global prehistory ca1

Paleolithic

Old Stone Age

Neolithic

New stone age

Schematic

Symbolic and simplified, usually a graphic plan

Abstraction

an idea separate from specific facts or concrete examples

Shaman

an ancient doctor, healer, or priest, they were called upon for religious ceremonies

Hunter-gatherer

people who follow game animals and gather plants instead of ranching or farming

Cosmos

The world or universe considered as a system, perfect in order and arrangement.

Ceramics

Objects made from clay or other combinations of minerals baked at high temperature

Monolithic

massive, uniform, and solid

Motifs

a repeated decorative design or pattern

Anthropomorphic

attributing human characteristics or qualities to objects, animals, or gods

Profile

An outline of an object when viewed from one side.

Pigments

Colored chemical compounds that absorb light

Radiocarbon Dating

Determining the age of an object by measuring the amount of carbon-14 remaining in it

Bas Relief

a sculpture carved with very little depth

Geometric

Decoration is made up of basic shapes or stripes

Stylized

In a particular style, often an unrealistic one, symplified

Stele

A carved stone slab used to mark graves or to commemorate historical events, stands on end

Incise

cut into; carve; engrave

Symbolic

serving as a visible symbol for something abstract

Megalith

huge stone

Trilithon

Two upright stones with a third placed on top

Post and Lintel

a method of construction in which two posts support a horizontal beam, called a lintel

Animism

The belief that bodies of water, animals, trees, and other natural objects have spirits

Mimetic

imitative, copying the behavior or appearance of someone or something else

Undulation

move in a wave-like motion

Orientation

the direction that an object is facing

Monumental

Massive, very great, very important

Register

a horizontal band, often on top of another, that tells a narrative story

Slip

Mixture of clay and water

Earthenware

a low fire clay that is usually red or tan

Potsherds

Pottery fragments

Terra Cotta

baked earth; hard, brownish-red pottery

Low Fire

Clay that matures/turned into stone at a relatively low temperature