Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (20 page)

Any deliberate mixture of two or more metals to enhance the properties of one or other in some way. Alloys involving just two main metals are known as binary alloys. The earliest alloy in most parts of the world was bronze, essentially a combination of copper and tin although lead and arsenic were later added.

 
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A general term for sediment deposited by rivers, including that on the river bed, along its margins, across its floodplain, and in an estuary, if it has one. Alluvium tends to be rich in organic matter and may contain archaeological material. The onset of periods of rapid alluviation may also have the effect of sealing old land surfaces under the alluvium.

 
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A Neolithic culture dating to the 5th and 4th millennia
bc
in southeastern Spain, and particularly associated with the settlement at El Garcel. Many of the settlements were built on hilltops with circular houses built from wattle and daub. Inside were hearths and storage pits. The tombs are also round, built of dry-stone walling and used for single or multiple inhumation. Almerian pottery was plain with rounded or pointed bases. Some copper objects are found in late Almerian contexts.

 
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Camelid mammal (Lama pacos) with long shaggy hair, native to the high Andean grasslands of Peru and Ecuador, related to the llama. Domesticated by
c.
5000 bc and widely used as a source of food and raw material for the manufacture of textiles.

 
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See
WRITING
.

 
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An extensive cave system in the Cantabrian Mountains near Santander in northern Spain. Between 1875 and 1879 Don Marcelino de Sautuola explored the 280m deep caves and discovered paintings on the walls. He believed them to be Palaeolithic in date because of their style and the flintwork and faunal remains found in the entrance to the caves. It took a while for this to be accepted, but the works are now recognized as being late
SOLUTREAN
and early
MAGDALENIAN
in date, broadly 13000 to 11500 bc. The motifs and figures represented include polychrome images of bison, masks, and quadrilateral signs of unknown meaning. Some of the figured animals are large, up to 2m across, the most spectacular group being on the ceiling of a low hall near the entrance which depicts bison, deer, and horses.
[Rep.: H. Breuil and H. Obermaier , 1935,
The cave of Altamira at Santilana der Mar, Spain
. Madrid: El Viso]

 
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