand individuals organized on institutionalized lines of hierarchical lineages ruled over by a chief

chinampa gardens constructed in a shallow lakebed, exemplified by the Aztec fields of Tenochtitlán

chryselephantine made of gold and ivory

Chunqiu "Spring and Autumn Annals," history of the state of Lu during the Warring States period in China, by Confucius

ciudadela Spanish term meaning "citadel," applied for example to the unfortified royal complexes of the Chimu empire, Peru

clade group with a common ancestor, i.e., a single evolutionary branch

coalescence the appearance of specific genotypes in mitochondrial DNA

codex (pl. codices) accordion-fold books used by Mesoamerican peoples, made of bark paper or animal parchment pages sized with washes of lime plaster and enclosed in wooden covers

cognitive archaeology the study of past ways of thought and symbolic structures from material remains

colluvial slope one in which the soil has been washed down to its base

cong ceremonial jade tube with square or circular cross-section, often elaborately carved

corbeled vaulting roofing technique wherein each higher level of stones slightly overhangs the previous one, eventually meeting at the top under a capstone

cordillera system of mountain ranges, often consisting of more or less parallel chains; used often to refer to the Andean range

core parent rock from which flakes are detached

cultural ecology an approach to the study of human society which argues that change results in large part from the response of human societies to the challenges and opportunities of their environments

cuneiform a form of script used in Southwest Asia during the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age; literally, "wedge-shaped"

cupellation method of obtaining silver ore involving the blowing of air across a crucible of molten silver-bearing lead, first developed in the 3rd millennium BC in the Cycladic islands of Greece

cupule cup-shaped vegetal wrapping that holds the kernels of an ear of maize

cyclopean masonry style of building characteristic of Mycenaean sites, using massive, roughly cut stones, uncoursed, the interstices randomly filled with smaller stones


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