Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (668 page)

Small oval pits with straight sides and flat bottoms found on numerous sites of the 2nd millennium
ad
in the mid west of North America. The fills typically contain carbonized plant remains and charcoal, especially in the lowermost levels. The uppermost fills generally comprise grey silts and loam. These pits were made famous because in 1967 they were used by Lewis Binford to illustrate the application of ethnographic analogy in archaeological reasoning and to show that they were probably used in the process of smoking hides.

 
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See
MOLLUSCAN ANALYSIS
.

 
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Well-defined series of glasses of Roman date decorated with serpent-like lines or threads of glass which are either the same colour as or differently coloured from the body. The glasses were made both in the east, probably in Syria, and in the west, at Cologne and perhaps elsewhere.

 
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Hohokam Culture village settlement of the Pioneer and early Sedentary stages (300 bc–ad 1100) situated in the lower Gila River valley. Excavations by Emil Haury in 1964–5 revealed that the site covered more than 1 square km with over 60 refuse mounds. In the centre is a plaza and ball-court, around which were numerous pit-houses. Cultivated areas around the village were watered through an extensive irrigation system. Maize, squash, and beans were grown. Pottery production and the manufacture of shell ornaments took place at the site. Links with Mesoamerican communities are attested by the presence of copper bells and figurines.
[Rep.: E. W. Haury , 1976,
The Hohokam, desert farmers and craftsmen: Excavations at Snaketown 1964–1965
. Tucson: University of Arizona Press]

 
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Egyptian ruler and founder of the 4th Dynasty. Well known for his building works, including the two pyramids at Dahshur.

 
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Egyptian god, the crocodile god of Kom Ombo and the Fayum. Shown either as a crocodile or as a crocodile-headed man. Worshipped wherever the River Nile presented difficulties, for example at Silsileh, in the cataracts, and in swampy areas. Equivalent of the Greek Suchos.
RA
.

 
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