Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (603 page)

Periodic review of research achievement by academic discipline in UK universities. The first such assessment took place in 1985, since when there have been successive reviews in 1992, 1996, and 2001. Each submission is peer-graded on a scale from 1 (low) to 5 (high).

 
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A detailed proposal relating to a defined piece of archaeological endeavour which includes: a definition of a problem, subject, or hypothesis for investigation; the background and context to the investigation; the proposed means and methods of the investigation; the work plan and timetable; details of the proposed investigators, management arrangements, and quality control procedures; a table of costs. See also
MANAGEMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECTS
.

 
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Distortions in the radiocarbon age of samples derived from environments where samples from a particular carbon reservoir may not be in complete equilibrium with the atmosphere, so that their normalized isotope ratio is not the same as that of contemporaneous terrestrial wood. The most common example of the effect occurs with marine shells because the surface ocean waters where they grow have a significant contribution from older deep-ocean waters. The magnitude of the correction necessary for marine shell ages will depend on the geographical location: for mid-latitude samples the gap is probably about 400 years while for higher latitudes the correction may rise to more than 1000 years. In all cases the correction is subtracted from the conventional radiocarbon age. Also known as the marine effect or the environmental effect.

 
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A kind of geophysical survey used to locate buried features by mapping differences in the way that soils conduct an electric current. Using a
resistivity meter
a controlled electric current is passed through the soil between four electrodes. One pair of electrodes carries the current while the second pair measures the voltage passed through the ground; the resistance (in ohms) is determined and recorded. In general, fine densely packed damp silty material offers little resistance to current passed through it but stony deposits and those with abundant spaces in the matrix are highly resistant. Different arrays of electrodes allow different depths to be targeted, and by moving the electrodes in a systematic pattern a detailed map of subsurface soil conditions can be built up. Rubble-filled ditches and pits, walls, courtyard surfaces, and roads are the easiest features to identify with resistivity. Limitations in the technique include the problem of filtering out natural from anthropogenic anomalies, and ensuring that the survey is conducted under fairly uniform soil conditions (neither too wet nor too dry).

 
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A model of hunter-gatherer behaviour explained by Canadian archaeologist Brian Hayden in which the biggest determinant of social change is the modification of behaviour patterns to overcome stress caused by food shortages or other related phenomena. Thus, although hunter-gatherer communities would normally cope with resource stress by deploying little-used techniques, on occasion they develop wholly new and more efficient ways of obtaining food.

 
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Late Upper Palaeolithic communities of the forest zone of western Russia, characterized by lakeside and riverside settlements and a rich material culture.

 
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