dendrochronology the technique of determining age by counting the growth rings on long-lived trees.
dental pick a tool with a tiny point, used to scrape off very small debris, bits of soil, etc.
dig an archaeological excavation.
dolmen a neolithic monument composed of a large flat stone laid across two or more standing stones.
effigy mound a mound of soil constructed into the shape of an animal or bird.
evolution the natural process that allows strong, thriving individuals, well adapted to their environment, to pass their genetic heritage on to healthy offspring, while struggling individuals tend to die off; the survival of the fittest.
faunal dating a method that uses specific or known evolutionary changes in an animal to help determine the age of a site where that animal's bones are found.
feature that which cannot be removed from an archaeological excavation, such as a fire pit or post molds.
fieldwork work and research that takes place outside, usually at a dig, rather than in an office or laboratory.
flake a thin, flat chip of stone removed during the making of a stone tool or weapon, sometimes used as a hide scraper.
flexed burial a burial in which the body is found in a fetal position.
flint a black, hard quartz that gives off sparks when struck with steel.
flotation a screening technique in which soil is placed in a drum of water, with lighter materials— usually seeds, carbonized plant remains, and small bone fragments—floating to the top.
fluorine dating a dating method that determines approximate age by measuring how much fluorine a bone has absorbed from groundwater, a known rate.
fossil beach a former beach raised far above sea or lake level.
genealogy a history of ancestral descent; a record or charting of lineage.
grid the dividing of an excavation into precise squares, used to accurately place and record where artifacts are found.
ground penetrating radar the method of sending radar pulses through the soil, with bounced-back signals indicating the presence of hidden structures or features.
hammerstone any strong or very hard stone used to work or chip bone or other stone.
hand ax a stone cutting tool from the Paleolithic period.
hide scraper a stone or bone implement used to scrape away hide from flesh.
hieroglyphics pictographic writing used by the ancient Egyptians.
hominid a human or any two-legged, prehuman ancestor.
hominoid belonging to the family of apes and humans; resembling a human being.
Homo erectus prehuman ancestors who employed fire and lived from 27,000 to 1.8 million years ago, with remains found in Africa, China, and Europe. Known as "Upright man," its inner ear structure, where the body's sense of balance is centered, appears more humanlike than that of any hominid that came before.
Homo ergaster prehuman ancestors who lived in Africa's Rift Valley 1.4 to 2 million years ago and may have been the first, along with H. habilis, to migrate to Asia.
Homo habilis prehuman ancestor commonly referred to as "handy man" because they constructed stone tools. They are thought to have migrated to Asia, and lived from 1.5 to 2 million years ago.
Homo heidelbergensis prehuman ancestors characterized by large faces, massive brow ridges, and very low foreheads. They lived from 200,000 to 500,000 years ago; their remains have been found in Africa, China, and Europe.
Homo rudolfensis prehuman ancestors who were among the first to develop simple stone tools and lived in the Rift Valley of Africa from 1.9 to 2.5 million years ago.
Homo sapiens neanderthalensis "Neanderthal man"; living from 30,000 to 137,000 years ago, a tool- building, humanlike ancestor characterized by a strong, stocky body and a brain that was actually slightly larger although less intelligent than that of a modern human; they are thought by some to have blended into the modern human lineage through mating.
Homo sapiens sapiens "Double wise man," fully modern humans.
housepit a depression in the ground, created when a dwelling collapses and decays.
index fossil the remains of a creature that existed for a relatively short amount of time and thus can be used to roughly date artifacts by the strata it is found in.
in situ in its original location or position.
Iron Age the period beginning from roughly 1600 b.c., when iron was first used in manufacturing tools and weapons.
Java man the first specimen remains of Homo erec- tus, found in Java in 1891.
kitchen midden a refuse heap, especially of kitchen scraps, studied by archaeologists to determine what a primitive group ate.
knapping the chipping off of flakes from a stone to create a tool or weapon.
level a layer of excavation, sometimes naturally divided from other layers by strata.
lithic made of stone. Also referring to any artifact or tool made of stone.
locus an association of features within a site.
looting the stealing of artifacts from an archaeological site.
luminescence dating a measurement of the amount of light energy stored in the crystals of calcite, feldspar, and quartz. The energy, which is stored at a known rate, is released after heating, and ages can be established from a few hundred to several hundred thousand years.
magnetic dating any method that uses magnetic minerals and their positioning in relation to Earth's magnetic field to establish approximate ages of artifacts.
mano a grinding stone, often made from a cobble. Elaborate versions may have a handle or be shaped like a rolling pin. Used with a metate.
megafauna large Ice Age animals, such as mammoths and mastodons.
Mesolithic period the middle Stone Age period, from 10,000 b.c. to roughly 8000 b.c., noted for the human development of the microlith and boats.
metate a flat or basinlike stone slab used for grinding.
microlith a small flint tool set in bone or wood, used for cutting and scraping, from the Mesolithic period.
midden a deposit of trash artifacts, such as food scraps, shells, bones, charcoal, ash, etc.
milling station also known as a milling stone, a stone slab or basin having a depression or mortarlike cup, used for milling or grinding grain.
missing link any one of the hypothetical or supposed human ancestors that would provide a model of an exact intermediary between ape and human and thus "prove" human evolution, now an outmoded notion.
Mongoloid a widespread human race making up approximately 33% of the world's population, characterized by yellowish skin, straight black hair, and epicanthic folds around the eyes; they evolved in and largely inhabit Asia.
monolith a large single-stone monument.
Negroid one of the three main human races, making up approximately 8 percent of the world's population, and characterized by dark skin, curly hair and a broad nose; they evolved in Africa.