Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (100 page)

 
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A regional variant of the
LINEARBANDKERAMIC CULTURE
centred on the Bükk Mountains of northeastern Hungary. Bükk pottery is very finely made with multiple parallel lines in spiral and curvilinear patterns. Sherds of the ware have been found as far afield as southern Poland. A large number of caves in the heartland of the Bükk Mountains were used at this time, suggesting perhaps a seasonal focus to transhumance and the exploitation of stone from the mountains for making axes.

 
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The cone-like shape of the fracture surface of a stone flake which indicates the place where the hammer struck.

 
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Originally Asiatic nomads who inhabited the shores of the Black Sea at the end of the 5th century
ad
but after ad 679 they crossed the Danube and founded a state in the old province of Moesia.

 
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bulla
(pl.
bullae
)
[Ar].

A hollow clay ball which contained tokens representing goods despatched or exchanged and was thus part of a system of accounts in early Mesopotamia.

 
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A type of organization marked by a clear hierarchy of authority, the existence of written rules of procedure, and staffed by full-time, salaried officials. Often held to be one of the characteristics of an early state or civilization.

 
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Property which usually included a house and yard in an ancient borough. Often with a narrow street frontage and a long narrow strip of land behind. Held for a fixed money rent by a burgess who had special privileges and duties.

 
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