Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (112 page)

BOOK: Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology
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Cape Denbigh, Alaska, USA
[Si].
Archaic Stage hunter-gatherer sites on the shore of Norton Sound, excavated by J. L. Giddings over several seasons starting in 1948. The most complete sequence was found at Iyatayet, a campsite occupied by caribou hunters, where three main horizons were recognized: the Denbigh Flint Complex was the earliest (
c.
3000–2500 bc), followed by the Norton (
c.
100 bc to ad 200), and this in turn was followed by the Nukleet or western Thule (12th to 18th centuries
ad
). The Denbigh Flint Complex assemblage recovered was important because it not only included burins and microblades, but also showed that these items were associated with stone harpoon heads, spearheads, and knives.
[Sum.: J. L. Giddings , 1964,
The archaeology of Cape Denbigh
. Providence RI: Brown University Press]
capital
[Co].
The top element of a column above the drums or monolithic shaft. Comprises two elements, the moulded part or
echinus
and the flat slab above known as the
abacus
. In the classical world there were three Greek Orders applied to the design of capitals: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.
capitol
[Ge].
The principal hill in Rome, site of the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, that served as a citadel and religious centre.
Capsian Culture
[CP].
Mesolithic communities occupying the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, named after the site of Gafsa, Tunisia. Capsian Culture replaced the Oranian in the region after about 8000 bc. Occupation sites are well represented as shell middens and ash heaps. The main tool types include blades, burins, scrapers, backed blades, microliths, and microburins. From around 5000 bc pottery and domesticated animals appear in Capsian contexts, sometimes referred to as the
Capsian Neolithic
. The culture lasted down to the 2nd millennium
bc
.
capstone
[Co].
A more or less horizontal slab or block of stone forming the top of a burial
CIST
or the roof of a chambered tomb.
Caracalla
[Na].
Roman emperor, ad 211–17.

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