Glossary

Artefact

Any moveable object that has been used, modified or manufactured by humans.

Bioturbation

Disturbance of soil through natural causes such as burrowing animals and plant growth.

Bronze Age

2,000 - 700 BC, characterised by the use of bronze in the manufacture of weapons.

Calcareous

Of or containing calcium carbonate.

Ecofacts

Floral or faunal material found within a site.

Flora

Plants / plant remains.

Flotation

A method of screening (sieving) excavated matrix in water so as to separate and recover small ecofacts and artefacts.

Geophysics

Subfield of geology and physics concerned with the structure, construction and development of the earth from a physical perspective.

Geomorphology

A subdiscipline of geography, concerned with the study of the form and development of the landscape, it includes such specializations as sedimentology.

Hunter-Gatherers

A collective term for the members of small scale mobile or semi-mobile sedentary societies, whose subsistence is mainly focused on hunting game and gathering wild plants and fruits. Organisational structure is based on bonds with strong kinship ties.

Langdale Axe Stone

Volcanic tuff material from the Borrowdale Volcanic Series. Rock characterised by the group VI Rock group. This epidipotised greenstone was utilised in the Neolithic period and quarried in the Langdale Valley on the slopes of the side of Harrison and Pike O' Stickle.

Limestone

Rock mainly composed of calcium carbonate.

Logistical mobility

Can be one-day forays from a site or task-specific journeys of longer duration such as hunting expeditions. For mobility also see Residential mobility

Macrofauna

Large animals, generally anything bigger than a rabbit.

Matrix

Physical material within which artefacts are embedded or supported.

Mesolithic

'Middle Stone Age' begins at approximately 10,000 years ago and is a transitional period between the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic. Associated with microlithic culture.

Microfauna

Small mammals, rodents and insectivores.

Moraine

An area of debris carried down and deposited by a glacier.

Neolithic

'New Stone Age' characterised by the development of agriculture and hence an increasing emphasis on sedentism.

Palaeochannels

'Old channels' the name used to describe past river courses.

Palaeoenvironment

Ancient environment, can be reconstructed using a variety of techniques.

Palaeolithic

'Old stone age' spanning from the appearance of tool-using humans to c. 8.000 BC. (in the N. hemisphere).

Pleistocene

The geological time period spanning from 1.8 million years ago 10,000 B.P.

Post-Glacial

Refers to the period after a glacial episode.

Prehistoric

Any period of which there is no contemporary documentation. It is the main segment of human past.

Residential mobility

Movements of all members of a camp from one location to another.

Romano-British

The period of Roman occupation of Britain.

Sandstone

A sedimentary rock of compressed sand.

Soil horizon

A layer in soil or soil material developed through pedogenesis (the physical, chemical and biological factors that cause soil to evolve).

Stratigraphy

A study of the formation, composition, sequence and correlation of stratified sediment, soils and rocks. Stratigraphy is the principal means by which the context of archaeological deposits is evaluated, chronologies are constructed and events sequenced.

Subsistence

The part of the overall economy of a society concerned with the acquisition, production and distribution of food resources.

Topography

The physical configuration of the landscape with particular reference to relief and contour.

Tarn

The Norse term for 'lake'.