Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (763 page)

The period between about 4200 bc and 3300 bc that marked the emergence of Mesopotamian state societies named after the long and important sequence at
URUK
, Iraq. During the Uruk period large existing settlements developed the hallmark characteristics of urban settlements, elaborate ritual centres within key cities, the development of writing systems, extensive administrative systems, the mass production of pottery and other goods, and sophisticated art. In the late Uruk period such patterns are seen outside southern Mesopotamia to the east and northwest, setting the scene for the development of the early dynastic phase of Sumerian civilization in the region.

 
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Microscopic analysis of the surfaces and working edges of artefacts to detect signs of wear, damage, or residue caused by their use. The work is generally done using high-powered microscopes, and may involve replication studies to allow the comparison of traces of known cause with observed patterns on ancient material. The technique is mainly applied to flint and stone tools. Considerable success has been achieved in detecting evidence for sawing, cutting, and piercing.

 
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Ussher , James
(1581–1656)
[Bi].

Scholar, professor of divinity, and vice-chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin, who subsequently became bishop of Meath and, in 1625, archbishop of Armagh. He is noted as a strict exponent of the Mosaic cosmogony. Taking biblical accounts of the period from the Creation to the time of classical civilizations literally, in ad 1650 he famously published a book entitled
Annales veteris et novi testamenti
in which he set out his calculation to show that the earth was created in 4004 bc. This was widely accepted and from 1701 was printed in the margins of the Authorized (King James) Version of the Bible. Later, Bishop Lightfoot asserted that it was in fact nine o'clock in the morning of 23 October 4004 bc when the world first came into existence.
[Bio.: R. B. Knox , 1967,
James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh
. Cardiff: University of Wales Press]

 
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A platform or earth mound represented at important
INCA
settlements. The Inca emperor stood on the usnu when holding court, and it may have been used for astronomical observations. Some usnu are associated with water channels to facilitate the making of liquid offerings.

 
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A
SUMERIAN
god connected with the sun and frequently represented by his symbol, a winged sun disc, that later became a standard representation of royalty. Uto was the god of justice before whom legal contracts were sworn and whose name appears in various law codes. Equivalent to the
AKKADIAN
deity Shamash.

 
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Uvarov , Count Aleksei Sergeevich
(1828–84)
[Bi].

Russian antiquarian and archaeologist. In 1864 he organized the Imperial Russian Archaeological Society and in 1869 he organized the first archaeological congress. During the 1850s he excavated at Chersonese and in 1877 excavated the Upper Palaeolithic site at Karacharovo on the Oka River.
[Not.: A. L. Mongait [trans. M. W. Thompson ], 1961,
Archaeology in the USSR.
Harmondsworth: Penguin, 68]

 
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