technique used on organic materials such as wood, shell, charcoal, and bone. The technique is founded on the measurement of the decay of the carbon isotope 14C to nitrogen.


rank-size rules

Refers to the correlation between the size of a prehistoric settlement and the complexity of the social hierarchy (social ranks) that governs it.


reduction strategy

The process of stone tool manufacture in specific cases (see flake).


resistivity

The mapping of sub-surface features by measuring the differences in electrical resistance as a current is passed through soil.


Rhodesian Wilton

An inland Southern African variant of the microlithic later Stone Age industry, first noticed in the Cape Province of South Africa. Although dates vary across these regions, it is thought that the Wilton industry existed between 8,000 and 2,000 years ago.


Riss glaciation

A glacial advance in the Swiss Alps beginning around 250,000 years ago and lasting for about 100,000 years.


roof fall

Rock fall from the roof of a cave or shelter that is incorporated into an archaeological deposit.


runes

Scandinavian writing.


ruprestrian art

Rock art.


sarcophagus

Coffin.


sequences

A succession of occupational or cultural phases in an archaeological site.


seriation, ceramic seriation

A technique used to create relative dates in which a temporal sequence is established by ascertaining the relative popularity of ceramic artifacts in an assemblage.


settlement-pattern archaeology

An archaeological method involving the recording and analysis of all cultural features in a landscape, then relating these to their topographic settings in order to create a history of human settlement in a particular region.


settlement tiers

Refers to the hierarchy of settlement sizes within a particular region.


shell-tempered pottery

Pottery with shell incorporated into its fabric.


site catchment analysis

The assessment of the potential economic resources of a site and its catchment.


site catchment

The total area for which the contents of a site could have been derived.


situla

See situla art.


slumping

A geomorphological process in which deposits collapse.


space-time synthesis

An archaeological analysis based on the integration of spatial and temporal data.


spits

Units of measurement of depth in the excavation of archaeological sites.


standlines

Remnant prehistoric beaches from periods when sea levels were different from those of today.


Stillbay

A Middle Stone Age industry from Southern Africa.


stratigraphic pits

Pits dug to allow archaeologists to analyze the sedimentary history of a site.


stratigraphy

The study of the formation and composition of stratified sediments in archaeological sites.


stylistic variability

The capacity of different decorative and technological styles to vary.


sumerologist

A person who studies Sumerian civilization.


synchronisms

The systematic study of artifacts and contexts and events that occur within the same time period.


tanged

Refers to a projection at the base of a stone tool that could be attached to a handle or a shaft.


taphonomy, taphonomic

The study of the transformation of materials when they are deposited into the archaeological record. Taphonomy is a central method in reconstructing the processes that formed or created the archaeological record.


Tardenoisian

A Mesolithic culture of southwest France.


tells

An artificial hill created by the accumulation of mud-brick walls and cultural debris. Tells are particularly common in the Middle East and are a clear indication of human occupation over a long period.


tephrachronology

A chronology based on dating layers of volcanic ash.


three-age system

A chronological model devised by Christian Thomsen during his tenure at the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen. Thomsen organized his displays of artifacts in terms of a temporal sequence from earliest (stone) through middle (bronze) to late (iron), reflecting his perception that human technology had evolved in complexity over successive stages.