Descriptionary

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.

Neolithic period the late Stone Age period extend­ing from 8000 b.c. to the advent of the Bronze Age, noted for the development of human settlements, advancing farming techniques, textile weaving, and the domestication of animals.

nitrogen dating a method of determining age by measuring the loss of nitrogen in bone, which occurs at a known rate.

obsidian a volcanically formed glass that primitive people used to make very sharp blades and cutting tools.

Paleoindians the earliest known people living in the Americas.

Paleolithic period the early Stone Age period, from 2 million years ago to roughly 10,000 b.c., noted for its hunter-gatherer human ancestors and their increasing sophistication in the construction of stone tools.