Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (126 page)

A general term used to refer to the
ROCK ART
of the Upper Palaeolithic of northern Europe, often regarded as some of the oldest representational art in the world. It is generally divided into
MOBILIARY
art and
PARIETAL
art. The subject matter is predominantly animals, especially large herbivores such as mammoth, horse, wild cattle, deer, and bison. There are some human forms depicted, and also what are regarded as abstract forms of unknown meaning. The parietal art is generally executed in a range of colours including reds, black, yellows, and browns derived from ochre and other naturally occurring mineral pigments.

 
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A general term applied to deposits composed of naturally accumulated shattered rock and, where present, humanly produced occupation debris within cave systems.

 
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A regional industrial phase of the British early Bronze Age in Scotland, contemporary with the
ACTON PARK
industries.

 
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A rim, found especially on black-burnished cooking pots, which curves outwards from the vessel to form a concave, quarter-round profile.

 
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A concave area of the face of a ceramic vessel between
CARINATIONS
. Typically below a rim or at the shoulder of a vessel.

 
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A small 3ha early Neolithic settlement in the valley of a tributary of the River Tigris in the Diyarbakir district of eastern Turkey. Excavated intermittently between 1964 and 1981 by Robert Braidwood , the occupation of the site begins about 7300 bc. Five main phases were identified, all aceramic. In phases I and II there were the fragmentary walls of rectangular houses and round pit-ovens. The inhabitants of these phases were reliant on wild animals, but some traces of domesticated cereals were present. In phases IV and V domesticated sheep, goat, and pig were present alongside the domesticated cereals. Even in the later phases, however, hunting still made an important contribution to the economy. The site is also important for the quality of its architecture even from the earliest levels and the fact that in the later phases there is evidence for the small-scale use of locally derived copper.
[Rep.: L. S. Braidwood and R. J. Braidwood (eds.), 1982,
Prehistoric village archaeology in south-eastern Turkey. The eighth-millennium
bc
site of Çayönü: its chipped and ground stone industries and faunal remains
. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, International Series 138]

 
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