Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (808 page)

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

A court or house of a chief which comprises a series of walled enclosures built on top of a hill. The most famous is the
GREAT ZIMBABWE
which lends its name to the modern nation-state of Zimbabwe.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

White metallic element (Zn) occurring naturally as zinc blende used as a component of brass (together with copper) and for coating iron. Zinc was not extensively exploited until the 12th century
ad
in India and the 15th century
ad
in Europe. Although brass was used for making coinage from Roman times the zinc content is believed to derive from indirect sources.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

The name given by Professor Louis Leakey to the fossil skull of an early hominid found in Bed I at
OLDUVAI GORGE
, Tanzania, in July 1959. Dated to the Lower Pleistocene, about 1.75 million years ago, the skull is that of a robust Australopithecine. At one time the Zinjanthropus skull was nicknamed ‘Nutcracker Man’ because of the large size of the teeth.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Late Neolithic communities forming part of the
GLOBULAR AMPHORAE CULTURE
in the period 3200–2800 bc, occupying sites along the Vistula River in southeast Poland. Named after a cemetery site at Z
ota, Sandomierz, Poland, the Z
ota culture shares many traits with other nearby groups, especially the Baden Culture. Pottery includes corded ware, globular amphorae, and cups with upturned handles. Copper and amber ornaments were used. The dead were buried laid in a contracted position on stone pavements in cist graves. The houses are square in plan, made of wattle and daub. The subsistence economy was farming, but Z
ota communities also exploited flint seams in the region by digging
FLINT MINES
.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search